Hey April, I’ve been itching to shoot my next nature trip on a 35mm film camera. Have you ever tried capturing plants on film?

I’m thinking of the old cedar grove at the edge of town. It’s a quiet place where the light falls in long, soft shafts on the leaves. I’d load a B&W 135 roll, maybe a 400 ISO for the shadows, and use a 50‑mm lens. I like to use a hand‑cranked tripod to keep everything perfectly steady—no auto‑focus, just a good old brass tripod head. If the light’s too harsh, I’ll put a small, homemade filter made from an old polarizer in the glass to soften it. I’ve always found the little dust motes on the glass give the shots an extra layer of texture. Let me know if you want to join and bring your own plant journal.

Let’s hit the grove this coming Saturday, early afternoon. I’ll bring the 400 ISO film, a 50‑mm on a solid tripod head, and the old filter I’ve made from a polarizer sleeve. I’ll need to pre‑load the camera, check the focus by hand, and maybe test the filter in the sun to see how it affects the light. You can bring the journal and any extra lenses you fancy, but remember, I’m sticking with the manual setup—no shortcuts. We’ll walk there, find a good spot, and capture the leaves in their quiet glory. Does that work for you?

Great, I’ll set the camera to manual mode and crank out a few test shots just to make sure everything’s in line. Bring your journal, it’ll be good to reference when we’re looking for that perfect light. See you Saturday, April.