Shawn M Tomlinson

Photography: Going Film Pro I: Revisiting the Nikon F4 Shawn M Tomlinson

Photography has gone through at least seven revolutions since it began. Each one has occurred at some crucial moment in history and has changed the way we make photographs. The design of the Nikon F4 was the basis, the prototype for all DSLR cameras to come. If you use a DSLR at any level, it's granddad was the F4. That said, the Nikon F4 still is a film camera and that requires a different mindset that shooting with a DSLR. With film, I take my time. I know the images are going to be - or at least are meant to be - special. Since I am shooting film with the Nikon F4 in the second decade of the 21st century, I also know the images are going to be different than what most people shoot. The Nikon F4 is such an elegant work of art itself, it helps me to think more artistically when I create photographs. It's just one of those few cameras that is beautiful to behold and a joy to use.