Established photographers who use wide angles 21mm or wider?

noimmunity said:
There are of course always exceptions.

Big sky with interesting clouds and light, for example, cries out for a wide angle of view.
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Of course... but many focal lengths could work for that depending on where you stand and what you want.
 
telenous said:
"...I soon found a way of quelling my loneliness. I would carry a Leica around with me, with that wonderful German-made M21 lens which had served me so well in Beirut, Afghanistan and Chad. It became my companion, my alibi against that feeling of guilt born from not having anything else to do...."

Raymond Depardon, Manhattan Out



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... Depardon / Manhattan Out was the first that came to my mind. A wonderful book.
 
jsrockit said:
Who are the established photographers who use wide angles 21mm or wider? or is this lens length that most feel is something that is only used for a specific purpose?

I agree. Sieff, Depardon, but also Bill Brandt for the wide angle nudes. And I remember a great shot by Elliott Erwitt of Buckminster Fuller in a helicopter which I'm sure was taken with a leica 21mm.
Sam
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Bill Brandt's camera for -

"The Nudes

Since 1945, too, he has created a magnificent series of nudes, which are a significant landmark in the evolution of the photographic nude. His series was started in 1945 with the discovery of a camera that would give him 'an altered perspective and a less conventional image' that would help him to see 'like a mouse, a fish or a fly'. It came in the form of an old mahogany monster created by Kodak. It had no shutter, the aperture in its wide-angle lens was as small as a pinhole, and it was permanently focused on infinity. It had been used by Scotland Yard for police record work and by auctioneers to make inventories. He loaded the camera with a fast film, and started experimenting. The image on the ground glass was so dim it was useless for pre-planning the picture. The camera had to do its own seeing. Each exposure was a gamble; a picture could never be duplicated. Yet he was immediately excited by the weird results. Perspective was so steep it created an entirely new feeling of picture space."
 
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Wilhelm Mikhailovsky used a Zorki and a Russar 20/f5.6. He was one of the first to use ultrawideangles for portraiture in the Soviet Union.





I doubt he still uses the Zorki, but he still uses ultrawideangles.
 
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Ever notice how few CV 21's there are for sale here? I wonder why. I luv mine, but have to get out the instructions every time I need to remove the hood!
 
Much love for 21mm. It can be difficult to produce results with, but the effort is worth it :)

I have the CV21 to thank for making 28mm feel "normal."
 
Well, my CV 21mm arrives tomorrow and I'll try my hand at actually making something worth looking at. This has helped me get some ideas of how it will fit into my photography.
 
Was going to mention Brandt and that special camera. I love those shots. Especially:

Bill+Brandt.bmp


One wide-friendly photographer I'm fond of is Keith Cardwell. He commonly uses a 21mm, and calls his 50mm his telephoto. He's been featured a few times in Black + White Photography magazine, had one of his photos in the recent London Street Photography show, and sells his prints at Greenwich market on Sundays. I have a few prints of his, including this one taken with a 21mm:

3936287647.jpg
 
So far it's been a bust for me... but each situation I tried it in a longer focal length would have been the better choice. I'll keep trying.
 
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