Famous Rolleiflex photographers

[Redseele]

Hey all,

I'm making the transition from a Yashica Mat (which I really didn't use that much because I felt it was kind of unreliable) to a Rolleiflex and I got caught with the bug of the mystique (and inspiration) of the legendary medium format camera.

I've always found the square format kind of difficult to use. Not because it's inherently problematic but rather because I haven't seen as many people working as there are famous photographers working with other formats. Thus, as an educational goal, I'd love to see more work by "masters" and see how they exploit the square format.

Is there a list of people who worked with Rolleiflexes anywhere? I know Diane Arbus did and occasionally Robert Capa did, but who else? Can we start a list that we can update maybe?

So far:

- Richard Avedon
- Vivian Maier
- Robert Doisneau
- Helmut Newton
- Fan Ho
- Willy Ronis
- Lee Miller
- Diane Arbus
- Bill Brandt
- Lisette Model
- John Deakin
- Irving Penn
- Fritz Hinle
- Imogen Cunningham
- Pierre Verger
- Cecil Beaton
- Walker Evans
- Phillipe Halsman
- Raymond Depardon

 

[z.bruce.li]

I believe the list will be very long, since most fashion photographers during that era have used a Rolleiflex or two. Just to get started: Richard Avedon for one.

 

[Dirk]

Vivian Maier, Robert Doisneau, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton… Those come to mind immediately.

 

[KM-25]

Fan Ho is a great one...

 

[zuikologist]

Willy Ronis
Lee Miller
Diane Arbus

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

More here
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133992

 

[summaron]

Bill Brandt

Lisette Model

John Deakin

Irving Penn, with Rollei
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/irving-penn-photographer-whose-classical-simplicity-transformed-the-pages-of-vogue-magazine-1799895.html

Diane Arbus, with later Mamiya C33
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/161496336609690355/

 

[x-ray]

Fritz Hinle

Imogen Cunningham

Diane Arbus used a Mamiya tlr and Nikon

 

[Wouter]

Pierre Verger in Brazil, pics from the forties, fifties and sixties. Google him and have a look at his beautiful images.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

Here's a name due for revival: Cecil Beaton. Fashion mainly and with a style of his own, a clear influence on the following British fashion shooters who became more famous than their models think Bailey.
Some large format work bur Rolleiflex was his standard,there are many shots of him with the camera.

 

[doolittle]

Perhaps more infamous than famous: Eva Braun

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Fritz Henle was so famous for his Rolleiflex photography that he was known as "Mr. Rollei." The definitive book on his life and work is Fritz Henle: In Search of Beauty, but he produced many remarkable books, some of which are still available at amazon.com.My particular favorite, and my first major inspiration in photography, is his A New Guide to Rollei Photography.

 

[Dwig]

Phillipe Halsman - like most photograhers, he used a variety of equipment throughout his career, but Rollei TLRs were among is tools.

 

[lawrence]

Walker Evans, mainly when he worked at Fortune.

 

[gdmcclintock]

Sammy Davis Jr

 

[Vics]

Irving Penn...
Remember the Life admonition,"If it moves, shoot it with a Leica, and if it doesn't, shoot it with a Rollei." Also, before the '70s most mags wouldn't accept 35mm slides for publication, so most color shots were MF. The exception to the rule was National Geographic.

 

[jultou]

Raymond Depardon... He is still 100% analog photographer and use the Rolleiflex as many other cameras.

Wiki

 

[Redseele]

Thank you everyone so far. I've collected the names into the first post for future reference. I hope that other beginner Rolleiflex enthusiasts of the future can get some inspiration from this 🙂

 

[steve kessel]

Jane Bown

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/interactive/2009/oct/22/jane-bown-photography

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Jane Bown used a TLR in her earlier days, but then used the Olympus OM system for many years.

Fritz Henle's name is spelled Henle, by the way.