MORE IS MORE?
It arrived in the mail. I mounted it on the camera and immediately noticed how wide it was. Too wide, I thought. On a 16 MP body, cropping is not really an option to a large extent. Still, despite the lingering aftertaste from past experiences, I took the lens outside. It stayed on my camera for an entire month.
Over the years I have used many different systems, lenses, and focal lengths. A couple of years ago, I bought my first ultra wide lens, a 10–18 for an APS-C system. After the initial excitement with distorted shapes and extremely wide, often empty compositions, the lens quickly lost its appeal. It ended up on a shelf and was sold not long after.
Most of us have a favourite focal range. Mine sits somewhere between 35mm and 50mm. I have always avoided going wider than that, perhaps because of those earlier experiences. Back then I was still discovering photography, mostly shooting landscapes, food, and the occasional portrait. These days I am more of an urban scavenger, drawn to street photography and constantly searching for moments in a city that can sometimes feel difficult to see with fresh eyes.
Some photographers go in the opposite direction and choose telephoto lenses, even for street photography. With something like a 100–400, you become a distant observer, almost like a hunter on a safari of urban theatre. It feels safer, sometimes creative, less thrilling, but very precise. You can capture truly candid moments from afar, and with today’s technology, produce remarkable images at a distance.
I was looking for a different kind of thrill. I wanted to get closer.
Gradually, I moved from 50mm to 35mm, then to 25mm, and started wondering how wide I could actually go. My recent romance with the X-Pro1 gave me the opportunity to experiment with different lenses. One winter evening, I came across a 10mm lens by AstrHori for the Fuji X mount. It was a simple f/8 lens, nicely built, and cost less than 100 dollars. It felt like the perfect Christmas gift to myself, a small experiment.
I wondered if it would end up like before, used briefly and then forgotten. Or maybe, after all these years, Could finally make something out of it?
I quickly realised that the focal length had not changed. It was still 10mm on an APS-C body. What had changed was me, my subjects, my experience, and my perspective. Using one lens for an extended period is nothing new to me, but committing to 10mm felt extreme. There are shots you simply cannot take with a lens like this, but when creativity kicks in, you start searching for what is possible. You experiment. You become curious again.
The combination itself is discreet. The camera feels almost invisible, non threatening. It allows you to get close, really close. To see more, to include more. It makes you ask different questions. How do you create twenty compelling images for a sequence? How do you use this perspective to tell a story?
Limitations have always pushed me into action. Now add a fixed 10mm perspective, manual focus, a constant f/8 aperture, and the dark Norwegian winter days. One Sunday, I took it for a walk along the Akerselva, photographing the markets and anything that caught my attention. It was one of those days when I returned to black and white, and the results surprised me in the best way.
After a few photowalks, your brain begins to adapt. You start to understand this point of view. You frame differently. You adjust your distance instinctively. You explore each scene more openly, more creatively.
This is not something I would recommend to everyone. It is an acquired taste, something you need to try more than once to appreciate. I was not ready for it years ago. Now, I value it as an exercise that pushes me to create images that feel different from my usual work.
The strangest thing happened when I switched back to a 35mm. It felt like a telephoto, as if I could suddenly photograph craters on the moon.
It is all about balance. Have fun, and never stop experimenting.
Check my Video If you want to learn More!
