Wide-angle close-ups

We usually associate close-up photos to medium telephoto lenses (85 to 105 mm range). This way the subject dominates the frame and is properly isolated from the background. But what happens when a medium wide-angle lens is used for a close-up (in addition to having to stand much closer to the subject)? The background gains importance, adding a context to the image. This may establish new paths of interest for the viewer. On the other hand, the main subject may suffer in terms of image quality, since these lenses are not optimized for such short focusing distances. But this may not be significant, considering the global impact of the image.

Here are a couple of simple examples, taken during a recent outing with a 25 mm lens:

Pentax K10D + Zeiss Distagon 25/2.8

PS: It is funny how sometimes different blogs post similar ideas at the same time. On the same day that this post was published, another one came out on Alunfoto, illustrating the use of wide-angle lenses for flower closeups. I must say, however, that Jostein's example is much nicer than mine... It is also a beautiful implementation of flash in daylight.