Seeing the world in constant beauty

Originally from Buckinghamshire, landscape photographer Leah Hennessey first picked up a camera when she was 15, but it wasn’t until a number of years later that she was inspired to pursue her passion professionally.

Leah relocated to Lancaster in 2020 and as soon as she saw the scenery that surrounded her, there was no doubt about the direction she wanted to take her art.

“Moving up here to the northwest, I’m right on the edge of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. So, you know, absolute heaven for landscapes,” Leah enthuses.

“I love that photography gives you the ability to get out there into the great outdoors. The images are one thing, but the experiences you have when you’re making them, the new places you explore, and the excitement you get when the weather’s amazing, that’s maybe my favourite part.”

A case in point was when Leah found herself living a dream of hers, in Iceland photographing an erupting volcano.

“Being able to see that was absolutely mind blowing. And I remember thinking to myself: ‘photography has brought me here’.”

Ensuring you’re in the right place at the right time is a large part of creating a great image and, in landscape photography especially, getting to that perfect spot takes time, effort and a lot of patience. When the stakes are that high, you need equipment you can rely on.

For Leah, that’s Tamron. She has been using the lenses since she first began taking photography seriously and now has a 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD, a 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 and a 70-300mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD, which she pairs with her two Sony A7III cameras, one standard and one modified for astro photography.

She tells us that setup gives her everything she needs.

“I’ve always loved my Tamron lenses,” she says. The image quality that you get from them speaks for itself. They’re affordable, but they don’t skimp on quality, which is the key thing.

“My favourite has to be the 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2. It’s such a great all-rounder! I have the wide angle for general landscape photography and then for astro I can make the most of the constant f/2.8 aperture and go for a more zoomed in shot to get all the nice detail of the Milky Way,” she explains.

While it’s clear to see that Leah’s 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 lens is perfectly suited to shooting landscapes and astro, the capability of this optic doesn’t end there.

The fast and precise VXD linear motor autofocus communicates seamlessly with her Sony’s subject tracking to excel at capturing moving subjects.

“I used it on Skomer island a few weeks back, and it performed great. Not only was I able to get closer telephoto shots of the puffins, but also nice wide angle frames that included the landscape of the island in the background – it was fantastic”

Leah concludes by highlighting the lens’ durable, dust- and moisture-resistant build – a key feature for landscapers and one Leah has experienced the benefits of first hand.

“On my first trip to Iceland, I had the 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 on a tripod ready to shoot a beautiful beach scene, but in a split-second lapse of concentration, I knocked it over and it landed lens down in the black sand. I was terrified! I was convinced that was it. The lens gone. But I picked it up, brushed it down and it was absolutely fine.”

“I’ve still got that lens to this day. I still use it all the time and it’s perfect!” she smiles.

Learn more about the all the Tamron lenses featured in this article by visiting the Tamron website.