I’m a traditional landscape photographer and for the most part spend my time out wandering the wilds of Dartmoor in Devon. When I photograph, I try to convey the sense of calm, peace and openness that the Moors bring. I generally use a very wide angled lens to help me with this and my images show the wide expanse of the landscape that I photograph in.  I use my Canon M5 which I’ve paired up with the three lovely SIGMA DC DN lenses in the EF-M mount; the SIGMA 16mm F1.4, SIGMA 30mm F1.4 and SIGMA 56mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary lenses.

My wide-open landscape style usually means that my go to lens is the wide angle. The SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary is super sharp with no drop off/softening in the corners of the frame which was great to see, and it very quickly became the lens that I picked up first to shoot my landscapes with and rely on when out on the Moors and alike.

Another destination that I particularly like to visit is Ingra Tor, which is one of the many Tors on Dartmoor.  It is quiet,  unusual, with lovely views and on this occasion the SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary caught the evening sunlight just beautifully.

The SIGMA 30mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary was equally impressive, however I found this particular lens to be the more playful one of the lot. It’s a very versatile lens that you can use in so many situations but for me I found it a joy to use on the beach.  I loved also playing with slower shutter speeds with the lens while on a visit to the beach at Beesands when there were a few of beautiful sunshine.  I spent a long time with this lens concentrating on the smaller details and using it for wave motion, which was really enjoyable. It certainly brought out my more experimental side.

The SIGMA 56mm DC DN | Contemporary is great for capturing more intimate landscapes. When it came to wanting to focus in on tree details whilst out on the Moors, it enabled me to gather a great deal of detail in the image whilst keeping the image beautifully sharp.  I used the SIGMA 56mm DC DN | Contemporary to create this image of the trees down at Venford on Dartmoor.

I was really enjoying the freedom of taking these versatile and transportable lenses with me on my adventures and exploring the Moors. So, as you can imagine, the current lockdown due to the Corona virus impacted my creative adventures and put a halt to it.  It’s taken away that freedom to roam with my camera and I can no longer access the one place I love to photograph. I was challenged to find new ways of photographing that still gives me that artistic freedom and sense of release that my landscape photography does.

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To see more images produced by Phil, visit on of the following links:

Website:  www.philstarkeyphotography.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhilStarkeyPhotography

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philstarkeyphotography/ 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DartmoorShots