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Sri Lanka: The Epic and the Everyday
Dylan Dufault’s Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G2 zoom proved the perfect travel lens for a South Asian adventure.
Author: Jenn Gidman
Images: Dylan Dufault
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Dylan Dufault’s Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G2 zoom proved the perfect travel lens for a South Asian adventure.
For photographer Dylan Dufault, a trip to Sri Lanka was more than just a pit stop during a longer travel itinerary. After spending three months journeying through Europe, Dufault arrived on the island in December for a stay that blended family time (his mom is from Sri Lanka, and he has relatives there) with picture-taking. “I hadn’t been there since 2017, so it was great to relax a little and spend time with family, as well as explore the towns and countryside,” he says.
From the bustling streets of the capital city of Colombo, to the lush, mist-draped highlands of Ella, famous for its tea plantations, Dylan found no shortage of eye-catching subjects. Helping him capture these scenes was the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 zoom lens, which helped him to document everything from sweeping landscapes to wildlife to more intimate street scenes.
“This is my go-to lens when traveling,” Dylan says. “It offers the versatile range I need, takes crisp photos, and has that fast F2.8 aperture that lets me shoot even in challenging lighting conditions. I also think this is the ideal portable lens for backpackers who are on the road for months, like I often am. At just 4.6 inches long and coming in at 19 ounces, it’s compact and lightweight enough to take on extended trips like this, and you’ll barely feel it.”
Read on for how Dylan used the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G2 zoom lens for some of his favorite photos from this intriguing South Asian destination.
I always try to put my own unique perspective into every image I take. I captured this photo just outside the Mayurapathy Sri Bathrakali Hindu temple, near Colombo. You’re not allowed to photograph inside the temple, which is one of the most beautiful temples I’ve ever been in. Instead, I took this exterior shot, with the early morning sunlight reflecting off the walls, right as that woman reached up to touch the statue’s foot. It was incredibly hot that day, and the temple grounds felt ancient and sacred. I also loved those little flowers tucked into the recesses at the base of the statue that, from a distance, look like tiny candles.
This photo was taken near a waterfall not far from the town of Ella, where many tourists tend to stop. We were only there for about 20 minutes before heading to a tea estate that my uncle helped book, so things were happening pretty fast. I noticed this monkey moving through the area, and I knew I had to react quickly before it disappeared back into the trees. It was one of those moments where you don’t have time to overthink composition—just trust your instincts and go for it. What drew me in were the subtle details, especially the markings on the animal’s face—these small orange, almost freckle-like dots that you can see if you zoom in.
I took the first landscape image here while hiking along the Pekoe Trail, which features different stages, much like the Camino de Santiago trail I recently trekked in Europe. This leg of the Pekoe Trail was headed from Makulella toward Ella, which is Stage 15 of the trail. Leeches are prevalent in the area, and we’d stopped for a break so everyone could pry the leeches off of themselves. I didn’t happen to have any leeches on me, so I stepped back and took the opportunity to take this photo instead. The scene felt almost unreal, with layers of green rolling into the distance and that soft, misty light settling over everything.
The second image came the next day as we were driving toward the small coastal town of Bentota, right as we pulled over to take in the view. I framed the image to give it that elevated perspective and make it almost feel like a drone shot, showing just a handful of homes and other structures tucked into the hills and surrounded by dense greenery. You see that kind of scene a lot across Sri Lanka, with residences nestled quietly within vast, open landscapes. The 28-75mm F2.8 G2 lens helps me showcase how expansive and cinematic the hill country can feel.
I took this photo walking through the streets of Bentota very early in the morning, right across from the hotel I’d booked last minute, which had made everything kind of stressful. Once I stepped outside, however, everything slowed down. I noticed a man fixing umbrellas by the side of the road, with a woman waiting for hers to be repaired. In a place where the heat is constant and intense, umbrellas aren’t just for rain—they’re essential for shade. I lifted my camera and grabbed the shot quickly, and he glanced right at me, completely unfazed, like it was just another ordinary moment in his day.
You could almost feel the heat in the air, that heavy, slow-moving atmosphere where people are just trying to stay cool and get through the day. I tend to rely entirely on natural light, and in Sri Lanka the light can be quite harsh at times, especially in midday, but here it worked in a way that added to the mood. When I edit my images, I’ll often keep the tones raw and add a subtle film grain to give it a more timeless look. It’s a simple street scene, but to me, it says a lot about daily life there—those small, transactional moments that you don’t always see in typical travel photos.
To see more of Dylan Dufault’s work, check out his website and Instagram.
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