'Suddenly you have something amazing in front of you' - viewing Scarborough through Beverley’s lens
Golden dawns, crimson skies, burning clouds and seas that seem to have borrowed their colours from a painter’s palette - these are the Scarborough mornings that Beverley Senturk goes out early to capture.
For the much-loved photographer, there is a particular beauty about the seafront when it’s deserted and the first light is creeping across the North Sea, turning the horizon from grey to pink, then gold.
“I never really know what I’m going to find when I come out,” she laughs.
“That’s what makes it so exciting.
"The light can change in a matter of minutes and suddenly you have something amazing in front of you.”
It is this willingness to chase the light and capture its most spectacular effects that has helped make Beverley’s photographs so popular locally.
Her pictures of Scarborough have appeared on BBC and ITV regional television and frequently in this newspaper, while the sheer vibrancy of her work has attracted a substantial following online.
She photographs familiar places - the harbour, North Bay, Scarborough Castle and Freddie Gilroy - but manages to make them look fresh, exhilarating and magical.
“As a photographer, I try to have an eye for the moment when the familiar becomes extraordinary,” she said.
“You can walk past the same place a hundred times and then, suddenly, the light is different, the weather has changed or something catches your eye.
"That can make you see the whole place differently.”
Her interests extend well beyond the obvious seaside views. Wildlife photography is another passion, from seabirds to kingfishers, while her winter pictures of Scarborough Mere have attracted their own following.
When some time ago Thor the walrus became a Scarborough celebrity, Beverley was there with her long lens, taking care not to disturb him.
The resulting pictures captured not only the animal’s appearance but something of his personality.
Her photography also has a more personal side.
In 2021, Scarborough Hospital commissioned an exhibition of her work to brighten its main corridor after seeing how uplifting her local images could be.
“It was lovely to think that photographs taken simply because I enjoyed taking them could make somebody’s day a little brighter,” she said.
Beverley remains an enthusiastic amateur, despite the professional quality of much of her work.
She works as an administrative officer at Scarborough Hospital, returning to photography whenever time permits.
Her camera is set manually, giving her complete control over every image.
“I don’t want the camera making all the decisions for me,” she said.
“I want the photograph to look the way I saw the scene when I pressed the shutter.”
Her work is now sold locally on prints, canvases, cards and other photographic items, and her stall at craft fairs regularly attracts admirers.
She has also just received her latest batch of calendars from the printers - the 2027 Scarborough calendars she produces every year.
They feature magnificent photographs capturing the spirit of the town and are sold at local fairs, at Lilly’s Treasures Gift Boutique and directly through Beverley via her Facebook page.
Would she ever consider becoming a full-time professional photographer?
“Possibly,” she muses. “But I’d still want to photograph Scarborough and the Yorkshire coast in my own way.
"That’s what I love about it.”
And perhaps that is the secret of Beverley’s success.
She doesn’t simply photograph Scarborough.
She waits for it to reveal itself - in spectacular colour - and makes sure she is there when it does.