End frame: Vesturhorn by Esen Tunar

Phil Starkey

Phil Starkey is a self taught landscape photographer whose work is mostly concentrated around the Cornish coast and Dartmoor. Phil is at her happiest standing on a clifftop or Tor somewhere being battered by the wind and the rain.

philstarkeyphotography.co.uk

I’ve seen an awful lot of images of mountains and mountain ranges from various locations displayed online, they’re an impressive dramatic subject that demands your attention, but this particular shot of Esen’s is a firm favourite of mine and it continues to linger in my head, not because of the mountains so much, but because of the composition, the handling of the subject, and the feeling that the image gives to me as a whole.

I’ve been an admirer of Esen Tunar's work (read his featured photographer interview) for a long time, he has a certain calm surrounding his images that have a direct effect on my mood when I view them. They’re also the type of images that make me feel like there’s little or no separation between you as the viewer and what you’re looking at. He has the ability to capture an image that transports you right to that very place and make those places feel familiar to you, whether it be mountains like this, deserts, or even the farthest away of stars and galaxies that he’s photographed. I admire anyone who can do that with their photographs.

Esen’s image of Vesturhorn I first saw on social media several years ago now. As soon as I clapped eyes on it,  the image demanded my attention and whisked me off to Iceland, yet it’s a place that I’ve never actually personally visited. I felt like I was there, on the black sands, feeling the cold, being buffeted by the wind and seeing this all very much with my own eyes.