This picture was taken in the picturesque Eastern seaside town of Aldeburgh, UK (England). This stone and pebble beach has a number of boats longing to go to sea, but alas they are home to the bits and pieces. Aldeburgh was one of the small towns my family lived in while my dad served in the Air Force during the 1980s.

Post Processing included “painting to blend colors and textures and adjusting the contrast and colors to make them pop with the seaside surroundings.

Taken with: Nikon D3000

Taken at the North Carolina Arboretum while taking my camera for a hike. Amidst a huge display of hydrangea, these stood out in a dusty blue. They’ve been altered here to punch out the detail in the petals.

What I love about this one is: Something so delicate can be so bold.

Post-processing included: “Painting” out the surrounding foliage to focus on these two flowers and adjusting the black point and contrast to tease out the details in the petals.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

This was my very first attempt in experimenting with what I’m calling “Painted Photography”. I was a purist before I pulled up this picture to see if I could make “light” shine on the center of the flower making it glow. This was my first sacrificial offering to the Great Creator to sacrifice my ego and let the identity in Him breathe out.

What I love about this one: I became an artist with this piece.

Post-processing included: Quite a bit of painting to get things just right. The orientation of the original photo is actually landscape and I turned this portrait and discovered it looks like a flower glowing in the hand that created it. It just worked. I teased out the sunshine that was lighting the subject with luminance.

Taken with a Nikon D3000.

This image was captured while floating along a canal on a rental narrowboat, in Wales, UK. The colors and overall storybook feel of this boat caught my eye.

Post-processing: I painted and blended quite a bit of the exterior of the boat to make it look like smeared paint rather than the chipping layers of flaking paint.

What I love about this one: The hobbit feel it has. Not too fancy, but not abandoned. A comfortable home on the canal.

Taken with: Nikon D3000

Taken in the picturesque Eastern seaside town of Aldeburgh, UK (England) which is peppered with all kinds of eclectic buildings - from modern homes, to seaside shacks.

What I love about this one: Aldeburgh was one of the small towns my family lived in while my dad served in the Air Force during the 1980s.

Post Processing included “painted” to blur out a parking lot and other materials. Blended colors and adjusting the contrast and colors to make them pop.

Taken with: Nikon D3000

Focusing on this beauty was not difficult, it stood alone as the first to bloom before it’s neighbors.

What I love about this one is: The background is just as solid as the foreground.

Post-processing included: Painting out the background to still be visible as you might be seeing it through a glass. Keeping the focus on the flower, teasing out the details in the petals.

Taken on a Nikon D3000

Taken along the canals of Wales while on a narrowboat adventure with family, I was able to catch some sun glowing down on a cottage in the distance.

What I love about this one: I can smell the rain when I see it and know that there is warmth and comfort after a storm.

Post Processing included making the cottage glow using some brilliance, luminance and black point, putting a cast over the whole image to make it warm.

Taken with: Nikon D3000

Another take on the light blue hydrangea at the NC Arboretum summer Bloom with a View show.

What I love about this one: I like the almost underwater or a “from the deep” look it was taking on as I wanted to highlight the dark veins running through the petals.

Post-processing included: A big swing in contrast and highlighting the greens to make them pretty neon. A lot of black-point adjustments as well.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

Sometimes you have to take a lot of pictures of a lot of toads before finding prince charming, but this one was perfectly placed to enjoy his palace among the lilypads.

What I love about this one: Once I started to paint this one it was really taking on an enchanted pond vibe which was reminding me of a scene from a book I loved as a little girl.

Post-processing included: “Painting” in such a way that you could still see the lilypads and know they were lilypads without making them too abstract was a challenge.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

This sweet flower stood out amount gorgeous green leaves. There are so many petals it’s almost like old papers stuffed together or like a flakey pie crust.

What I love the most about this one: The ant that is hanging out inside.

Post-processing included: Painting out the background to look like water, which I achieved by playing with the light that was in the original photo.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

Taken in Chattanooga, TN at Niedlov’s Cafe and Bakery, this mural draws you into their outdoor seating and garden.

What I love about this one: It reminded me of our hometown, Asheville and the expression on the old man’s face is one of hope and joy.

Post-processing included: Painting to highlight the mural and adjusting the black point to get some more defined details.

Taken with a Nikon D3000.

This bloom had such fun colors and cheer that it almost seemed like I shouldn’t touch it and choose another photo to “paint”, but sometimes when color is exaggerated it makes a dramatic statement.

What I love about this one: How something so natural can become artificial.

Post-processing included: Blurring and painting around the focal point and then boldly adjusting contrast, black point, and having a lot of fun with the color hues.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

Taken at the NC Arboretum at just the right time for the perfect bloom was a treat! There were several people around doing the same as I was, trying to capture this beauty with the perfect light and minimal water disturbance from the coy fish below.

What I love about this one: How everything above the surface of the water ended up looking like a pencil drawing with some watercolor work below or on the surface kept it’s reflection really well.

Post-processing included: “Painting” in such a way that you could still see the lilypads and know they were lilypads without making them too abstract was a challenge.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

Tulips, tulips everywhere during the flower show at the NC Arboretum. This one is partially open with lots of buds surrounding it.

What I love about this one: Its vibrant color - I couldn’t resist capturing it.

Post-processing included: This one was a difficult one to get right, and it had me very frustrated. The blending of the colors and making the background more abstract proved difficult without changing or touching the focal point flower itself. In the end, it left me tainted.

Taken on Nikon D3000

I like to notice flowers in every stage and on the day that this was taken it was a rare sight in the Bloom with a View flower show to see something not yet showing itself.

What I love about this one: Green green green with slightly rich red.

Post-processing included: Very, very little adjustment to color just painting the background and leaving it. Sometimes less is more.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

The display of these Mock Oranges at the NC Arboretum was overwhelming and beautiful. Growing up and through and around a trellised seat it was magical to experience. It was like a treasure hunt to find where the sunlight was seeping through and how it was being caught in the blooms.

What I love most about this one: How fortunate I was to get to see them on display knowing it probably was the only day it looked so glorious.

Post-processing included: Teasing out the light as much as I could to really make focus on the glistening petals.

Taken with a Nikon D3000

These were as big as my fists and they were punching through the green foliage, but still hiding in plain sight.

What I love the most about this one: How much it looks all painted but it’s not.

Post-processing included: Really leaning into the “painting” of the background yet keeping the definition of the stems which provide structure in the chaos.

Taken with a Nikon D3000