Harwich photographer Stephanie Foster vividly remembers the first photograph she ever took, on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston on a gray day. “A group of women were sitting on a bench talking. They wore dark coats and most had kerchiefs tied under their chins and bulky pocketbooks on their laps. Their hands looked swollen with use and their cheeks ruddy in the cool air. The word ‘charwomen’ came to mind. I asked if I could take their photograph. One woman left, saying she was told to never have her picture taken by a stranger. The rest stayed. It was the beginning of my love of photography.”

Foster, who has had two solo shows at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis and exhibits her work exclusively at Addison Art Gallery in Orleans, had an earlier career on the other side of the camera, as a model. “My early photography work revolved around fashion. Having modeled, I had a good sense of mood and composition,” she says. “Then I moved to Cape Cod and fell in love with the open spaces, huge skies, shifting waters and magical light. I never tire of it because every day is unique. And a challenge.”

A master gardener, Foster is an avid grower of flowers, which she sells at the Orleans Farmers’ Market spring through fall. Her flowers, of course, make irresistible subjects for her photography, but she loves landscapes and seascapes as well. Her book, “Farms of Cape Cod,” captures the beauty and life of the Cape’s agriculture world.

Photography, she observes, attracts many people. “Anyone wants to live their life in beauty. Photography is my way of sharing it,” she says. “I remember my first photograph, but I haven’t taken my last.”

Here Foster shares the stories behind some her captivating photos.