Hawaii audiences entrenched in gorgeous flora might quickly see beyond the obvious in Esther Pullman’s panoramic greenhouse photography.

Certainly the flowers and seasons are different, perhaps the sky a less vibrant hue and the landscape unfamiliar. But it takes no more than a minute to get past the dazzling beauty and zone into the play of light and shadow, the interesting compositions and unlikely perspectives that Pullman captures with her lens. Therein lies the artistry of "Green|House|Divided," a collection of diptychs and triptychs showing at the Pegge Hopper Gallery through April 30.

"The use of multi-images permits me to find compositions both unusual and impossible to conceive of were I not able to compose my photographs in multiple parts," says Pullman, a retired graphic designer who approaches her photography with a painterly sensibility. "I think of how to structure the photographs both individually and collectively. I look through the viewer and move around, and I compose the whole thing at once.

"It’s fun. It’s a puzzle."

Pullman’s show comprises shots of greenhouses primarily in New England, but also in California and London. The artist has visited greenhouses across the U.S. and has trekked to Greek, French and Italian sites as well.

"I love the old ones with patinas of age and decay," she says. "But the images are evolving from greenhouses with plants to the abstract. The light drives everything else because these places are made for growing things. They’re places to capture light."

Hopper says she rarely exhibits work of non-Hawaii artists in her gallery, but she made an exception for Pullman’s pieces.

"What a great fit these are — Hawaii and flowers," Hopper says. "The diptychs and triptychs are impressive. They’re clean and lovely."

PULLMAN GRADUATED from Yale in 1966 with a degree in graphic design and worked in her field through the 1980s. But by that time she was restless and ready to work for herself. After pondering her interests, the artist realized she liked gardening and was "head over heels" for photography.

Pullman then directed her own education, taking courses at Maine Photography Workshop, Harvard University Extension School, the Art Institute of Boston and the Museum School at Boston Fine Arts. She even took extensive courses on Photoshop.

"It was quite a learning curve, but it was worth it," she says. "I’m proud of the work I’m able to do."

When Pullman visits a greenhouse, she takes about six to eight rolls of film, then makes contact sheets that she scans and copies. She cuts up the copies to make maquettes of her multipaneled pieces.

"I stick them in sleeves and put them in a book and think about them. Later, I take them out and show them to my dealers," she says.

Whatever is picked is turned into a digital file, from which she makes small proofs that get stored in a box.

"There are maybe 150 proofs in there," says Pullman. "When I’m working on a show, I go to the box and make selections with the gallery."

Pullman then turns to her computer to make refined corrections to the shots, sometimes making as many as 20 revisions before she’s ready to print the huge images to be hung on gallery walls.

"The computer gives a photographer more latitude. It’s gratifying to be doing work that fulfills my expectations of I want to produce," she says.

"Photography lets people see things through my eyes. It’s like pointing my finger at something for them to see."