A Dutch photographer has launched a book based on her Instagram picture gallery celebrating the beauty of women over 40.

Denise Boomkens, 46, began to collect images of all kinds of older women’s good looks after posting a portrait of her 69-year-old mother online in June 2018.

She has now created portraits of more than 100 women from various countries and backgrounds in the Instagram gallery And.Bloom. Earlier this week, her coffee table book AndBloom The Art of Aging Unapologetically was published.

Boomkens, who has more than 214,000 followers online, told DutchNews.nl: ‘Publishing a book is merely a cherry on top of the cake and motivation to all women to keep on blooming and live their lives fully. I am very grateful to my publisher for acknowledging the beauty of aging just like I do.’

The book includes images of 100-year-old Annie, in an apricot fake fur coat, looking according to The Times’ fashion director, ‘smoking’, 72-year-old Linda in an elegant shirt and artfully battered jeans and 70-year-old Steffie, blooming with vivacious energy.

In her website, Boomkens protests against things like peer pressure for all women to have ‘young-looking’ skin, and pictures examples of women of all ages looking in the prime of their lives.