Robert Barley
April 2026 - Pear Blossoms
About the Image(s)
My ornamental pear tree is telling me it's springtime. It is covered with these white blossoms at the moment. I used my iPhone 14 on the normal photo mode and tapped on these flowers to get the shot. The resulting depth of field surprised me, to be honest. Cropped, tuned, and a vignette added, all with Snapseed. I also applied the number six Vintage preset to get a cooler tone.
11 comments posted
Outstanding editing Robert. You really did all the good editing. Personally I would make the border a little thinner. I think borders are good. I noticed I forget to make a border on my image. Posted: 04/03/2026 16:09:30
Thank you, Jerry. Snapseed does a good job of making my images look better.
Posted: 04/05/2026 16:39:17
Posted: 04/05/2026 16:39:17
The border does help greatly as the image would blend into the surround without it. The sharp images of the blossoms is lovely. Can you tell us more about the "tap" on the blossoms vs using portrait mode? Posted: 04/04/2026 15:13:29
Thank you.
I use an iPhone 14, so other models may be different.
When I want the phone's camera to focus and auto-adjust the exposure on the main subject, I tap on the screen where the main subject appears. A box appears around the place where I tap so I can see that the camera has noticed my tap. That caused the blossoms behind the main subject to be soft and darker. If you haven't tried tapping on the main subject, I can recommend trying it.
My experience with Portrait Mode has been that it does a very poor job of determining the edges of the main subject. I've tried it several times and have never been pleased with the result.
Posted: 04/05/2026 16:37:32
I use an iPhone 14, so other models may be different.
When I want the phone's camera to focus and auto-adjust the exposure on the main subject, I tap on the screen where the main subject appears. A box appears around the place where I tap so I can see that the camera has noticed my tap. That caused the blossoms behind the main subject to be soft and darker. If you haven't tried tapping on the main subject, I can recommend trying it.
My experience with Portrait Mode has been that it does a very poor job of determining the edges of the main subject. I've tried it several times and have never been pleased with the result.
Posted: 04/05/2026 16:37:32
thanks Robert Posted: 04/05/2026 17:01:45
I like this border. It complement the flower nicely. I don't how to fix this but the whites between the trees in back compete with the blossoms. The vignette does help some. Posted: 04/05/2026 16:48:20
Thank you. I completely agree about the bright background. I was shooting upward, and although the tree is dense, some sky still shows through the branches. I tried to minimize that, but it was nearly impossible to accomplish without impacting the blossoms, too.
I think the only solution would be to use Photoshop to isolate the background and push it down. I'm not as familiar with PS Mobile as I suppose I should be, so I didn't try that.
Posted: 04/06/2026 14:12:23
I think the only solution would be to use Photoshop to isolate the background and push it down. I'm not as familiar with PS Mobile as I suppose I should be, so I didn't try that.
Posted: 04/06/2026 14:12:23
The clump of blossoms that you have isolated are beautiful. They look nice and sharp. I feel like the busy background really competes with the main subject. I'm not sure how to deal with that unless you have the ability to mask the background and add a blur filter or darken it some more. Posted: 04/10/2026 23:56:56
Thank you. That tree was filled with blossoms despite our dry winter here.
I agree that the bright background spots are a distraction. As you point out, if I used something like Photoshop, I might have had a better result.
I had another thought, too. I might have held a black card behind the blossoms. I didn't think about that before the blossoms disappeared. Next year, maybe.
Posted: 04/12/2026 16:36:45
I agree that the bright background spots are a distraction. As you point out, if I used something like Photoshop, I might have had a better result.
I had another thought, too. I might have held a black card behind the blossoms. I didn't think about that before the blossoms disappeared. Next year, maybe.
Posted: 04/12/2026 16:36:45
Enjoy seeing the intricately attractive white pear blossom juxtaposed against the tree covered with blossoms. Spot on composition and capture. Do you get any pears that you can eat? Posted: 04/12/2026 14:08:36
Thank you.
It is just an ornamental pear tree, so it produces pea-sized "fruit" that aren't even interesting to birds. There are lots of them, so they make a bit of a mess in the fall when they come down with the leaves. It's a beautiful healthy tree.
Posted: 04/12/2026 16:42:44
It is just an ornamental pear tree, so it produces pea-sized "fruit" that aren't even interesting to birds. There are lots of them, so they make a bit of a mess in the fall when they come down with the leaves. It's a beautiful healthy tree.
Posted: 04/12/2026 16:42:44