Tuesday, October 5, 2010

LightTrac: Photography iPhone App

 If you're an outdoor/nature photographer knowing where the sun will rise and set at a particular location is very important.  This iPhone application allows photographers to scout out a location any where in the world prior to a shoot. You can determine the angle of the sun at anytime on a given day and schedule your arrival and setup time accordingly. The sun's azimuth and elevation changes throughout the year depending on which hemisphere you are located, so this is useful even if you think you know your favorite spots well.
 The application interface allows you to pull up any location with either a map or satellite view from Google maps. Three lines on the map represent the angle of the sun at sunrise, sunset and the current displayed time. The time of day can be changed with a slider at the bottom of the screen so you can preview what the angle of the sun will be at any time of the day. You can also track the location and phases of the moon if you're interested.
 This application is available via iTunes and I think you'll find it very useful and well worth the minimal cost.