In photography, the position of the sun is sometimes very important. A specific shadow can make or break a photo. And then there are the golden and blue hours. With the Solar Watch app you are always aware of the position of the sun. You can do all this with it.
More serious photographers and professionals often have to take all kinds of things into account during their ‘photo safaris’. One of those things is shade. Suppose as a real estate agent you have to photograph a property – just to name a few. Then of course it comes into its own if it is not just in a dark shadow, which quickly makes an object a lot more unattractive. Moreover, it seems as if you as a future resident may always be in the dark. ‘Because otherwise that photo would have been taken at a different time, right?’
Now you can roughly estimate in your own environment and perhaps even a large part of the city of which you are part of where things are in the limelight. That quickly changes when you end up in strange environments. Then comes the app Solar Watch great for iOS and iPadOS. For example, you can easily see when which side of an intended street is in the sun (or not if you just need shade). The shadow trap can also be traced with it.
Discover table
Start the app and you will see a table valid for your location. Fear not: the ‘dry’ table can be replaced by a map projection if desired. Let’s get back to that. First take a look at that table, because there are indeed interesting things in it!
First, you see the different types of twilight moments. Sunrise and sunset are definitely important. If you want to score a photo of it, then you are already armed with those times. Provided you ensure an unobstructed view to the east or west.
golden hour
Then there is the Golden hour, which you can take advantage of twice a day: in the morning after sunrise and in the evening before sunset. In the morning you can often shoot beautiful skyline photos in the somewhat ‘colder’ looking golden hour. Also perfect for street scenes in big cities and the like. The morning golden hour is also ideal for winter shots: snow, sleet, etc. have not yet melted due to rising temperatures.
The golden hour before sunset often produces more ‘warmed up’ pictures. Can also be used for the purposes just mentioned, but certainly also for warm-looking scenes on an equally warm summer day. Possibly less suitable for winter scenes, especially if the daytime temperature has reached values ​​above zero.
By the way, if you want to be able to enjoy any golden hour, a preferably cloudless sky is necessary. A thick gray cloud cover and there is nothing exciting to experience.
Blue hours
The blue hours are less dependent on a clear sky (although it often makes it just that little bit nicer). They start after sunset (or a little before sunrise). The bluish light of the sky then makes for much more lively evening photos. These are the moments when streetlights, neon signs, office and home lighting have already come on, but a dark blue haze is still visible in the sky. Civil twilight (and sometimes a bit of nautical twilight) are the hours to have in that case.
Finally, if you want the shortest possible shadow in your photos for whatever reason, you need the highest point the sun reaches. In the table you will find this as Meridian. Obviously, the precise moment is infinitely short, but in your photo you won’t notice much of a quarter of an hour before or after the meridian. In short: armed with this knowledge and the table from Solar Watch, you can already make quite a few decisions.
Map, satellite and 3D
For moon photographers, the button is Moon in the button bar at the bottom still interesting, you can find the position and phase of the moon with it. There is also a continuous monthly calendar and are available under the button Calendar special phenomena such as a supermoon or lunar eclipse (whether or not partially) indicated.
Now it’s time for the more interesting option that Solar Watch has to offer: a projection of the sun (and moon) on a map. Tap the map button and you will see your own location. You can search for a location using the search button. In the standard (and in our opinion most convenient) map view – just straight from above – you see the sun’s position (or tap the moon for a moon phase) in an arc. Swipe your finger over the graph below the map and you’ll see exactly where the sun is. And with that also which buildings are in the shade and which are not.
The satellite view is useful here, which gives a slightly more realistic picture. You can also see if there are any buildings in front of your desired object. Because the app uses Apple Maps, there are still relatively few cities in Europe that are drawn in 3D on the map. In the case of American cities, there is a lot to be found in 3D, which makes it even easier to find your photo position (and time).
Note that the shadows that are visible in the 3D map or satellite photo do not change when changing the time! That’s not possible either, because those photos are simply taken at a certain time and so there are probably ingrained shadows to be seen. So don’t let that distract you.
AR, look around you
A final nice touch is the AR button. If you press that, you will see a live image of where you are. With a ‘sunbow’ (or moonbow, if desired) projected onto it, perhaps ‘look around’ to find it. Here you can see exactly where the sun is at a certain time, projected in real-time on the environment. This is useful for interior photography, for example, so you know exactly when the sun shines in a beautiful way.
The moon photographers mentioned above can already set up their tripod and camera in a place where they have a clear view of our cheesy neighbor for as long as possible. All in all a really handy app to always have on your phone or tablet. Perhaps relatively pointless for hectic city trips where you depend on a program of activities, but ideal for when you can roam freely. Before you leave, plan the places you want to photograph in the best light for you and you will come home with photos that are just that little bit more attractive!
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