The Photographer's Ephemeris

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David
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Does anyone use this? If so what for? I know that June in the UK is not such a great time to start as sunrise is so early, but I want to use it this summer when I go on holiday.
 
This is a brilliant piece of software - very accurate (well at all the locations I've tried in and around London) means you can plan ahead for a particular shot rather than just turning up and hoping- doesn't guarantee the weather unfortunately
 
This is a brilliant piece of software - very accurate (well at all the locations I've tried in and around London) means you can plan ahead for a particular shot rather than just turning up and hoping- doesn't guarantee the weather unfortunately
:agree:

Great planning tool, always remember the 6P's:D

GC
 


So this image was taken on 5th Nov last year, this was the Ephemeris prediction, the fat yellow line is the sunrise position and the thinner yellow line a bit later on, just as in my picture.

As I said the software is incredibly accurate moving up onto London Bridge would have given a very different view

upload_2018-6-12_22-15-56.png
 

This was another shot (sunrise from Primrose Hill) that the Ephemeris predicted
 
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It’s a fantastic tool that I’ve been using for a few years - invaluable for planning holidays where you might get one chance for the right shot.
 
Its a great tool. I just don't have the time for landscape photography, but have used it several times during wedding to plan where I may go for a sunset shot in the evening and at what time to prepare for.

Also recently used it for a non-photography related issue to determine the cause of failure of a piece of glass and is in the process of (hopefully) settling quite a pricey claim.
 
So if it was a toss of a coin between TPE and photopills, which would you recommend?

Tia

I usually use photopills as I find it a bit more intuitive. They also have some very good videos that explain how to use the app.

I will use TPE if I want to send the data to their 3D app so that I can see how the light will fall on a landscape.
 
Sunrise over Eton Dorney rowing lake. This photo is only possible on two days per year, and I used TPE to work out which two.
FB_IMG_1528882436169.jpegFB_IMG_1528882561938.jpeg
 
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http://suncalc.net is great when you're on a desktop; it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of TPE or some of the equivalent apps but it's great for a quick check.
 
http://suncalc.net is great when you're on a desktop; it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of TPE or some of the equivalent apps but it's great for a quick check.

This, certainly the Android app is free as well but you don't get stuff like 3D view etc. For planning that "2 day per year" shot above though it would be useful. I've used it a lot for that sort of thing.

Equally useful is mooncalc.org - in fact possibly even more so, as the moon isn't in the same place in the sky at the same time on any two given days.
 
I wish I knew of this app ages ago - I spent a year monitoring the moon rises and planning for the blood moon to be next to the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

Photo turned out as I planned but this would have made it very very easy to plan in advance! lol
 
It's no where near as good as it used to be they sold out to the mobile phone brigade and altered the interface. As a result it is a lot more difficult to use on a computer.
 
PLanit for photographers is another useful app. TPE is an essential on my devices.
 
Very useful app.
I'm off to Ireland tonight to photograph the Skerries 100 road racing this weekend. Skerries is one of the few road circuits I have not been to. As part of my planning I've used TPE to work out where the sun will be, and when , to help decide where to photograph the bikes. Particularly useful, bearing in mind the forecast is predicting bright sunny days (again)
 
Another vote for TPE. A very useful bit of software. It was good years back when it showed only the direction and time of the rising and setting sun(and moon) but even better now with the indication of the direction and height of the sun at any time of the day.

While it is probably most used for sunrise and sunset it can be used for whatever you want when you want/need to know how the sunlight will illuminate your shot.


Dave
 
I must admit, although I have it on my phone, I've not taken advantage of it's full potential. I must start planning ahead!
 
Following with interest. Looked at it yesterday (for the iPad) an wondered if it was worth the £8.99 which seems a bit steep for an app. Might invest now ..... :)
 
Cheaper than monthly subscriptions which most paid for app seem to be moving over to now.
 
Seems to be most aimed at Apple products with Android a reasonably close second. Windows platforms are only catered for as a web based platform so only really of use when you're in range of WiFi, although it can be used for planning shots then.
 
Seems to be most aimed at Apple products with Android a reasonably close second. Windows platforms are only catered for as a web based platform so only really of use when you're in range of WiFi, although it can be used for planning shots then.

Are any apps still being written to work with Windows Phone these days?
 
Don't seem to be but there are plenty of Windows tablets around.
 
This is obviously a very old thread but I think I should have an app to predict sunrise positions. TPE is not available for android at the moment as it needs updating and will take a while.

I know I can use the desktop version but I'd be more interested if I could use the 3D engine it has which apparently shows you how the light will fall on a location.

I've got £14 credit earned from google opinion rewards so should I just buy Photopills for £9.99 and does it also have 3D mapping to show how the light falls on a location? Is it relatively easy to use or is TPE easier?



So this image was taken on 5th Nov last year, this was the Ephemeris prediction, the fat yellow line is the sunrise position and the thinner yellow line a bit later on, just as in my picture.

As I said the software is incredibly accurate moving up onto London Bridge would have given a very different view

View attachment 128522

So in that screenshot with the fat and thin yellow lines coming from the right side towards the red pin, would it mean that the position to go to set up the camera would be opposite those lines, i.e, on the other side of the pin on the dark line sort of under where it says 'Monument' and presumably you'd then be facing into the sun? On either TPE or Photopills, can you keep zooming in until you can see the exact
building or structure to stick a pin on that you want the sun to rise in front of?
 
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This is obviously a very old thread but I think I should have an app to predict sunrise positions. TPE is not available for android at the moment as it needs updating and will take a while.

I know I can use the desktop version but I'd be more interested if I could use the 3D engine it has which apparently shows you how the light will fall on a location.

I've got £14 credit earned from google opinion rewards so should I just buy Photopills for £9.99 and does it also have 3D mapping to show how the light falls on a location? Is it relatively easy to use or is TPE easier?



So in that screenshot with the fat and thin yellow lines coming from the right side towards the red pin, would it mean that the position to go to set up the camera would be opposite those lines, i.e, on the other side of the pin on the dark line sort of under where it says 'Monument' and presumably you'd then be facing into the sun? On either TPE or Photopills, can you keep zooming in until you can see the exact
building or structure to stick a pin on that you want the sun to rise in front of?
I use photopills. There's plenty of guides on YouTube for it.
Here's my plan for the tower Bridge sunrise in photopills

Screenshot_2021-08-19-07-30-33-857_com.photopills.android.photopills.jpg

I also like photopills because it has some really useful features to use on the field. I also use for planning my night astro shots. All in all very good.

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I think this person has decent tutorials for photopills

I have only watched one or two videos of her's. I liked those... I haven't actually watched the entire series. you might benefit from doing so if you buy the app.
I have used the web version version of TPE and the ideology is transferable between the two.
 
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I use photopills. There's plenty of guides on YouTube for it.
Here's my plan for the tower Bridge sunrise in photopills

View attachment 327587

I also like photopills because it has some really useful features to use on the field. I also use for planning my night astro shots. All in all very good.

Yeah, I've decided I'm going to buy photopills, and as you say, it has many other features. In your screenshot, I presume the red pin is where you're standing and the black pin represents where the sun will be over tower bridge. Did you have to plan elevation too? Also I'm sure this is a silly question, but can you select sunrise or sunset, or you just plan where you want the sun to be and it'll just tell you what time of day that'll happen?
 
I still have tpe on my phone - photopills looks better to be honest.

I've had a look at a couple of photopills tutorials on YouTube and yes it looks good. The 3D mapping that TPE has may not be that important to me now.
 
I still have tpe on my phone - photopills looks better to be honest.
they seem to have a similar set of features for the most part. photopills has few bits and bobs that's helpful but nothing ground breaking per say.
TPE is just not available for android.
 
Yeah, I've decided I'm going to buy photopills, and as you say, it has many other features. In your screenshot, I presume the red pin is where you're standing and the black pin represents where the sun will be over tower bridge. Did you have to plan elevation too? Also I'm sure this is a silly question, but can you select sunrise or sunset, or you just plan where you want the sun to be and it'll just tell you what time of day that'll happen?
Red pin is where I plan to stand, black pin is the subject i.e. tower bridge. The yellow line is the direction of the sunrise and its thickness tells you how large it will be in the frame which is pretty accurate if you look at the example shot posted above by David.

Yes planned for elevation too... in my plan above the sun is below but it will eventually rise :LOL:
I planned to get there just before the sunrise so I have time to setup and take a shot.

The orange line on the left is the sunset.

I really suggest you watch the YouTube vids from the channel I linked above

I think this person has decent tutorials for photopills
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeQoIyOxQjBik8IWUR4rTGQ
 
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