If there’s anything we love more than talking about the weather, it’s taking pictures of it. Be honest: how many of you took pictures of your car’s temperature reading during the most recent heat wave or the intense storm clouds that followed? Rain or shine, heat wave or tornado, any weather provides a great opportunity for a superb photo, and having the right app and technique can help make that even easier.
The explosion of smartphones has made it easier than ever to take a photo anytime, anywhere. They may not be the best DSLR cameras, but more likely than not, your smartphone is always by your side to take advantage of what it has to offer to capture your memories.
Even photos via iPhone (News - Alert) in a complete downpour or underwater are now possible with innovative cases like LifeProof. LifeProof is an iPhone case that is waterproof, dust-proof and shock-proof and has a sleek low profile that barely increases the size of your smartphone.
Here apps you might have missed that can further enhance your iPhonetography experience for any type of weather.
The Photographer’s Ephemeris:
This app is for the planners. The Photographer's Ephemeris was first launched in a desktop edition in beta form in 2009 and is designed to allow outdoor photography shoots to be planned to ensure the best light for your subject. The mobile app is a map-centric sun and moon calculator, allowing the photographer to see how the light will fall on the land for any location on the planet. If you’re really interested in landscapes, this app allows you to determine when the sun will rise from behind a mountain or the full moon descend behind a ridgeline.
This is a photo that was planned with TPE and featured in one of National Geographic’s Extreme Photos of the Week.
The Weather 2:
This app allows for custom pages and gives all sorts of weather information such as forecasts and radar, but one thing that might be handy for the iPhonographer is the Google (News - Alert) map image on the interface. If you’re planning to shoot photos on a sunny day but want a little more information than “Partly Cloudy,” this app gives you locations and cloud coverage information.
Camera Awesome:
There are plenty of photography apps out there that offer filters and post-production effects for iPhone photos. Camera Awesome, an iPhone app from online photo service SmugMug, offers features for actually taking the photo, such as composition, exposure and focus, in addition to features for editing. The app created the verb “awesomize”: To trick your friends into thinking you’re a famous photographer.
The iPhone comes equipped with HDR, or high dynamic range, that results in improved and realistic looking photos. With the iPhone’s built in camera, users usually have to choose between an overexposed (bright background) or underexposed (dark foreground) image. Pro HDR lets you capture an image exposed for the highlights and another exposed for the shadows, creating a perfectly balanced photo to capture exactly the image you see.
There are plenty more photography apps available for smartphones, including apps like QuadCamera and TiltShift Generator. Apps like Camera Awesome, Pro HDR, The Weather 2 and The Photographer’s Ephemeris are great to have handy to perfect your photo taking in any weather.
