It is a great time to be a photographer. We have access to virtually all photographic techniques from large format film cameras, silver gelatin, and alternative process, to the latest digital platforms with amazing sensors. Additionally, we have access to tools and information that was unavailable, frankly unthinkable just a decade or two back. High-speed Internet and mobile phones bring a whole new set of resources to photographers and landscape photographers in particular.
Google Maps (free)
The single greatest value I get from my smartphone and apps comes in the planning phase of a photo shoot. If I am heading to a new location that I have not shot before, my first stop is to Google Maps. There is no better way to begin to get the lay of the land than by exploring a place in satellite view on Google Maps. Whether it is working outs directions and available parking or identifying potential subjects and areas to explore, poking around a place from a bird’s eye view helps me quickly get oriented. It also saves me time on location because I have already done my first level of scouting and exploring. Google Street View puts you virtually on the ground anywhere in the world.
Photographer's Ephemeris ($9.99 iOS and $2.99 Android)
My next stop is often to Photographer's Ephemeris. This app combines satellite imagery with an ephemeris. So what is an ephemeris, aside from being an awesome word for your next Scrabble or Words with Friends game. Wikipedia defines it this way.
In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position over time.
What that means for landscape photographers is you can know in advance where the sun and moon will rise and set anywhere on Earth at any point in time. This allows me to plan out shots well in advance and get a pretty good idea where I might want to position myself to make an image.
Here’s an example. I knew I would be driving through the Cascade Mountains in Washington while on a business trip. I identified Lake Wenatchee State Park on Google Maps and then using Photographer's Ephemeris I determined where and when the sun would set (see screen shot). With information I now had a loose sketch of a plan. Find a compelling foreground subject, facing west with the lake in the mid-ground and sun setting over the mountains in the background. The image below, Lake Wenatchee, the Fallen, is the image I created based on this plan.
Weather Apps
I don’t know if it is me or the weather apps available, but I find that I switch apps every year or two because I get frustrated with the user experience when they do a major update. At present, I have five weather related apps installed: Weather.com (free w/ ads), Weather Underground (free w/ ads), My Radar (free w/ ads), Clear Outside (free), and the app from a local TV station (free w/ ads). Like any outdoor activity, it pays to know weather forecast before you go out to shoot. In addition to the safety and comfort befits of be prepared for the weather you will encounter, there are also photographic benefits as well. A compelling landscape image must have some clouds in the sky, but not too many or in the wrong place. Learning to translate weather forecasts into photography forecasts will likely be a blog of its own one day. The simple answer is you want to know what the weather will likely do so you can plan your shooting accordingly. For example, high pressure and clear blue skies, tells you to skip the sunrise and sunset shots, you need clouds to catch the spectacular light. Another example is on a day that you will be socked in with gray skies and occasional drizzle makes for the perfect time to shoot long exposures of waterfalls and streams. The wet foliage and soft defuse light make for deep saturated colors and smooth water without blown out highlights.
One of my favorite weather conditions to shoot in is fog. It removes cluttered backgrounds to isolate subjects that you could not successfully shoot in good weather. Unfortunately, fog is one of the hardest weather types to forecast more than 6-12 hours out. The Clear Outside app now includes fog as well as low, medium, and high cloud layers in its forecast. The cloud forecast is useful for planning broad landscape shots, but the fog forecast can be critical if you have a specific subject in mind that requires that kind of isolation.
Additionally, the moments just before and after storms often present some of the best light and dramatic skies. Using your weather apps to monitor storms and to safely position yourself to be able to take advantage of the storm drama can be quite rewarding.
Trigger and Camera Control Apps
A number of years ago I discovered a small Kickstarter company called TriggerTrap. They had created an app that when connected to your camera via a dongle ($49 USD) that plugged into your phone’s headphone jack would allow you to control the shutter in a number of interesting modes including, long exposure, timelapse, hyperlapse, sound trigger, and remote trigger (requires two phones). I bought the dongle and installed the app which was free. It did all it was advertised to do. I used it to capture long, multi-minute exposures, it made creating star trails a breeze, and I even played around with using sound as a shutter trigger. Unfortunately, the company shutdown on January 31, 2017. Their software has since become open source. Since that time a number of other camera control apps and devices have it the market. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the MIOPS app is compatible with the TriggerTrap dongle. MIOPS also sells a similar dongle. Like TriggerTrap, the MIOPS app is free. They expect you to buy one of their controller gadgets or dongle ($49 USD). Regardless of which controller app and cable/device you choose, these tools open up new creative avenues to explore. I also found that if you have an old phone laying around that still works, but that you deactivated with your wireless carrier, you can still install and use apps on it via wifi and the trigger apps are a great use for the old phone. Get a handlebar mount for your phone and clip it to your tripod leg, run the cable to the port on your camera and now you have a touchscreen controller app conveniently placed. You can now go shoot astrophotography or setup a timelapse to create a video.
Nikon Manual Viewer 2
Calling Nikon Manual Viewer 2 one of my favorite apps is not quite accurate. The user experience leaves room for improvement. But it is on my list here because I can now carry with me manuals for every bit of Nikon kit I own. Why is this important to me, well for one, there are some features and configuration options I don’t use very often and given the often unintuitive Nikon menus, having a easily accessed searchable resource can be a life saver. I most often consult it to setup my camera and flash for remote trigger. I use my flash only a couple of times a year and getting the camera and flash talking to each other nearly always requires at least a quick scan of the manuals.
If you are an artist or professional photographer today it would be very hard to attract and retain customers without a presence on Instagram. Instagram is often the subject of heated debate among pros. It has turned everyone into “photographers” and like any social media platform can easily get you chasing ♥ “likes” to the detriment of your craft and business.
That said, it is also a necessary marketing tool. Art buyers will often ask me if I’m on Instagram and will review my posts to see if they want to stop by my booth. The grid view of your posts is effectively your portfolio. So be selective in what you post and assure the collection appears cohesive and represents your best work. You can use Instagram Stories to post content other than your finished portfolio images.