A Free Tool to Improve Your Landscape Photography
Photographers have long known that landscapes look more appealing when illuminated by the rays of a rising or setting sun. The visual warmth provided by the golden hour sunlight adds charm and beauty to most photos. Unfortunately, the sun isn’t always where we’d like it to be for a photo.
Such was the case earlier this summer for me during my visit to Erie Canal Lock E-23, which I wrote about (here). Lock E-23 is only one of three locks in the state still generating power using their original powerhouses. I had envisioned a shot of Lock E-23’s powerhouse illuminated by the setting sun to accentuate it, but it wasn’t possible during that visit for two reasons. First, tall trees line both sides of the canal, and second, the canal runs in a northeasterly direction. The trees on the southern side of the canal block the setting sun’s rays from ever hitting the powerhouse.
I thought it might be possible to get my shot if the sun were to set in a direction parallel to the canal. Would that ever occur though, and if so, when? Well, I found an answer to both questions by using The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) software, developed by Stephen Trainor.
What does TPE do? In TPE site’s own words:
“The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) is a tool to help with the planning of all types of outdoor photography, but particularly landscape and urban scenes.
“It is a map-centric sun and moon calculator: see how the light will fall on the land.
“TPE’s map-based approach means you are not limited to a predefined list of locations, which often don’t include the places many photographers go. Instead, search for any place name on the planet or position the map pin exactly where you want it.
“Advanced features including automatic time zone and elevation detection, correction for atmospheric refraction and height above the horizon, ensuring that you have the best possible information for planning your shoot.
“You can even determine when the sun or moon will be visible behind nearby hills and mountains.”
TPE provided me with the information that I needed to take the photo at the beginning of this post. By using this software, I was able to determine the days during which the setting sun would align with the canal (see screenshot below). The only thing left for me to do was to find a day when it wasn’t raining (it rains a lot here) and I would be home during sunset. That day turned out to be November 7th. It was a cool evening, and as you can tell by the surface of the water, very calm. I’m pleased with the resulting photo, considering the natural restrictions. I never would have easily gotten this shot without TPE.
You can learn more about The Photographer’s Ephemeris by either visiting their site (here), viewing the training videos below, or reading a more detailed write-up on appstorm.net’s Plan Landscape Photography with TPE page.
It’s a wonderful piece of software that I’ve added to my photography toolkit.
The Photographer’s Ephemeris, Part 1 (5:40 min.)
The Photographer’s Ephemeris, Part 2 (8:07 min.)
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Reader Comments (3)
Awesome bit of kit - must have it!
Also a mobile version for iPhone - very useful indeed!
THAT is a useful tool!