FotoŽynys: Live and Learn

TPE Top 10 Tips 1) Scout your location ahead of time At your desk… Use TPE for Desktop to plan your shoot ahead of time. Choose the best map mode for your subject: Map for cities, Satellite/Hybrid for details of particular buildings, Terrain for landscapes. 2) Look for starred dates TPE for Desktop shows an asterisk next to dates when a full or new moon will be low on the horizon near the time of sunrise or sunset: these are often the best days for images including the moon. 3) Pre-plan your shooting position Use the time of day slider in Details mode to check the angle of sun at the time of game kick-off, or when the bride and groom will emerge from the church. Ensure you have the optimal shooting position for the critical moment. 4) Find a starry, starry night Look for times after or before astronomical twilight and compare with the times of moonrise/set to find a truly dark time for astro-photography.

5) Double check the angle of view Use the secondary map pin (gray) to check the elevation angle from your shooting location to your chosen landmark. This can indicate what focal length lens you will need to accommodate the subject in the frame. 6) Don’t be kept in the dark Use the time of day slider and the secondary map pin in combination to check whether the sun will be hidden by a nearby hill or ridgeline. Scrub back and forth to see the track of the sun (or moon), choose your moment, but then double check by aligning the secondary map pin and comparing the angles. 7) Adjust your horizons Use the secondary pin to set the elevation at the horizon. TPE will tell you how far you can see on a clear day, plus it will fine tune rise and set times – this can be important for mountain photography. It’s easy for sunrise to occur 10 minutes earlier due to the height above the horizon – don’t miss the magic moment. 8) Find your favourite city-henge Use TPE to find the dates when sunset aligns with your favourite city street. Manhattanhenge is probably the best-known example, occurring twice a year in late May and mid-July. Be sure to fine tune the sun position using the details slider so that it’s just above the horizon where you can still shoot it, then check the optimal date for the alignment with your chosen city street.

9) Save your locations Build a list of your favourite places. TPE doesn’t limit you to a preset list of towns and cities. Once you’ve found your shooting location, you can save the exact spot for future reference. 10) Carry it with you You can’t always plan in advance. If you need to know all about the light when you’re on the road, TPE for iPhone has the same functionality as the desktop version.

Anatomy of a histogram — from left to right the histogram will tell you about the dark, mid & light content in your photo, and from top to bottom it will tell you how many pixels in your image are affected in that area