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6 Sunrise and Sun Location Applications for Photographers
posted Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 21:20 (+0800), by Martin
To a landscape photographer, knowing the time of sunrise and sunset is very important, as well as knowing the location of the sun on the horizon (it varies throughout the seasons). For many other photographers, knowning the location of the sun in the sky at any particular moment can be important, as it will determine the sunlight direction and shadows.

There are numerous applications available that can help photographers with this information, and I have provided a list of some of them below.
While there are many applications that will provide the sunrise and sunset times, I have restricted this list to applications that can also show the sun direction and elevation.


The Photographer's Ephemeris (TPE)

Website: http://photoephemeris.com (for iPhone and iPad)
http://stephentrainor.com/tools (for Desktop)
Platform: Windows/Mac/Linux and iPhone
Cost: for Desktop: free
for iPhone and iPad: $9.49
Description:  This is map-centric sun and moon calculator, showing time and direction of sunrise and sunset, moonrise, moonset, phases of the mooon, as well as elevation above sea-level. It also allows you to see the direction of the sun and moon at any time during the day, all overlayed over Google Maps, and allows you to save multiple locations.
Images:  The Photographer's Ephemeris for Desktop
The Photographer's Ephemeris for Desktop


Sun-Seeker

Website: http://www.ozpda.com/ss_main.php
Platform: iPhone 3GS and iPad
Cost: $6.99
Description:  Sun-Seeker provides sunrise and sunset times, and flat compass view showing location of the sun at the current time, or any time you specify. However, the really cool feature it provides is an augmented reality 3D view, where it overlays the location of the sun over the video image from the iPhone's built-in camera.
Images: 
Sun Seeker - compass view
compass view
 Sun Seeker - 3D augmented reality view
3D augmented reality view


Motions of the Sun Simulator

Website: http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion3/animations/sunmotions.html
Platform: web (Flash application)
Cost: free
Description:  Not quite a software application, but this website provides a 3D model of the motion of the sun in the sky for any location and time of day, and allows animation through time at user-selectable speed.
Images:  Motions of the Sun Simulator
Motions of the Sun Simulator


Sunlight Tracker

Website: no longer available ?
Platform: iPhone
Cost: $1.99
Description:  Shows sunrise and sunset times, track sun's position, and shows angle and elevation of the sun at any time of the day, for any location, overlayed over Google Maps.
Images: 
Sunlight Tracker - sunrise/sunset times
sunrise/sunset times
 Sunlight Tracker - map view
map view


LightTrac

Website: iTunes
Platform: iPhone and iPad
Cost: $4.99
Description:  This is an app created specifically for the iPad, and combines the functionality of the Sunlight Tracker app (see above) and the Moon Rise and Phase app.
It shows sunrise and sunset times, sun direction and elevation, moon phase and position, all overlayed over Google Maps.
Images:  LightTrac
LightTrac


Stellarium

Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/stellarium/
Platform: Windows and Mac OSX
including Stellarium Portable for Windows
Cost: free
Description:  Not exactly intended to be a sun location utility for photographers, but Stellarium is a fully-featured application which renders the sun, stars, and the moon in 3D, allowing you to scroll around the sky, zoom in and out, and view the sky at any point in time.
Images:  Stellarium - showing the location of the sun at approx 9am
showing the location of the sun at approx 9am


What Do You Use?

Which of the above applications (if any) do you use? What do you like/dislike about them?
Are there any other applications out there that provide similar functionality that I've missed?
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Comments:
peej wrote at 2010-07-02 00:24

Oh man, this is just about what I was looking for. I had one further idea though. Imagine an app like these that also has a database of your scout pictures from the iphone. The idea is you go to a scouted location, take pictures with iphone (needs a compass, so I guess 3G or newer), it records your position and the direction you were looking. Then when you view the map and select an image location point it will overlay the direction the image was taken from.

Ideally, in my world you can also overlay weather radar with the scouted picture locations. The idea is that you can quickly pick out where good locations for shooting the lightning would be.

Matt Botwood wrote at 2010-07-14 09:32

What about Focalware. It's the best iPhone app I've used for this purpose so far.

Tom wrote at 2010-10-19 12:10

The links for Sunlight Tracker and LightTrac are DEAD. Please remove.

Martin wrote at 2011-07-19 22:37

I have updated the URL for LightTrac, but the URL for Sunlight Tracker still appears to be dead.

Ron wrote at 2011-11-01 15:42

Just in case anybody stumbles across this post... be sure to check out GoldenPic for Android and iPhone. This app shows your GPS Coordinates, Blue Hours, Golden Hours, Sun/Moon Rise and Set times, as well as moon phase, weather and much more!

cecvain wrote at 2012-04-02 03:00

For Android users, there are also the SunPath and MoonPath apps that use augmented reality. MoonPath is free.

Ahmet Dereci wrote at 2012-07-12 09:56

Thanks very much.

George C wrote at 2012-07-23 09:43

Check out the iPhone app Sol, it's a perfect solution for those of us who like to see things visualized. Also has a unique alarm system for Golden Hour,msunsets and more.

George C wrote at 2012-07-24 00:33

Also check out SunCalc. I wrote up a short blog post on SunCalc as well as on the Sol app I mentioned above.

Gabe H wrote at 2013-02-08 20:37

Sun Seeker is a great app. I've used it for about a year and it gives you an amazing advantage over where to be and when to be there to get a great shot

Jim wrote at 2013-02-17 12:21

Here is another one I like - http://www.suncalc.net/

Jim wrote at 2013-02-17 12:23

Here is the other one - http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/sunrise-sunset-calculator.htm

petter wrote at 2013-05-14 03:00

I was just informed that my app can be used for photography as well: Terdelle Sunshine Tracker.

Martin wrote at 2013-05-14 11:47

@petter: thanks for that. I have been meaning to revisit this post and update it, as there are a number of new apps that are worth mentioning since I first published this post about 3 years ago.

Jose Luis wrote at 2013-07-13 18:47

The best one, see augmented reality sun position in any where or time, with shadows obstacles localization:
https://itunes.apple.com/es/app/sun-chart/id666588698

Rich Powell wrote at 2013-09-27 12:46

Great list, thanks.
I have been asking druids and visiting ancient stone circles for the information. Good to know there are more convenient sources.

Ron wrote at 2014-01-21 07:30

Here's the link for the GoldenPic app (available for iPhone and Android).

http://goldenpic.jebsapps.com/app/

RJT wrote at 2014-10-01 05:02

Try Sunspot - if your after something fun and less techy. Sunrise and sunset times, position of sun and location of where it will rise and where it will set, on a clean, minimal user interface.

Also has notifications for Golden Hour.

Archerphoto wrote at 2014-10-27 19:47

Very useful. Skies are generally a good catch for viewers, so having the right tools is always welcome. Thanks!

hr wrote at 2014-11-11 10:42

On Android have a look at "Photoxor Calculations & GPS". It is a tool for exposure calculations, depth of field calculations, circle of confusion calculations, and also provides GPS tracking.

I first developed this tool set for myself, but it is now available for free on Google Play
http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.photoxor.fotoapp

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