Introducing Sundial: Don't Leave Home Without this Awesome App

Last month, while Susan and I were waiting for the Strawberry Moon to rise, Susan discovered a way-cool app that has become an essential accessory for all our outdoor shoots. It’s called Sundial and it’s packed with awesome features – including a link to my favorite (34) sunrise and sunset images, along with photo tips.

Sundial works on the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Take a look at how it can help you find the best light for your best photographs.

Sundial is focused on providing most requested solar and lunar data in innovative and flexible formats. At its core, Sundial provides a one-of-a-kind display of the sun and moon rise/set cycle over the 24-hour day. As the seasons change, the yellow “sun is out” arc informs you of the precious daylight hours: shrinking during winter months and expanding as summer approaches. The white inner arc represents when the moon is visible in the sky. Civil, nautical, and astronomical twilights are shown on the solar dial in shades of blue.

Sundial allows you to create alerts (notifications) on your iPhone and iPad for 24 solar/lunar events including sunset, dusk, moonrise, and full moon. Alerts are uber configurable, including offset from the event. Want a reminder the day before the full moon as a reminder to get out and take some moonlit photos? Piece of cake.

14 different home screen widgets are available, and most are configurable by long pressing the widget after you have added it to your home screen.

I don't have an Apple Watch, but the Sundial watch app's list of features is tempting. You add widgets to swipeable pages, and most widgets are tweakable like their iPhone/iPad big brothers. Hundreds of watch face complications are available for rise/set times, solar/lunar altitude/azimuth, moon phase, and more.

With the Sundial Today widget, new to Sundial v8, you can create your own custom dashboard on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.

Select three items to display in the upper right and what times to show on the bottom. In the example above, the Today widget was customized with:

• Sun altitude

• Sun azimuth

• Day/night % complete

• Time of dawn, solar noon, and dusk

And on Apple Watch, the moon phase graphic was placed inside the dials.

Sundial is a free download with some additional features requiring a one time in-app purchase to unlock.

A free three day trial is available for each extra. And Sundial is not a subscription app like many apps these days. Just a one-time purchase.

Sundial does not collect any user data and does not harvest your location in any way.

The developer, Mike Muegel, is an avid shutterbug who likes to document his travels with his wife Bernadette through photography.

Sundial can be downloaded from the App Store.

Personal Coaching – for your photography and/or your photography business

Need some advice for making better pictures – in the field and in Photoshop? How about getting some tips on how to grow your business? Have a book, podcast or online class idea? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

With 42 books under my belt (and #43, How to Make Money While You are Sleeping on the way), combined with my experience of recording 30 online classes and leading photo workshops around the world, I can offer suggestions on what you are doing right, and how you can improve what you are doing.

Cost for a one-hour Personal Coaching session via Skype is $150, paid via Paypal.

Shoot me an email if you’d like to set up a session.

Click here to learn more about what I do.

Stay safe,
Rick

Master Backyard Bird Photography - And Beyond

Hey All - Backyard bird photography and beyond (nearby lakes, ponds and wildlife centers) is a ton of fun and very rewarding. It can also be frustrating.

I help you reduce your frustration - so you can get great images – with my latest KelbyOne class, Backyard Bird Photography and Beyond.

Have fun,
Rick

Introducing My Latest On-Line Video Class: Sammonisms – Speed-Learning Advice for Making Awesome Photographs

It’s here! My all-time favorite photo tips in one on-line video class: Sammonisms – Speed Learning Advice for Making Awesome Photographs. It’s my latest, and 20th, KelbyOne class. Click here to learn.

This class features my 52 “Sammonisms” illustrated with some of my favorite photographs from my travels around the world and throughout the United States. You can watch the class on your home computer or mobile device. I’ve also included a PDF that you can download for quick reference when photographing in the field.

Sammonisms are short sayings that, like quotes, convey a photographic idea quickly and easily. Basically, my Sammonisms are quotes and photo adages that I have adopted and modified to share with my photo workshop and seminar participants – with the goal of helping them make better images. Now I am happy to share them with you!
    

It will take you less than an hour to watch the class, but the lessons will last a lifetime.

My Sammonisms work for digital SLR, mirrorless and even Smartphone photographers.


What’s more, this class is like a mini-travelogue, taking the reader to Antarctica, Mongolia, Italy, France, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Papua New Guinea, Iceland and Alaska – as well as locations throughout the United States, including New Mexico, Arizona, Death Valley, Mt. Rainier and the Slot Canyons.

I actually did not come up with the term, Sammonisms. Two of my workshop participants, Mike Ince and Laurie Apfel, wrote down my tips from a workshop and presented them to me at the end of the workshop. Thanks Mike and Laurie!

As I always say, I hope you learn a lot and I hope you have a lot of fun with this class!

All my KelbyOne classes are listed here.

Stay safe,
Rick