The Isle of Skye is always one of the photography highlights when it comes to visiting Scotland or the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, there are still too many photographers coming to the island unprepared and leaving empty handed with nothing more than a few blurry photos and a heavy cold. Join me on my blog at www.borsphoto.com and follow my latest tips on how to get the most out of your next trip to this Highland gem.
In today's episode of my Skye Photography Guide, we are going to look at five of the must-have photography apps that will make your life much more comfortable not only on Skye but all over Scotland.
Golden Hour (Sunlight Tracker)
Golden Hour app is a comfortable and convenient tool for calculating time and duration of sunrise, sunset and other sunlight phases at any location.
The Isle of Skye is a large Island, and some of the favourite locations are far apart. The hunt for ideal light can be only successful with a fair bit of planning. This app will help you to plan your trip around the sunrise/golden hour/sunset and blue hour times. It even has a map built in with a sun position based on the time of the day. One of my favourite features is the fact that once you add your location, it works offline without internet connection. This can be quiet important here on Skye as the internet can still be weak.
Jakub's favourite features:
- Work offline without internet connection - Track all your favourite locations - Set up notifications for upcoming sunrises, sunsets or golden hours
Available: Android (Google Play)
Price: Free
Developer: Simplaapliko
Snapseed (Photo Editing)
When it comes to editing photos on my mobile phone, I use multiple applications, but if I would have to choose one, my mind will always go to Snapseed. This application compatible with Android and Apple phones is a complete and professional photo editor developed by Google with all the features you'll ever need to create impact with your photos.
Jakub's favourite features:
- Save your personal looks and apply them to new photos later - Selective filter brush (Create effect and use it only where you want to)
- Opens JPG and RAW files
Available: Android (Google Play) & Apple (Apple Store)
Price: Free
Developer: Google
My Tide Times (Tide Tables)
Tidal islands and caves are not the only reasons to keep this app installed for your next visit on the island. Why not plan ahead and look for the perfect sea level next time you visit places like Portree harbour or Loch Snizort and play around with reflection and slow exposure.
My Tide Times is the only tide tables application you'll ever need, but remember that you are going to need a little bit of internet connection every time you need to add a new location.
Jakub's favourite features:
- It has a 7-day tidal forecast for all locations.
- When information has been downloaded, it is stored on the phone, so you can view it without an internet connection!
- Find the nearest places to you when the app opens.
Available: Android (Google Play) & Apple (Apple Store)
Price: Free
Developer: jRustonApps
Aurora Pro (Norther Light Tracker)
I've tried many Aurora notification apps, and this one is the only one genuinely working on the Isle of Skye. Get the pro version and set notifications for your next Aurora hunt. The app will notify you approximately 20 minutes before the next appearance of the Northern Lights at your current location. I've managed to photograph the northern lights several times thanks to this app, and it even helps me to stay on alert with their detailed aurora forecasts built in the app.
Jakub's favourite features:
- Quickly find the current KP index and how likely you are to see the Northern Lights (%).
- View a list of the best locations to view from right now.
- Forecasts for the next hour, several hours and several weeks so you can plan your Northern Lights viewing.
Available: Android (Google Play) & Apple (Apple Store)
Price: Free/Pro Version (£2+)
Developer: jRustonApps
Dark Sky (Weather Forecast)
We will finish the list with my favourite weather application - the Dark Sky. Initially, I wasn't sure if I should even mention this kind of app here as I am yet to find one that would be capable of forecasting the weather on the island accurately. The weather changes all the time here, and I would always use the weather information more as a guide, the Dark Sky works very well even on this ever-changing Scottish island.
The Dark Sky is my favourite weather application, and you will be happy to know that it works all over the world with excellent accuracy. When you go back to the mainland, you can use their up-to-the-minute forecasts with information about when the rain will start or stop, right where you're standing.
Jakub's favourite features:
- Up-to-the-minute forecasts tell you exactly when the rain will start or stop.
- Setup your alerts and get the latest rain notifications, severe weather alerts, and custom alerts.
- The timely persistent notification displays the current temperature in your phone’s status bar.
Available: Android (Google Play) & Apple (Apple Store)
Price: Free/Pro Version (£2+)
Developer: darksky
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