Weather prediction and photography

[Kayaker72]

So, weather often makes for better landscape photography. For example, I've seen references (and found to be true) you can often get the best shots either during or just after inclement weather. But, predicting weather, even the pros have a hard time.

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had any tips, references, or links they could share?

Most specifically, I've known about this website for awhile, but I have never subscribed but am considering it:

http://www.escaype.com/home/

Anyone have any experience with it? Is it worth it?

Thanks in advance...Brant

[HDNitehawk]

My pet peeve is writing a 10 minute response on the forum, clicking send and it goes to a screen that says I am not logged in. All the well thought out post is lost.

But, to sum up the lost post I say save your money Brant.

There is no information they are going to give you that you will not be able to get from the weather services.

You know when the golden hours are, and if you do not you now that the light is much better early morning and late evening close to sunrise and sunset. You also know that when it rains it clears the skys of haze and pollutants and it is easier to get clear pics. The clouds add texture and color to the sky.

Normally when I go on trips I take to many pictures at bad times. It all comes down to the best time to take a picture is when you are there and you have a camera. But during the eclipse and the trip to Yellowstone and Tetons this changed for me. This time I picked the spots based on weather and conditions. My goal was clear skys with an elevated spot that I could see for miles. We started on Friday deciding between Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. We made the final decision on a mountain by Howe Idaho at 5:00 monday morning at the intersection that would have taken us to the Tetons. We still had smoky haze on the moutains at Howe, but not as bad as the Tetons had been on Saturday. (We had a view from the top of 7000 foot peak that we were watching over the valley, had there been no haze our view would have been 30 miles or better) Then in Yellowstone we chased a few storms trying to get shots of a few different spots that I had in mind. Despite the rain, clearing skys at sunset and clouds the shot I wanted was not there this trip. The ingredients were there it didn't materialize. I didn't even bother setting up. There are weather and internet radar sites in about every part of the country. I really do not think you need to pay for the service.

[Kayaker72]

My pet peeve is writing a 10 minute response on the forum, clicking send and it goes to a screen that says I am not logged in. All the well thought out post is lost.


That has happened to me before as well. 30 min would be nice. Sean???


My pet peeve is writing a 10 minute response on the forum, clicking send and it goes to a screen that says I am not logged in. All the well thought out post is lost.

But, to sum up the lost post I say save your money Brant.


I just looked at the pricing tab. $50/month is nuts. I recall it being less the last time I looked, but that was also more of a service and not a website. Also, when I first looked into it, it seemed targeted at SF Bay area.

I was already PMing Bryan and also took the opportunity to ask him. He supplied this link, which is useful (% cloud cover, ceiling height, etc):

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.3587&lon=-71.0567&unit=0&lg=english&FcstType=graphical


As for practice, some vacations, I do minimize photography and focus on whatever else we are doing. But others, like one I have coming up to Zion/Bryce, there are definite days were I am trying to match when and where I am someplace in hopes of getting a good picture. Mornings and evenings tend to be important. Middle days, most places you just take pictures as a matter of convenience. That can change with cloud cover, or, in the case of zion, slot canyons.

As for the weather tool, as a quick example, I've been thinking of trying to photograph a couple of Maine Lighthouses a bit more. I've already done the check weather night before, get up at 4:30 am to get there before sunrise, and only to arrive to a completely cloudless morning. Given the 45-90 min drive for the couple I want to photograph, I am hoping to be more confident of having good cloud cover.

[clemmb]

https://weather.weatherbug.com/alerts/spark/manchester-nh-03103?center=42.9725016,-79.2333984,5

[Photog82]

My pet peeve is writing a 10 minute response on the forum, clicking send and it goes to a screen that says I am not logged in. All the well thought out post is lost.



The cookie configuration for vB on this site is not set correctly, happens to me all the time. :|

If you're talking about colorful sunsets/rises, I use Skypefire. It's not always accurate but it's OK. Not sure that I'd sign up for another subscription next year. I also use https://sunsetwx.com/.

[HDNitehawk]

I was just looking at the sunsetwx site. Interesting info.

While looking at the site it occurred to me that the problem isn't really finding the best time and golden hour. That info is easily found.
The problem is finding the time to be at the right place at the best time and golden hour.

I think the resolution to the problem is to quit my job and ignore my family.

[Manofmayo66]

I have gotten into the habit of write a post, copying it (in case I am not logged in), then (if need be) pasting it back into the reply window.

[Manofmayo66]

For nighttime I use: http://cleardarksky.com/csk/ and https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ set to Atlas 2015

[Sean Setters]

My pet peeve is writing a 10 minute response on the forum, clicking send and it goes to a screen that says I am not logged in. All the well thought out post is lost.

Hmm.... that is a problem. I know that the forum is designed to log out "inactive" users when they are already logged in (after a 30 min idle time). I just raised that limit to 2 hours, though. I'm not sure what other settings I need to change, but I'm poking around the admin options.

I also updated the cache option that saves your text (when typing replies, I think) in case you accidentally navigate away from the page or the page crashes. It was set to 60 seconds; now it's 120.

By the way, HDNitehawk, what browser are you using?

[Busted Knuckles]

I use the noaa site for the locality. Look at the weather radar for cloud cover/rain/fronts and then use one of the sun/moon rise/set apps Sean referenced (TPE) awhile back for times/angles. I have a different website of positioning during the day - https://www.gaisma.com/en/location/orlando-florida.html - it sets the general angle and the TPE gets me lined up w/ landmarks.

As to the cookie stuff - way too geeked for me.

[HDNitehawk]

I have had it happen with chrome, safari and explorer. I think it is a time out issue. It seems that the log out happens regardless of browsing. Maybe the 30 minute inactivity thing is if you are not posting it doesn't acknowledge activity.

This is nothing new. It has worked that way for years. Usually I copy before I hit submit that way if it has reached the time out I do not loose it.

On other sites if you have timed out, you re log in and your post is still there to submit. Here it disapears.

[neuroanatomist]

Planning around weather is wonderful, but often I lack the ability to do so, or more specifically the constraints of my travel usually obviate planning. Case in point - I'm going to a conference in Pisa (as in, the Leaning Tower of...) in a couple of weeks. A red-eye flight (thankfully, business class) will get me there on a mid-day Wed, which is the first day of the meeting ending with an evening reception running beyond blue hour. Friday night there's a gala dinner, and I fly out as the meeting ends, mid-day Saturday. So, that leaves Thrusday evening for some blue hour shooting. TPE is great for locations and landmarks, but if it's cloudy – or worse, raining – on my one available evening, I'm basically SOL.

My experience with weather forecasting has been that anything over 24 hours out is usually not very reliable (that's certainly true in New England! – I've come to rely on the weather rock in our yard more than the meteorologists...if the rock is warm, it's sunny; if the rock is wet, it's raning; if the rock is white, it's snowing). Given that, even if the forecast isn't good, the weather may actually turn out just fine, and thus I'm reluctant to leave the camera at home (the 1D X, that is; I'd bring the M6 + 11-22 no matter what). But that means I may end up schlepping a backback full of camera gear to another continent and have little to show for it.