App Review: Exsate Golden Hour

What is the “golden hour?” Here is what Wikipedia has to say – In photography, the golden hour (sometimes known as magic hour, especially in cinematography) is a period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is redder and softer compared to when the Sun is higher in the sky.*

I have been using “Exsate Golden Hour” for Android for a couple years and love it. I was looking for something that would help me to know where the sun was going to be and when it was going to be there. A few years ago I found a website called SunCalc (www.suncalc.net) that will allow you to input a location and date, it will then show you where the sun will be throughout the day sunrise to sunset. I found it while doing a search to find the optimal time to shoot some sunrise photos at the Fishing Pier in Ocean Grove. It worked beautifully and I have been using it to plan shots ever since. The problem is that I may not always have an opportunity to scope out a place while sitting at home. I don’t like using websites on my phone and so I have been searching for “the” app – I have found it.

p/> The images shown here illustrate how much impact shooting during the “golden hour” can have on your final image. I used Exsate Golden Hour before going on a recent photo shoot at Monmouth Battlefield State Park. I have done a lot of shooting at the Sutfin House but wanted something a bit more dramatic than what I had been getting. By using the application I was able to see where the sun was setting in relation to the house and the best time to get the shot. The result is the first shot shown here. The second photo was taken during a mid-day walk.

The name of the app is a little misleading because it does quite a bit more than just tell you when “golden hour” will be but I will start with that. When you first open the app you will see three (3) tabs – “Summary”, “Diagram” and “Map”. Directly under the tabs you will find the location name along with current date/time. The location can be your current location or you can enter a specific location either by name or GPS coordinates. Selecting the “Summary” tab will give you the following information:

• Sun rise and set times
• The moon phase along with rise and set times.
• The date of New Moon and Full Moon
• Golden Hour – time and duration
• Blue Hour – time and duration
• Civil Twilight – time and duration
• Nautical Twilight – time and duration Astronomical Twilight – time and duration

As you scroll down there is more detailed information and an option to add your own “special” conditions.

Now let’s take a look at the “Diagram” tab. You can get to the tab either by touching “DIAGRAM” at the top of the app or by touching one of the descriptions on the “SUMMARY” tab. Once you open the diagram you will be presented with the name of the location you have set along with the date and time represented by the blue vertical line on the diagram. Directly under this you will see two sets of numbers; one color and one white. The colored numbers show the Altitude and Azimuth of the sun while the white numbers show the Altitude, Azimuth and % Full of the moon. Below that you will see the weather forecast. The diagram itself looks like a sine wave and is color coded. The colored line represents the sun, while the white line represents the moon. You can move the diagram through different days and times by touching the diagram and moving your finger left or right. You can also use the little calendar icon at the top of the screen to change the day.

The “MAP” is just that; an aerial view of the set location with a compass superimposed. The compass has a color-coded ring along the outside to indicate the “Golden hour”, “Blue hour”, etc…. and also shows the current position of the sun and moon.

The app is customizable beyond the aforementioned user-defined special conditions – you can set distance units (mile or kilometer), temperature (Fahrenheit or Celsius), GPS coordinates format and which weather service to use. These features, along with everything else make this application one that you must have. The application is only available on the Android platform and I see no indication that they are working on an iOS version. That’s okay with me, I don’t use my iPad when I am in the field but I always have my Android phone. For more information about the app, check out the website here.

The bottom line is this – if you are serious about your photography, get this app! It is not only the utilities that I have found it is also FREE!

* – you can read the entire Wikipedia article about golden hour here – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)

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All photos are copyright Joseph S. Valencia All Rights Reserved They may not be used in any way without express written permission of the photographer. If you wish to use any of the photos you may contact the photographer at valencia32photo@gmail.com

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