It’s often said that timing is everything in photography. Of course, there’s a lot more nuance and complexity that goes into achieving that perfect photo.
For example, the time of day and the sun’s position can have a massive impact on the quality and feel of a photo, as most portrait photographers will often hunt that perfect time of day called the golden hour.
Even though its name is quite unassuming, PicPlanner is a very awesome free and open-source application built specifically for photographers who like to plan their photo shoots to the detail.
What does it do exactly?
In short PicPlanner calculates the position of the sun, moon, and milky way in relation to any given location on the earth. It may look simple (and for the user, it definitely is), but there’s a lot of thought that has gone into making this app.
For example, some of the formulae used are from the “Astronomical Algorithms” book by Jean Meeus, while others are from a wide range of scientific papers.
Combine this with a series of good libraries such as GTK 4 (for the GUI), Libadwaita (making the GUI adaptive), Shumate (to display the map), and Libweather (for offline search functionality), and you get a very nice app that properly integrates with GNOME and displays its information using Open Street Map.
Who can use it?
The short answer is – everyone. More to the point, every photographer who usually likes to ensure that he or she is at the right spot at the right time. It can be used by lanscape photographers just as well as it can be used by portrait photographers.
It should also come in handy to photographers who like to shoot at night (since it displays the position of the moon), as well as those who like time lapse photography and want to capture the Milky Way.
Conclusion
PicPlanner is probably the only Linux application that is capable of offering photographers such a wide range of useful information regarding the position of the sun, moon, and milky way.
It may not be perfectly suited for all types of photography, and it may not be 100% suited for all locations on the Earth, but the fact that this app exists is definitely something worth applauding.
