A day in the life of astrophotographer Alyn Wallace

A day in the life of astrophotographer Alyn Wallace
Astrophotographer Alyn Wallace runs photographic workshops near his home in Wales, UK (Image credit: Chris George/Future)
7 ESSENTIAL APPS FOR ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

Day in the Life Alyn Wallace image 14

(Image credit: Chris George/Future)

Alyn Wallace has an arsenal of apps and websites on his phone to help him plan his night shoots. These are some of his favorites:

1. Clear Outside (Free). Weather forecasts for astronomers, with info on cloud cover and dew point.

2. Magic Seaweed. A website designed for surfers, but very useful for showing the tide times for coastal shoots. 

3. Phases of the Moon (£1.63). As the name suggests, this gives detailed information about the phases of the moon.

4. Light Pollution Map – Dark Sky (Free). Detailed info on light pollution in map form; also gives info on the Northern Lights.

5. Stellarium (Free on web; £2.99 as app). A night sky emulator, pre-visualising where the Milky Way and planets will be. 

6. PhotoPills (£9.99). Its augmented reality feature lets you work out when the Milky Way will be exactly where you want it.

7. ISS Detector (Free). Tells you when and when the International Space Station will next be overhead in your location.

The heat of the summer sun is starting to fade as we walk down the long path down to Three Cliffs Bay, which sits below the mediaeval ruins of Pennard Castle on Wales’ Gower Peninsula. 

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Chris George

Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography. 

His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 15 Pro Max.

He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.