# earth.gl

> earth.gl helps outdoor photographers find shooting opportunities near them in real time. It combines atmospheric scattering models, vegetation data, wave forecasts, tidal predictions, cloud structure analysis, and aurora forecasts into a single tool that tells photographers what's worth shooting right now.

## What earth.gl does

earth.gl detects 123 distinct photographic opportunities by analyzing weather, light, terrain, vegetation, and water conditions at any location worldwide. It goes far beyond sunrise/sunset times. It runs its own atmospheric scattering model (Rayleigh and Mie) to predict light color and quality, analyzes cloud structure at multiple altitude layers, forecasts fog from dust and moisture conditions, and scores each moment of the day for photography potential.

The app answers the question photographers actually ask: "Is there something worth shooting outside right now?"

## Who uses it

- Landscape photographers planning around golden hour, blue hour, fog, and dramatic light
- Nature photographers timing shoots around vegetation greenness, forest canopy light, and seasonal color
- Wildlife photographers aligning with dawn activity windows and weather conditions
- Astrophotographers planning around aurora forecasts, moon phase, and atmospheric clarity
- Coastal photographers timing tides, wave conditions, and sea fog
- Street photographers looking for fog, rain reflections, neon glow, and dramatic cloud breaks
- Photography groups sharing routes and walking together in the same light

## The 12 core light types

1. Dawn, 2. Sunrise, 3. Golden Hour, 4. Soft Light, 5. Flat Light, 6. Overcast, 7. Dramatic Light, 8. Sunset, 9. Blue Hour, 10. Venus Belt, 11. Night, 12. Aurora

Additional conditions: Fog, Snowglow, Dust fog, Diamond dust, Hoar frost.

## 123 photographic opportunities

Beyond the 12 light types, earth.gl detects and scores 123 distinct photography conditions, organized by category:

**Light quality** (16 types): Golden Hour Fire, Golden Hour Drama, Blue Hour, Belt of Venus, God Rays, Soft Light, Veiled Sun, Hard Light, Crystal Air, Haze Glow, Crepuscular Rays, and more.

**Atmospheric phenomena** (30+ types): Diamond Dust, Hoar Frost, Rainbow, Sun Pillar, Light Pillars, 22-degree Halo, Fogbow, Brocken Spectre, Noctilucent Clouds, Green Flash, Atmospheric Corona, Sundogs, Saharan Dust.

**Weather and mood** (20+ types): Snow Scene, Heavy Frost, Rain Shower, Clearing Light, Mist, Radiation Fog, Dust Fog, Drifting Light, Long Exposure Overcast.

**Landscape and seasonal** (25+ types): Forest Canopy, Foliage Pop, Spring Green, Autumn Colors, Desert Light, Tundra Glow, Bog Amber, Heather Bloom, Frozen Shore, Meadow Dew.

**Aurora and night** (15+ types): Aurora, Aurora Storm, Aurora Campfire, Phosphorescence, Night Mist, Blue Snow Night, Starry Night, Moonlit.

**Water and coastal** (8 types): Mirror Water, Dramatic Seas, Coastal Silk, Waterfall Flow, Lake Mist.

**Urban** (8 types): City Glow, Neon Rain, Fog City, Light Trails, Window Light, Window Rain.

**Rare combos** (25+ types): Fog plus Golden Hour, Storm Sunset, Golden Frost, Enchanted Forest, Fire and Ice, Aurora Camp. These combine multiple conditions and are scored as legendary rarity.

Each opportunity has a rarity rating (common, uncommon, rare, legendary) and a dynamic score from 0 to 100 based on current conditions.

## Key technical capabilities

**Atmospheric scattering model**: earth.gl runs its own Rayleigh/Mie scattering computation to predict sky color, light quality, and color saturation. It uses CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) aerosol optical depth data at 550nm for accurate atmospheric particle modeling.

**Cloud structure analysis**: Three-layer cloud breakdown (low, mid, high altitude) with coverage fraction, drift velocity, perceived angular speed, and updraft/turbulence indicators. Cumulonimbus detection spans multiple height bins. Cloud streaks and cirrus formations are identified separately.

**Fog prediction**: Forecasts radiation fog from temperature/dew point spread, dust fog from aerosol loading, and coastal/valley fog from terrain and moisture analysis.

**Vegetation and land data**: NDVI (greenness index), land cover classification (forest, water, built-up, barren), seasonal vegetation state, snow coverage. Photography opportunities adapt to landscape type.

**Wave and coastal**: Wave height, direction, and period forecasts. Bathymetry profiles with break zone detection. Automatic ocean-facing bearing detection. Wave sheltering analysis for coastal photography.

**Tide forecasts**: Tide height predictions relative to MSL. High/low tide timing. Exceptional tide detection. Coastal proximity check (within 30km). 5 to 7 day forecasts.

**Aurora forecasting**: Kp index, hemispheric power, 72-hour forecast. Latitude-based visibility thresholds from 67 degrees N down to 45 degrees N. Aurora probability scoring.

**Terrain**: High-resolution elevation data. Terrain-aware sun/moon visibility (mountains blocking the horizon). Elevation profiles for walk routes.

**Radar and nowcast**: European, US, and Scandinavian radar layers. Nordic nowcast at 5-minute resolution with approximately 2-hour forecast.

## Social and practice features

**Photography walks**: Plan routes with elevation profiles and condition forecasts. Record walks with GPS tracking. Share routes with friends or groups.

**Groups**: Small circles of up to 12 photographers who walk in the same light. Share walks, acknowledge each other's outings. One free group, unlimited with Pro.

**Light journal**: Track which of the 12 light types you've photographed. Build weekly streaks. Earn Light XP. The journal is a vertical trail showing your progress.

**Photo uploads**: Crop to 3:2, tag with light type and conditions, add a 140-character note. GPS stripped from image files for privacy. Raw coordinates stored in account (opt-out per upload).

**AI assistant (Pro)**: Ask questions about conditions by text or voice. "Should I go out?" "What's the light like at my spots?" Powered by a middleware layer that fetches real-time data before answering.

## Pricing

- Free: Full light forecast, 123 opportunity detection, real-time conditions, cloud/tide/fog/wave data, interactive map, groups (1 free). No account required.
- Pro ($5.99/month or $59.99/year): Push alerts when noteworthy conditions occur near you, 7-day forecast, AI assistant (text and voice), unlimited photo storage, unlimited groups.
- Spring Light Sale (through April 2026): $2.50/month or $29.99/year. Save up to 58%.

## Light School

earth.gl includes a free photography school called Light School, a progressive course that teaches photographers to see and use light before touching camera settings. It is structured like Duolingo: nine modules, each with three levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced), and a scenario-based quiz at the end. All lessons are free. Quizzes require a free account to track progress.

The nine modules, in order:
1. Seeing Light: notice direction, read texture, anticipate change
2. Exposure as Control: aperture/shutter/ISO as creative choices, not corrections
3. Timing over Location: golden hours, weather transitions, hunting rare light
4. Depth and Layering: foreground, tonal separation, aerial perspective
5. Weather as a Tool: overcast as softbox, mood from sky, predicting weather-light interactions
6. Simplicity and Selection: subtract distractions, one subject clearly stated
7. Patience and Presence: stay longer, active waiting, return until conditions align
8. Technical Mastery in Service of Vision: muscle memory, fluid adjustment, invisible technique
9. Feedback Loop: identify what works, diagnose failure, real-time diagnosis before shooting

Light School also includes a Field Guide with 23 reference entries covering optical phenomena (aurora, crepuscular rays, haloes, sun dogs, coronas, circumzenithal arc, broken spectre), cloud types (classification, lenticular, mammatus, asperitas, banner clouds, virga), fog types (radiation fog, valley fog, coastal fog, evaporation fog, freezing fog, upslope fog, fog vs mist vs haze), light science (why sky is blue, why clouds are white), and coastal conditions (tides). Each entry includes an infographic, a section on the light (what the phenomenon means for photography), a section on camera settings, and a quick reference card.

## URLs

- Homepage: https://earth.gl
- Start page: https://earth.gl/start
- Light School: https://earth.gl/school
- Light glossary: https://earth.gl/glossary/
- Golden hour guide: https://earth.gl/glossary/golden-hour
- Blue hour guide: https://earth.gl/glossary/blue-hour
- Aurora forecast guide: https://earth.gl/glossary/aurora
- Photography lighting guide: https://earth.gl/guide/natural-lighting
- Photography near me: https://earth.gl/photography-near-me
- FAQ: https://earth.gl/faq
- Privacy policy: https://earth.gl/privacy.html
- Terms of service: https://earth.gl/terms.html

## About

earth.gl is an independent photography tool built in Bergen, Norway. It is not a social network. No likes, no followers, just light. Every photo is real, made by a photographer, in real light.