Photographer's Ephemeris 3D

3D Light Visualization for Outdoor & Night Photographers

See exactly how natural light will fall on the land — day or night, anywhere on Earth. TPE 3D helps outdoor photographers plan their shots with realistic 3D terrain, sunlight, moonlight, and Milky Way simulation. Now with high-resolution map tiles, faster GPU-powered terrain, and improved controls for a smoother experience.

"TPE 3D predicted the light in the distance in the gap just before the right most hill very accurately." - OnLandscape Magazine

"This app has become an indispensable tool in my planning kit, I highly recommend it!" - David Kingham, Exploring Exposure

Watch a sunrise from the future in a rich simulation of sunlight, moonlight and starlight set against the actual topography of your planned shooting location.

Need to see when the arch of the Milky Way will rise between two mountain peaks? Need to see what time in the afternoon the valley will lose direct light in September? Watch the light unfold under clear skies hours, days, weeks or years before you're on location.

Visualize Light
- 3D terrain with realistic Sun, Moon, and Milky Way simulation
- Accurate moon phases rendered in-scene
- Symbolic Milky Way in Flying mode, high-resolution stars in Enhanced mode
- Ambient and overall lighting brightness tuned for clarity
- Night map colors automatically desaturated for legibility

Plan Your Shoot
- Continuous Sun, Moon, and Galactic Centre timeline with rise/set/transit events
- Daily and annual event lists
- Location search, decimal/DMS coordinate entry, and shared database with TPE
- Multiple map pins with saved “at pin” state remembered between sessions
- Tutorials linked directly to our YouTube channel

Control the View
- Fly smoothly around your scene, or zoom to focal-length equivalents
- Enhanced mode with maximum terrain and shadow detail
- Camera pitch, bearing, and direct elevation controls
- Reworked two-finger gestures for more precise navigation
- Higher default zoom near the camera in Enhanced mode (modern devices)
- High-resolution map tiles (512px) when not flying
- GPU-accelerated terrain loading for faster performance

If you like to plan your natural light photography to capture the photo opportunities others miss, TPE 3D is a must-have tool!

Note: TPE 3D is graphics-intensive — newer devices provide the best experience. Terrain resolution ~30m (1 arcsecond). Satellite maps and buildings are not included. Coverage 83°N–83°S. Internet connection required. Eclipse simulations not supported.

v1.5.2
- Bug fixes

v1.5.1
- When at pin, tapping the "fly up" button moves the camera upwards while keeping the same direction of view (with an optional setting to cause the camera to move backward from the pin)
- Bearing and pitch gauges are now interactive - pan left/right to change compass bearing, up/down to change camera pitch
- Adds user setting to limit over-zooming maps

v1.5
This update makes TPE 3D smoother, sharper, and more reliable:
- Crisp high-resolution map tiles (512px) in enhanced mode on newer devices
- Faster GPU-powered terrain
- Better gesture controls for easier navigation
- Smarter handling of memory and thermal events
- Tutorials now on YouTube
- Plus bug fixes, UI polish, and behind-the-scenes updates

Please send your feedback and suggestions to support@photoephemeris.com - we'd love to hear from you! If you're enjoying TPE 3D, a review on the App Store is really helpful, and lets us keep improving the app.