Photography-focused forecasts, worthwhile locations and practical trip planning, brought together so the conditions, the place and the plan finally make sense.
Shepherd’s Sky is built around the question photographers actually ask: is it worth heading out?
It turns weather data into useful photographic guidance, connects it to places worth shooting and keeps the trip together without a trail of weather apps, maps, notes and screenshots.
A little local knowledge goes a long way
Why use Shepherd’s Sky?
Spend more time making photographs, arrive with a better plan and help the next person treat the place with care.
For hobbyist photographers
Your regular spot could be someone’s first visit.
You don’t need to be a professional to have something useful to share. A photograph of the permitted parking area, the signed entrance or a path junction can be as helpful as the finished landscape photograph.
Add your own photographs and practical notes to a guide: where to park without blocking a gate, which permitted path to take and what someone should check before setting off. Share the image you made in the Community feed and talk about what helped you get it.
For more considerate visits
Find the view. Give the landscape room.
Knowing where a view can be photographed from an established path can save a lot of wandering through vegetation looking for the spot where a tree, stone or distant mountain lines up.
Useful guide notes can flag a tidal crossing or a route that becomes cut off, prompting visitors to check the return journey as well as the way out. Always check current official tide information, weather, signs and access restrictions; community notes can be wrong or out of date.
Share responsibly: keep to permitted routes, respect landowners and wildlife, and leave sensitive places or fragile viewpoints unpinned. A good photograph is never permission to cross a fence or create a shortcut.
For workshop leaders · community spaces planned
Let your photographs introduce your local knowledge.
A few of your best images from one or two locations in the Peak District, Eryri (Snowdonia) or the Lake District can show people your approach and what you know about an area. You can already contribute photographs and useful guide information, and take part in the Community feed.
Dedicated leader communities are a planned feature. The idea is to let photographers follow your work, join your community conversations and discover more of an area with you, potentially leading to a workshop booking. These leader spaces are not available yet, and the app does not currently handle workshop bookings.
Five or ten places each could add up to something special.
Imagine each photographer contributing five or ten places they know well: original images, clear access notes and details that make a visit more thoughtful. Together, we could build a richer collection of places to explore, photographs to browse and conversations to learn from. Quality matters more than numbers, and guide submissions are reviewed.
Forecasts written for photographers, not meteorologists.
See the picture around sunrise, daytime, sunset and night. Shepherd’s Sky combines cloud, rain, mist, visibility and changing light into a clear outlook, then keeps the underlying forecast visible so you can make your own call.
Practical shooting windows
Sunrise, sunset and afterglow guidance
Mist, rain, cloud and visibility in context
Illustrative forecast · Portland Bill19:42
Sunset outlook
Worth watching
Broken western cloud may open a brief window of colour around sunset.
Cloud62%Rain8%Wind14 mph
Shooting window19:05–20:18
More than a pin on a map
Find somewhere that fits the conditions.
Explore photography locations with the details that matter when you are actually going there: access, parking, safety, seasons, tides and the kind of light that suits the scene.
Accesspractical guide notes
Lightseasonal guidance
Field notesfrom photographers
Keep it connected
From “that could work” to a proper plan.
Save promising places, match them to the forecast and build the trip around the light.
01
Check the light
Start with the photographic outlook, not a wall of weather data.
02
Choose the place
Find a scene that suits the conditions and understand it before setting off.
03
Plan the trip
Keep the place, timing, route and useful notes together.
04
Share what helped
Add photographs and field knowledge that make the next visit better.
Latest from the field
Share the photograph. Share what helped.
Community brings photographs and field knowledge into the app. Share your images, add a caption and join the conversation with other photographers.
Contribute original photographs and useful details to location guides. Submissions are reviewed before they earn rewards or become part of the shared catalogue.
Community is included with a free account. Reporting and blocking tools help you manage what you see.
Free + Plus
Explore freely. Plan in more detail.
Choose the level of planning that suits your photography.
Free
A place to start every outing.
Browse UK location guides, access and parking notes, sunrise and sunset information, and basic forecasts. Save up to 10 locations and keep one active alert.
Share photographs and take part in Community with your free account.
Plus
More detail before you set off.
Unlock hourly forecast detail, deeper photographic scoring, more saved locations and alerts, and private or shared trip planning. Camera-club planning helps you organise an outing together.
Monthly membership will be available through the app stores. The app shows the price, any eligible introductory offer and renewal terms before you confirm.
Useful contributions earn access.
Free members can earn 15 days of Plus for each qualifying approved guide, with 15 extra days on every fifth qualifying guide. Earned access is capped at 90 days ahead, with a maximum of two eligible guide awards a day. A submission needs the required original photographs, useful details and moderation approval; submitting a pin alone does not qualify.
“Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.”
The story behind the name
A childhood memory that never left me.
One of my earliest memories is my granny teaching me this saying when I was a toddler: “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.” She could always sense rain before it arrived, and because my granddad was a shepherd, it has always stuck with me.
That family connection gives Shepherd’s Sky its name and places weather, landscape and lived experience at the heart of the app.
Get the app
Make the next outing count.
Shepherd’s Sky is preparing for public release on the App Store and Google Play. Download links will appear here when the stores make it available. In the meantime, explore the features or contact us with a question.
