I kept missing the good stuff (fog, aurora, beautiful sunsets) because I wasn't checking forecasts at the right time, so I built PhotoWeather...
You define rules like:
`aurora_quality > 60 AND cloud_cover < 20% AND moon_below_horizon`
`fog_prob > 70% AND within 30min of sunrise AND wind < 5 mph`
When a rule matches, you get an email and/or an iCal event. The iCal feed is the part I am maybe most proud of: subscribe once and upcoming "shoot windows" show up in your calendar.
One example that made me sure this wasn't just a toy: last October it alerted "clear skies + no moon + strong aurora" and I drove to a nearby high spot in Helsinki.
Ended up catching aurora and Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) in one frame: https://reddit.com/r/Finland/comments/1obc5nz/
Not my best photo ever, but probably the most unique and memorable, and I'll continue to remember my real-life "photoweather actually works" moment through it.
A few things that differentiates this from your average weather app:
Spatial sampling
A single forecast coordinate often isn't representative of what you'll actually see. So for many scores I sample 24 points around the location (8 directions × 3 distances). Rainbow probability is a good example – it checks for rain in the antisolar direction and clear sky toward the sun.
Derived scores
Photography-specific scores like fog probability use actual meteorology: dewpoint spread, vapor pressure deficit, with guard clauses (wind >6m/s disperses fog, so score drops to zero).
Data / stack
Open-Meteo as the primary model; GFS for multi-point sampling and cross-checks; GEFS for ensemble clouds; GFS Wave for sea conditions; NOAA OVATION + SWPC/Kp for aurora; CAMS aerosols. FastAPI + Postgres + Celery/Redis + React/TypeScript.
Free tier is usable but tuned for low running cost; paid unlocks mainly more locations and rules, more specialized weather data and faster refreshes.
Landing page: https://photoweather.app | Demo dashboard: https://app.photoweather.app/demo/live-demo
Would love to hear feedback, especially things like:
Would you actually use this?
Does the UI/UX make sense (I feel a bit blinded by building+being a user at the same time)?
Is there anything that would make it more useful/usable for you?
And a closed beta (Google requirement) test for Play Store that could very much use more testers, DM me if interested (having more testers would really help out)