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About Sun Surveyor
Sun Surveyor was created by Adam Ratana in 2011 to help photographers more effectively plan shots ahead of time. It includes powerful prediction and visualization tools wrapped in an easy to use mobile interface.
Industries:
Technology
Location:
United States
As an amateur photographer, Adam Ratana needed to find out when the sun is going to rise or set at a particular landmark on a particular day. Traditionally, photographers would need to travel to a particular destination at the exact time and day to view the rise of the sun and moon to plan and determine the best time of day for a shoot.
- Photographers can plan and visualize the location of the sun and the moon anywhere in the world to get the ideal shot
- Sun Surveyor overlays the path of the sun and moon on any Street View location anywhere in the world so users can see the exact location
- 360° photospheres to plan shots
500,000+ application downloads
"The Maps SDK for Android, which includes Street View, was particularly helpful. It allowed me to overlay the path of the sun and moon on any Street View location anywhere in the world… Our users are taking remarkable photos as a result, and what started as a hobby for me has turned into a business — thanks to Google Maps Platform."
— Adam Ratana, Developer, Sun Surveyor
The result was Sun Surveyor, an iOS and Android app that uses Google Maps Platform to visualize the location of the sun and the moon anywhere in the world. The app makes it easy to figure out when the natural lighting will be just right — and get the ideal shot. Sun Surveyor uses augmented reality to overlay the paths of the sun and moon on a camera’s view, so users can see where in the sky they’ll be at a specific time and place. Photographers can use it to plan their shots ahead of time, and businesses can use it to gauge things like how best to align solar panels to make the most efficient use of the angle of the sun.
Published 2015
Product availability, functionality and terms may differ for customers with billing addresses in the European Economic Area
(EEA). Learn more
About Sun Surveyor
Sun Surveyor was created by Adam Ratana in 2011 to help photographers more effectively plan shots ahead of time. It includes powerful prediction and visualization tools wrapped in an easy to use mobile interface.
Industries:
Technology
Location:
United States
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eSun Surveyor is a mobile app that helps photographers plan their shots by visualizing the sun and moon's positions at any location.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe app utilizes augmented reality to overlay the paths of the sun and moon onto the camera's view, showing their exact location in the sky at specific times and places.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSun Surveyor uses the Google Maps Platform, including Street View, to enable users to visualize the sun and moon's path anywhere in the world.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe app has been downloaded over 500,000 times and supports a user's ability to be able to plan a shoot by using 360° photospheres.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSun Surveyor allows business to use the app to plan things like how best to align solar panels to make the most efficient use of the sun.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Sun Surveyor Case Study\n\nSun Surveyor: bringing augmented reality to photographers\n=========================================================\n\nAbout Sun Surveyor\n------------------\n\n\nSun Surveyor was created by Adam Ratana in 2011 to help photographers more effectively plan shots ahead of time. It includes powerful prediction and visualization tools wrapped in an easy to use mobile interface. \nIndustries: Technology \nLocation: United States \nProducts: [Google Maps Platform](https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/) \n\n#### Tell us your challenge. We're here to help.\n\n[Contact us](/contact)\n\nAs an amateur photographer, Adam Ratana needed to find out when the sun is going to rise or set at a particular landmark on a particular day. Traditionally, photographers would need to travel to a particular destination at the exact time and day to view the rise of the sun and moon to plan and determine the best time of day for a shoot.\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n### Google Maps Platform Results:\n\n- Photographers can plan and visualize the location of the sun and the moon anywhere in the world to get the ideal shot\n- Sun Surveyor overlays the path of the sun and moon on any Street View location anywhere in the world so users can see the exact location\n- 360° photospheres to plan shots \n\n500,000+ application downloads \n\n\"The Maps SDK for Android, which includes Street View, was particularly helpful. It allowed me to overlay the path of the sun and moon on any Street View location anywhere in the world... Our users are taking remarkable photos as a result, and what started as a hobby for me has turned into a business --- thanks to Google Maps Platform.\"\n---*Adam Ratana, Developer, Sun Surveyor* \n\nThe result was Sun Surveyor, an iOS and Android app that uses Google Maps Platform to visualize the location of the sun and the moon anywhere in the world. The app makes it easy to figure out when the natural lighting will be just right --- and get the ideal shot. Sun Surveyor uses augmented reality to overlay the paths of the sun and moon on a camera's view, so users can see where in the sky they'll be at a specific time and place. Photographers can use it to plan their shots ahead of time, and businesses can use it to gauge things like how best to align solar panels to make the most efficient use of the angle of the sun.\n\n\n*Published 2015* \n\n*Product availability, functionality and terms may differ for customers with billing addresses in the [European Economic Area](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:European_Economic_Area_%28EEA%29#:~:text=The%20European%20Economic%20Area%2C%20abbreviated,force%20on%201%20January%201994%2E) (EEA). [Learn more](https://developers.google.com/maps/comms/eea/faq)*\n\n#### Tell us your challenge. We're here to help.\n\n[Contact us](/contact) \n\nAbout Sun Surveyor\n------------------\n\n\nSun Surveyor was created by Adam Ratana in 2011 to help photographers more effectively plan shots ahead of time. It includes powerful prediction and visualization tools wrapped in an easy to use mobile interface. \nIndustries: Technology \nLocation: United States \n[Google Maps Platform](https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/)"]]
