If you encounter any difficulties in setting things up, interpreting the forecasts, using the app, or have other questions or bug reports, please ask in any group channel on our Slack. We’ll reply as soon as possible.
You’ll be using TWO apps: Slack, and Escaype.
This is our hub for communication and community. You’ll find all of our forecasters’ notes, alerts, updates, and small groups to connect and collaborate with other local Escaypers, ask questions, and get support.
Most Escaypers spend 90% of their Escaype time on Slack.
Slack has a mobile app, and a desktop app (mac/pc app, or browser at slack.com).
It’s basically an all-in-one messaging program, with highly customizable notifications and the ability to maximize relevance and efficiency by choosing what channels you’re in.
You’ll find lots of channels, and animated dancing emoji. What’s not to like?
The two channels you’ll want to immediately familiarize yourself with are #fc_forecasters-notes (my updates) and #rules_and_resources, which contains a list of all the available channels.
For more help with Slack, ask us on Slack :)
This app provides a variety of in-depth info from our model. We recommend checking in for updates on Slack before you make a long drive.
The app will initialize at your phone's location, if you have GPS turned on.
Current, which is valid for the next golden hour event. If it is before or near sunrise, this event will be for sunrise. After that sunrise, it will soon update to the same day's sunset, and so on.
Next, which is valid for the golden hour event following the current one.
Extended, which is valid for the golden hour event following the next one.
Example: You check the app at noon. Current displays the forecast for tonight's sunset, Next displays tomorrow's sunrise, and Extended displays tomorrow's sunset. (The event for which the forecast is valid is always listed on the forecast, so you can check to be sure.)
You can view the GPS coordinates for the forecast. We’re photogs too, and we put forecasts right at the common spots, so don’t be shy about searching for landmarks (“GGB”, “SC”, etc".)
If you can't find a forecast near your favorite shooting location, tell us. We can add one!
We use a two-number system for burning skies:
Potential tells us how good the clouds will be.
Awesome clouds: high potential.
OK clouds, medium potential.
Clear skies, low potential.
Skunk tells us if the clouds will get light at sunrise/sunset.
(Photographers often say we got "skunked" if we didn't get what we wanted)
Low skunk: clouds should light up for us!
Medium skunk: some clouds will light up, some will stay grey
High skunk: It probably won't light up much.
IMPORTANT! Very high potential does not automatically mean there will be a great sunset! It means you can expect beautiful clouds, but is only indicative of great light when it comes with a low skunk. Similarly, low skunk only means good light when there’s also some potential.
The Potential and Skunk ratings do not factor in the length of the show -- only Best Time does. We changed this per community request, because 30 seconds of epic may be all you need to capture the shot.
If the clouds fade to grey 5 minutes after sunset, but we forecasted a late burn, don't pack up yet!
If you notice that the Best Time is indicative of a very short burn right around the time of sunset/sunrise, this is often a sign that the gap on the horizon is small and the light will be blocked for the majority of the best color -- we may still display 0% chance of skunk, but you may only see yellow/orange and never pink/red. If seeing orange but not pink/red is a skunk in your book, make sure to check the best time carefully.
A short burn does NOT mean a skunk. There may be very intense light that lasts for one minute. Don’t blink!
The best time only reports the time that the clouds are directly lit. You may observe color beyond this time range, often called "blue hour burn". If you notice a relatively long burn (>15 min) reported under best time, a blue hour burn is likely.
Are you a picture person, and that description made no sense? We’ve got you. Let’s try some Escaype rating example pictures instead.
The heat map and fog map allow you to quickly scan our data to see "hot areas" and places where you’re likely to encounter fog.
The potential and skunk buttons allow you to toggle each individual layer on/off.
NOTE: Displaying just potential, is a proxy for a map of where the clouds are expected to be at sunrise/sunset.
Our maps are familiar Google maps with heat overlays. Areas of higher potential with lower chances of skunk are highlighted in intense purple. The fog map’s color is orange.
You can:
Zoom in or out on the map by using the standard two-finger gestures.
Tap the marker to reveal the potential and chance of skunk for the marker's location.
Move the marker by (1) dragging the marker and releasing it at the new desired location, or (2) long-tapping on the map at the new desired location. The map will refresh and the marker's potential and skunk will update when it is tapped.
We sometimes need to modify, clarify, or override a model forecast.
These updates are announced on our Slack channels.
We run our model four times daily: morning, noon, evening, and late night.
Our bots will post some forecasts to Slack; the app typically updates about an hour AFTER this. The bot posts on Slack when it’s done.
Because the Escaype model analyzes complex data sets, the model takes time to run. If the forecasts in the group and app don’t match, check to see if we’re in one of these transition periods.
This happens because we want to push a quick forecast into the groups as soon as we can, then let the rest of the numbers churn as usual.
Escaype is a community and collective, not just a weather service. We're here day and night for you. Ask a channel group for critique on your images, arrange a meetup — the sky’s the limit.
The more you put in, the more you’ll get out.
We know a few things about photography, and we’d love to share them with you!
Make sure to bookmark our members-only knowledge base, an ongoing project.
Tung and I believe today’s social media is destructive and toxic, and we have chosen to separate our community practices from those of social media. We don’t stand for drama, politics, counting likes, and tit-for-tat comments. Escaype is a place for high level discussion. We know you’ll be great — that’s why we selected you as a member!
