Dan and I were fortunate to partner with former Artist-in-Residence at the Grand Canyon, Adam Schallau, to create our latest iFotoGuide app for the iPhone/iPod Touch.  Adam’s intimate knowledge of the many locations and moods the Grand Canyon has to offer, both on the North and South Rim, virtually guarantees that your next photo trip to the park will be the most productive one yet.

iFotoGuide: Grand Canyon is filled with useful content and inspirational images.  The app is designed to help you plan your entire trip, from selecting lodging, renting a car and finding a good place to eat all the way to the really good stuff – where to set up your tripod, when to be there and what equipment you’ll need to create dynamic images.  As with all iFotoGuide apps, it is fully interactive and allows you to access critical information in several ways.  We’ve even stuffed a full park map into the app with zoom and pan capabilities!

Visit the Apple iTunes App Store to download iFotoGuide: Grand Canyon for your iPhone or iPod Touch today.  At only $4.99, it’s significantly less expensive than your average guidebook!

Dan and I are almost finished building iFotoGuide: Grand Canyon!  We were fortunate to partner with tremendously talented photographer, former Artist-in-Residence at the Grand Canyon, and all around nice guy Adam Schallau to produce this guide.  Adam’s intimate knowledge of the Canyon’s many moods and locations combined with his breathtaking photos have allowed us to create a photography guide that virtually guarantees you’ll make amazing images on your next trip to the Grand Canyon.

We expect iFotoGuide: Grand Canyon to be available for download for $4.99 in the Apple iTunes App Store in late June.  This price includes lifetime updates that will include new locations, discounts on photo gear and services from some of the biggest names in the industry, and more.  All iFotoGuide apps function on the iPhone and iPod Touch.  You can learn more about iFotoGuide here.

Currently available in the Apple iTunes App Store are iFotoGuide: Arches (on sale for $2.99) and iFotoGuide: Yosemite ($4.99).

Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ve been up to over the last few weeks.

The brand spankin’ new iFotoGuide website launched last week and to celebrate, we’ve lowered the price of iFotoGuide: Arches to $2.99.  Yes, you read that right – $2.99.  Where else can you get that much information in a photo guide for $2.99?  Seriously…it’s a bargain at full price but at this price it’s just a flat out steal.  Comparable newsletters are $10 and a guidebook is $20 – and they aren’t even interactive!  Available now for the iPhone or iPod Touch at the Apple iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ifotoguide-arches-national/id337311105?mt=8.

If you do download it, we’d really appreciate it if you’d leave a review on iTunes after you’ve had a chance to take it for a test drive.  And, if you have any suggestions, we welcome your feedback.  We’re always looking for ways to make iFotoGuide even more useful to photographers.

I try not to pimp stuff I’m selling too often on my blog.  Mostly, this blog is to help us all learn and share and have fun.  But occasionally I will use it to let you all know when something I’m doing or selling might interest you.  I hope that’s coolio with you.  Moving on…

Yes, the title is totally lame!  Sorry ’bout that, but it is marginally better than “iFotoGuide: Yosemite Launched”.  At any rate, after almost two months of work Dan Baumbach and I are thrilled to announce that iFotoGuide: Yosemite has been approved and is now available in the Apple iTunes App Store.

iFotoGuide: Yosemite provides photographers with everything needed to plan a trip to and make stellar images while on-location in Yosemite National Park.  Find a hotel, locate a rental car and discover the closest airport.  Check out the gallery full of gorgeous Yosemite photos while you’re on the plane.  Once you arrive in Yosemite, use the guide to find the best locations to photograph at sunrise, sunset or mid-day as well as what gear you’ll need to make the best images.  iFotoGuide: Yosemite is chock full of all the information you will need during your photography trip to Yosemite.  All the information is stored directly on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  No need for a cell signal.  Once you download the app you’ll have all the critical information you need at all times.

Check out iFotoGuide: Yosemite at the Apple iTunes App Store, tell all your friends about it and spread the word about this amazing iPhone/iPod Touch application!  At $4.99 it’s at least half the price of comparable photo guidebooks.  Updates are free so you’ll never again have to shell out more cash for the latest revision of a hard-copy photography guide.

For you lovers of the southwest, don’t forget to check out iFotoGuide: Arches.

I was excited to receive the first mock-ups today for the new and improved iFotoGuide website launching later this month.  Problem is, I have a decision making disorder.  It takes half an hour for me to order a meal at the Cheesecake Factory because the menu is actually a book.  Literally.  If you’ve been there, you know what I mean.  Now I’m presented with four designs for our website and I’m paranoid I’ll choose the wrong one.  So, I’m counting on you to help us choose a design.  No pressure, though.  A website is only a company’s most important piece of marketing propaganda.  You know, the first contact most customers will have with us, where they’ll get all their information about our apps and the photographers we’re partnered with.  The website pretty much is iFotoGuide.  So yeah, no pressure.  Ugh!

Without further ado, here are the designs.  The elements are all interchangeable.  So, if you like the logo from one but the site design from another I am able to ask the designer to mix and match at will.  If you don’t like any of the logos and you have an idea for a better one, let’s hear it.  We really respect and appreciate your input.  I need to keep the project moving along so I can only accept your input until 9:00 PM on Thursday, Jan. 7.  There you have it folks.  Let ‘er rip!

Dan and I are trying to decide which parks to cover with new iFotoGuides in 2010.  You can help by visiting the iFotoGuide blog at http://bit.ly/5W4sBS and leaving a comment.  Please help us make this difficult decision!

“iFotoGuide” has released the first and only iPhone app & digital guide to on-location nature photography. It is available through the Apple App Store.

“iFotoGuide: Arches” is the first in a series of digital guides for the iPhone providing nature photographers with a comprehensive resource for planning every aspect of a photography trip.  Use “iFotoguide: Arches” to locate the nearest airport, find lodging and a rental car, and determine what weather to expect during your visit.  Users of “iFotoGuide: Arches” can learn about park entrance fees, permits, flora and fauna, safety considerations and best times to visit for fall colors or wildflower blooms.

“iFotoGuide: Arches” goes beyond the ordinary photo guidebook by providing three innovative ways for iPhone users to find a dynamic location for photography.  An interactive park map allows users to zoom, pan and select photography locations by name.  Images in the photo gallery serve to inspire and are also interactive – one touch provides detailed instructions for getting to and photographing each location.  “iFotoGuide: Arches” even allows users to search for locations to photograph at sunrise, sunset or in mid-day light.

Unlike guidebooks and newsletters which may be several years out of date, “iFotoGuide: Arches” is easily updated to ensure accurate and fresh content.  “iFotoGuide: Arches” sells for $4.99 in the Apple App Store.  Updates will include additional locations within Arches National Park and will be available at no cost to “iFotoGuide: Arches” users.

Created by photographers for photographers “iFotoGuide: Arches” is designed to provide users with all the tools necessary for a successful and productive photo trip.  The developers of “iFotoGuide: Arches” are expanding park coverage, with Canyonlands and Yosemite National Parks available on iTunes in the first quarter of 2010.

“iFotoGuide” was founded in 2009 by photographers Dan Baumbach and Bret Edge to provide the only digital photo guides available on the Apple iPhone.

iFotoGuide: Arches National Park is now available in the Apple App Store.

As a new iPhone owner I found myself spending entirely too much time browsing Apple’s App Store.  There really is an “app for that”, no matter what “that” is.  I started to wonder if there were apps that could make my life as an outdoor photographer easier, better or more organized.  After a few weeks of downloading and using apps, some free and some not, I’ve found a few that really are helpful to nature photographers.  Some of these even came pre-loaded on the iPhone.  Here are my selections:

Compass (Free) - Yes, I have a digital compass on my watch, my GPS and an analog compass in my backpack.  So, why is the iPhone Compass so helpful?  It’s ridiculously easy to read and it even lists your current GPS location.  I like to use it with Sunrise & Sunset Pro as it makes it easy to determine where & when the sun will rise or set without introducing another gadget into the mix.

Sunrise & Sunset Pro ($1.99) - There are free apps available to determine that azimuth and altitude of the sun at any time of the day but none of the ones I tried were as easy to use as this one.  When used with the Compass it is amazingly easy to determine whether that peak before you will be frontlit, sidelit or backlit at sunrise or sunset.  Use it in conjunction with a topo map to pre-plan your photographic adventure before you even leave home.  Awesome!

Park Maps ($0.99) - Every single national park map, on your iPhone.  Zoom in, zoom out and scroll all around.  Each map is downloaded directly to your iPhone to be accessible even when out of cell service.  The maps are small and can be difficult to read for those with aging eyes like mine.  Even so, I find the app useful for identifying the location of campgrounds, visitor centers and most importantly, viewpoints and overlooks.

The Weather Channel Max ($3.99) - Current temperature, precipitation, wind speed, weather conditions, humidity and sunrise & sunset times.  Hourly, 36 hour and 10 day forecasts.  Severe weather alerts.  A radar map with past, present and predicted future movement of weather, i.e. rain, snow, clouds.  Tide information for coastal areas.  You can even save as many locations as you’d like for instant access.  I saved several of the areas I visit regularly.  It makes finding a weekend escape that much easier.

Google Earth (Free) - The same Google Earth on your computer in your hand.  Super cool!

Maps (Free) - Another app that comes pre-loaded on the iPhone.  Punch in any address and it uses the built-in GPS to provide directions from your current location.  Great when traveling around an unfamiliar city on your photography adventure.

Milog Lite (Free) - I use this handy mileage tracker to record miles driven on every photo excursion.  This is an easy and convenient way to keep track of mileage for tax purposes.

Notes (Free) - Yet another app that is pre-loaded on the iPhone.  I use it to keep notes of locations I stumble upon that appear to have lots of photographic potential.

Here’s an example of how I used several of these apps on a recent short trip.  While out four wheeling a new-to-me trail in the Moab area I discovered several sandstone peaks towering above a creek filled with green cottonwoods.  I recognized the potential for fall colors and broke out my iPhone to determine whether it was a sunrise or sunset location using the Compass and Sunrise & Sunset Pro.  It’s sunset.  I opened my “Locations to Photograph” note in the Notes app and added pertinent information about the location.  When I got home I transferred the trip mileage information from Milog Lite to my accounting software.  Awesome!

Have you found an App that’s great for nature photographers?  Leave a comment about it.  I’m sure readers of my blog would love to hear about it.  I know I would!