Trey Ratcliff, over at Stuck in Customs, has released a new app for the Ipad. It’s called Stuck on Earth and is a free download from the iTunes store.
I downloaded and started playing. After a couple of hours I needed rescuing, as this is probably the most addictive app since Angry Birds. Well, at least for me.
The basic premis for the app is to be able to explore new areas and destinations, by looking at existing work done by other photographers. I love the potential of this app, as one of the challenges I face when going to a new city is what and where to shoot.
An example of this was a recent trip I took to KL. I had a small window of opportunity to shoot for my cities project, I’ve never been there before and needed help on finding a place to shoot. The nature of my project is a city Icon at sunset, which in KL means the Petronas Towers. I needed some quick advice and I ended up tweeting Trey who generously answered and helped me out. I ended up taking a different route, but his idea gave me a conversation starting point with locals who could get me the view that I needed.
With the new app, I can now search a new place that i’m going for ideas of what and where to shoot. I typically research using Flickr, Smugmug, Goggle etc., but now this app may improve on those searches. It won’t replace it, but it will give me a host of ideas when going somewhere new.
At present, a lot of the images retrieved are marginal. What I’m hoping is, as the database develops, top quality images and where they were shot from will become dominant. This will depend on an expanding user base, so if you have an iPad, download the app and use it! Upload your best images and make sure you geotag them properly.
Props to Trey for developing this app. I really like it.
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