Case Study
Designing the missing companion app for street photographers
Street photography is mostly walking and waiting. You cover ground, watch the light change, and if you're lucky something happens in front of you. StreetPal is the app I wanted for those walks, so I designed and built it myself.
At a glance
- A native iOS app, designed and built end to end
- Built entirely on Apple APIs, so there's no server, no accounts and no third-party code
- In beta on my own iPhone
The problem
Lots of street photographers track their walks with a fitness app. I do too. It’s the easiest way to see where I’ve been and how far I’ve gone. The trouble is, fitness apps are built for... fitness. They care about pace, calories and personal bests, and I’ve never once wondered how fast I was walking when I had a camera in my hand.
When I’m out chasing the light, I’ve got different questions:
- How do I find that back street again?
- How do I keep track of the scenes I’ve spotted, so I can return when the light is right?
- Which way should I head to catch the best light before it’s gone?
- How do I stay motivated when there’s nothing to shoot?
The solution
A walking app that cares about the light and the route, and couldn't care less about your pace.
1. A map with nothing in the way
- Stripped-back map. No shops, landmarks or traffic, just the streets and the route you're walking.
- Press play and go. StreetPal starts plotting your walk straight away.
2. Reading the light
- Keep the sun behind you. A compass shows which way to head so the light falls on your subject, not into your lens.
- Weather with a tap. Tap the compass for current conditions and when golden hour starts, so you can decide whether to head out or not.
3. Capturing a scene to come back to
Some of my favourite shots came from places I walked past once and went back to later. This part of the app is for those.
- Jot it down on the spot. Tap the note button to record a field note before the moment slips your mind.
- Add the details. Write a description for later, like "wait for someone to walk past the red door".
- Snap a reference shot. The in-app camera is built for one-handed use, because the other hand is usually holding a proper camera.
- Find it again. Save the note and a marker drops onto your route where you were standing.
4. Every walk in one place
- Walk totals. Kilometres covered and time spent out, for any year you choose, above a list of every walk you've recorded.
- Relive the route. Tap a walk to see where you went, the notes you made and the conditions on the day.
- All your notes together. Every field note from every walk in one tab, for planning the next route.
5. Keeping inspired
Some days the streets are empty and the light is flat. The projects tab is there for those days.
- Projects to warm up with. The projects tab comes loaded with prompts for days when you need inspiration.
- Catch project ideas as they come. People waiting, reflections in puddles? Save it as a project, and it’ll be waiting for you next time you head out.
6. Made entirely from Apple APIs
Sticking to Apple's own tools means there's no server to run and no accounts or passwords to look after. Your data isn't shared with anyone else, and I don't have a pile of third-party code to keep updated.
- Position from GPS and the iPhone's motion sensors, matched to real streets with Apple Maps
- Real-time weather from Apple WeatherKit
- Sun-position compass and golden-hour times worked out on the phone
- Walks saved to Apple Health through HealthKit
- Pause and resume walks from the lock screen
Work in progress
To be fair: the name (StreetPal) and the branding were stitched together rather quickly. If the app ever makes it beyond my own iPhone, both will get a proper rethink.
Fancy being a beta tester? Drop me a line!
