Yes — the Solarigrafia.app portal and the SolarMap app are completely free and carry no ads. If you would like to support the work, you can buy the author a virtual coffee at buycoffee.to/pinholove or send any amount via PayPal.

Not for browsing. Publications, author profiles, news and the map are available without signing in. An account is only needed once you want to publish solarigraphs yourself, comment, like someone’s work or post in SolarChat. Registration is free, and the same account works in the SolarMap app.

The portal runs in any browser — phone, tablet or computer — and needs no installation. The SolarMap app, more convenient in the field, can additionally be installed on your phone; instructions are in the Install PWA section.

Solarigraphy is a photographic technique based on a very long exposure — from several weeks up to several years. The result is an image showing the sun’s trails across the sky as arcs that shift with the seasons.

A solarcan is a simple pinhole camera, usually made from a drinks can, lined inside with photographic paper. You place it somewhere and leave it for a long exposure.

You need a can (for example a coffee tin), a piece of photographic paper and some tape. Make a small pinhole in the can with a needle, insert the paper in the dark, and cover the hole with tape. That’s it — you can put the camera out!

Choose places with a wide view of the sky, ideally facing south. A roof, a balcony, a pole, a tree — as long as the camera is firmly attached and protected from rain.

An exposure can last from a few weeks to a few years — it depends on the effect you want. The most popular runs from solstice to solstice, so about 6 months.

Once out of the can, the photographic paper should be scanned or photographed as soon as possible — it is sensitive to light. You can also fix it in a fixer solution.

Click “Publish solarigraph” in the top bar. There are two routes: pick a project waiting for its result — the portal will then fill in the parameters from the app — or upload your own photo straight from disk. New cans are created in the SolarMap app; the portal is for showing the finished result.

Photos sometimes carry no GPS data, if location was switched off when the picture was taken or the gallery stripped the EXIF metadata. The portal reads EXIF just like the app, so when there are no coordinates, point at the place manually on the map in the form, or use the button that reads the location from your device.

No. Location is optional and only used to place the pin when a photo carries no coordinates of its own. You can always mark the spot manually on the map, or leave it out entirely.

A can that is still exposing stays private — you decide whether it appears on the World Map and whether your name and photo go with it. A finished work is different: adding the result photo means publishing it, so it goes to the feed and to the gallery in the app. Showing it on the World Map remains a separate choice.

Yes. In the Panel, under “My mounts” and “My results”, every card has a menu with edit and delete options. Deleting is irreversible — it removes the photo, withdraws the publication together with its comments, and takes the solarigraph off the World Map.

A public profile shows the number of published solarigraphs, total likes, follower count and the longest exposure. There are no badges in the portal — the badge system lives only in the SolarMap app.

Fill in the form under Help → Report a bug. You can attach a screenshot. Every report is read and helps develop the portal and the app.

Accounts are deleted in the SolarMap app — side menu → “Delete account”. Deletion also covers your data in the portal, because both services share one account. The option will appear in the portal later.

Solarigrafia.app and SolarMap are made by Dawid Rycąbel — a photographer and solarigrapher working under the PINHOLOVE brand. The project grew out of a passion for solarigraphy and the wish to build a tool for the whole community. More in the About the author section.