The whole sky,
from first light to last
Time-lapse camera for iPhone · Morning · Daytime · Evening
CloudsForever eases exposure through sunrise and sunset while the camera sits on the tripod — and a second phone in your hand runs the take.
Built by a photographer who kept losing the best minutes of the day
After three years of shooting cloud time-lapse on iPhone, Richard Olsenius — photographer and filmmaker, with eight features in National Geographic — ran into the same problem at every sunrise and sunset. As the light changed, the exposure jumped in steps, and the slow drift of the sky turned into flicker.
He couldn't find an app that followed the light smoothly, so he built one: a camera that carries exposure across the whole change of light, runs as long as the sky does, and lets you walk away from the tripod.
One camera, three kinds of day
Pick the mode for the light in front of you. Each one is a single exposure plan, applied frame by frame for the whole take.
Stops down as the sky brightens
ISO comes down toward base first, then the shutter shortens — so the cloud edges keep the same softness of motion through the brightest part of dawn.
Files named M- or M1-, M2-…Locks exposure at the first frame
No ramp. The exposure read when you press Start holds for the whole take. In the heat of the day the camera slows its sensor to stay cool — without touching a single kept frame.
Files named D- or D1-, D2-…Opens up as the light falls
The shutter lengthens first, then ISO rises, carrying the scene through golden hour and into dusk without the stepped jumps of auto exposure.
Files named E- or E1-, E2-…Set it up. Step back.
The camera phone records on the tripod. During a take its screen goes dark to keep it cool.
The remote — a second iPhone or an iPad — shows the live frame, starts and stops the take, and changes every setting.
From the ground you see what you can't from the tripod: battery, heat, free storage, and whether the link is up.
If the remote locks, runs flat or walks out of range, the take carries on. The remote catches up when it's back.
Every control, on one panel
The same panel on both phones — the numbers below say what each part does.
Morning, Daytime or Evening — and your saved programs for that mode, named M1, D2, E3.
0.5x, 1x, 2x and telephoto. The 2x is the main camera's full-detail crop, not a digital enlargement.
Measure true infinity once per lens and every take locks there. Focus Test pulls a full 4K frame to check at 1:1.
How many stops, over how long, and the shape of the curve. A steep ramp on a short take gets a warning first.
Sunrise, golden hour and sunset for where you're standing, with a suggested ramp for each.
Made for long takes and real workflows
Plan any shoot, anywhere
Pick a date and a place and get first light, golden hour and last light, with a ramp to match. It's worked out on the phone, so it works with no signal.
Programs that live on the camera
Save a setup that worked and bring it back the next time the weather does this. Both phones always show the same list.
Pro formats
4K in ProRes 422 HQ, 422 or LT, HEVC or H.264. One frame every 1, 2, 4 or 6 seconds, played back at 30, 29.97 or 24 fps.
Runs as long as the sky does
Unlimited takes run until you press Stop, and stop themselves before storage runs out. Near the end of a timed take, you're offered the chance to keep going.
Files that sort themselves
Every take is named for its program or time of day, so Finder keeps your mornings, days and evenings together.
M1-09272026_082303.movStars that travel
Mark your keepers in the catalog. The star is part of the file name, so it arrives in Finder and Resolve with the clip.
★ E2-09272026_174210.movOne price. Yours to keep.
One-time purchase · No subscription · No account
Requires [iPhone models and iOS version]. A second iPhone or iPad as a remote is optional.
Coming to the App StoreThe clouds behind the camera
CloudsForever is also a collection of cloud time-lapse paired with original music by Richard Olsenius — made for designers and developers of websites and performance venues.
Explore the collectionA time-lapse camera for iPhone, made by a landscape photographer for the sky.
Location is used on the phone only, to work out sun times. The link between your phones stays between your phones. No accounts, no tracking, nothing collected.
Full privacy policy