Show HN: I built a photography weather alert system
A developer built PhotoSignal, a photography weather alert system that lets users set location-based triggers for conditions like cloud cover, fog, frost, moon position, and rain clearing. Unlike other apps, it uses binary triggers instead of "magic scores." The freemium web app (built with C#, EF Core, Postgres) is currently offering HN users a 14-day free trial with invite code HNINVITE.
Background
- A "Show HN" post is a Hacker News tradition where makers share side projects for community feedback. The audience is mostly developers and startup-minded people.
- PhotoSignal is a weather-alert web app for landscape photographers. It eliminates the need to check multiple weather apps by letting users set rule-based triggers (e.g., fog predicted, moonrise at sunset, clouds below X% near sunrise).
- The founder deliberately avoided "magic scores" or "awesomeness certainty" — opaque ratings used by apps like PhotoPills — and instead uses binary yes/no triggers with raw data, which resonates with HN's preference for transparency.
- Freemium model: one free location. The post offers a 14-day full trial via invite code HNINVITE, a common HN launch tactic.
- Built with C#, EF Core, Postgres, and vanilla HTML/CSS/JS — a simple, backend-focused stack without a frontend framework.