About Aperture22

The Story

Aperture22 started with a simple question: How do I actually get better at photography?

Not better gear. Not more presets. Better understanding of why some shots work and others don't — and what to do differently next time.

Every photography app tells you your photo is nice. Aperture22 tells you why your highlights clipped, how your composition could be stronger, and what settings would have captured the moment better. Then it helps you plan your next shoot so you can apply what you learned.

That's the difference between a filter app and a photography intelligence platform.

About the Builder

Duane is a PMP-certified Senior Program Manager with over 15 years of experience in product delivery, digital transformation, and team leadership — from London to Alexandria, Virginia.

By day, he leads enterprise digitalization programs at a Fortune 500 biotech company, managing ERP migrations, AI integration, and manufacturing quality transformation in a regulated environment.

By night, he built Aperture22 from scratch — designing the AI architecture, writing the code, calibrating the scoring system, and testing it with his own photography.

Aperture22 is proof that one person with the right tools and methodology can build a production-grade AI platform. No team. No VC. Just vision, persistence, and a lot of coffee.

Member: Project Management Institute (PMI) · Prince William Photography Club

Learn more about Duane → justplainduane.com

The Vision

Aperture22 is building toward a future where every photographer — from first-camera beginner to working professional — has an AI-powered companion that:

• Analyzes images across 10 dimensions with consistent, measurable scoring
• Plans shoots with GPS-aware shot cards tailored to your gear and skill level
• Coaches you with knowledge grounded in real photography principles, not generic AI opinions
• Closes the loop — plan, shoot, analyze, learn, improve

Photography is a craft. Aperture22 is the mentor that helps you master it.

What's Coming

• 🧭 Safari Companion App — a standalone mobile app for your shoots. Access your safari plan, shot cards, GPS maps, gear checklist, and on-the-spot planning right from your phone. Cache your plans for offline use in remote locations with no signal. No laptop needed — plan on desktop, shoot with the app in your pocket.
• 📱 Full-screen immersive viewer — overlay coaching in an edge-to-edge image experience
• 🔄 Shot Card Matching — see how your photos compare to your planned shots
• 📊 Visual storytelling — coach a series of images as a cohesive visual narrative
• 🗺️ Safari Planner v2 — visual planning boards with drag-and-drop shot cards
• 📚 Community knowledge — upload photography resources and strengthen the coaching curriculum
• 📷 Gear scanning — scan barcodes to instantly build your camera bag profile
• 🐍 Advanced image analytics — deeper technical measurements for precision coaching
• 🖨️ Coaching report PDF — download and share your analysis as a professional photography report

Have a feature idea? We'd love to hear from you.