Posts Tagged ‘commercial lighting’
It is a known fact that the month of February is unofficially dubbed the month for love due to the nationwide celebrated holiday Valentine’s Day. This day every year individuals are to recognize their loved ones and shower them in gifts typically including flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, or dining at a fine restaurant.
With little money available for my significant other, it was known that little could be afforded in the gift giving department. Thus a creative and unique idea developed. Late the year prior at the beginning of winter, it was decided upon that investing in commercial lighting would be an intelligent financial venture. Being a somewhat novice in the gardening department, the idea was initially formed by wanting to grow fruits and vegetables year round without the hassle of having to deal with the harsh cold winters, and the below freezing temperatures.
After having installed the finest garden bollards and ballast kits, the ripest and juiciest vegetables and fruits were grown in the middle of winter. It had truly made the difference in fresh fruit salads and treasuring the crispest lettuce in salads. It made for the perfect strategic gardening move for a novice in venturing into growing produce. Before long, another thought had come to mind with the quickly approaching romantic holiday. Could it be possible to not only grow fruits and vegetables, but also gorgeous and beautiful flowers such as roses indoors? By investing in top-of-the-line flowering bulbs from a reputable online retailer, the task was set for achieving the perfect bunch of flowers grown indoors for a first-time indoor gardener.
Once some time had passed it was unbelievable the results. With a little dedication and small amounts of hard work beautiful red roses had bloomed. The timing could not have been more perfect. The month of February had just arrived and the newly grown roses had made the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift for a loved one. Once they were received, the thought of knowing the hard working and dedication that had gone to growing the very previous flowers, made the gift more one-of-a-kind and thoughtful.
Overall, indoor gardening had become a new hobby as well as quite an investment. With the money saved in purchasing produce as well as small gifts for certain holidays such as Valentine’s Day, birthdays and anniversaries, the journey of becoming an indoor gardening has been fruitful and promising.
Author Kim Green loves how her commercial lighting improves her indoor gardens.
Mood is one of the most important parts of any room. Every room, from the bathroom to the living room to the bedroom to the exercise room, contains a mood that you transmit through the way you decorate it. And while you can hang as many pictures as you want and use a color scheme on your furniture to rival anything you’ll find at a French palace, it’s really the lighting that is the most important part of setting a mood in any room. Human psyche reacts to lighting more than any other visual stimulant in a room. If you walk into a room and it’s darker, you get a different internal feeling then if you walk into a room and it’s bright and airy. It’s just human nature. Because of this, when you are putting together a room and you are hoping to set an overall feeling it is always very important to highly consider what type of lighting you are going to use.
Home lighting is different than, say, the commercial lighting that you use to light your business. Commercial lighting is more about simply getting the place lit so that people can see. When you are dealing with mood lighting at home you are looking to have lighting that insinuates the overall feeling of the room. If you are looking to set a mysterious feel you want a softer, “darker” light. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a bright, happy feel (say for a kids room or nursery), you want a bright and happy light. There are so many options out there for you that you can typically find anything you need to set a mood quiet easily.
One of your best friends when it comes to mood lighting is the dimmer switch. The dimmer switch allows you to have several moods available at all times on the same room light. You can use the switch to bring the light down during a dinner get together, or up during a children’s play date, it’s all up to you. Plus, since the dimmer switch can be added to any existing light that you have in any room, it is an inexpensive way to chance the mood of your room without having to spend an arm and a leg.
There is such a variety of tools at your disposal that you can easily find something in your price range for any room. While you can check out your local home improvement store for ideas, one of the best places to buy lights, fixtures and switches is actually the internet. There are a variety of shops dedicated to lights and lighting accessories online that offer great selection and great sales prices.
Author Kim Green is intrigued by how people use commercial lighting and regular lighting to bring a room to life.
There is something beautiful about a sports stadium. Ever since I went to my first one in Southern California as a child I’ve always had an affinity towards them. There is something about the way that certain parts of the structure blend with each other, how the stands and field mix with the commercial lighting, and how a building that seats 60,000 spectators can feel small and intimate in the right circumstances. I grew up in the age of the cookie cutter stadiums, where a multi-use football/ baseball stadium meant lots of seating with little personality. Even then, though, I found beauty in structures that most others didn’t.
It’s always fascinating to me to see stadiums in countries around the world. With nine South African cities currently hosting World Cup games, we are able to see nine separate stadiums which make up the personality of the country. From old school, European style architecture to state of the art, these African stadiums have it.
The center-piece stadium of the event is the Soccer City venue in Johannesburg. The 88,500 capacity stadium, which will host the championship match, was upgraded in 2009 to make it a massive, state of the art venue which is has an energy both in and outside of the venue. The stadium looks like a spaceship from the outside with light panels which can be seen from miles around.
Another new state of the art stadium built for the World Cup matches is Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. The venue, which holds 68,000 and was completed in 2009, is touted by officials as one of the most modern in the world complete with a retractable glass roof that would allow natural light onto the grass field when needed.
Not all stadiums were built specifically for the World Cup, though. Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg was originally built in 1928 with improvements made in 1982. This 62,500 seat stadium is traditionally a rugby stadium and was featured in the 2009 Clint Eastwood film “Invictus”. While it may be on the older side, it is known to have the type of personality that we would equate to Wrigley Field or Fenway Park in the States. Other parks such as Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg and Free State Stadium in Bloemfonetin, are also on the “older” side of the coin.
There is a campaign to get the 2018 or 2022 World Cup back here in the United States. With all the football and soccer specific stadiums that have been built since the 1994Cup was hosted here, we should make a great host country. But in the mean time, watch the Cup and take a look at the stadiums. They definitely have a lot of personality.
Author Kim Green enjoys all facets of world competition, including the commercial lighting.
There are a lot of different types of commercial lighting out there. It can enhance anything from sporting events to museums to malls to workplaces, to even housing complexes. Even if you don’t notice it, lighting is always there enhancing not only our ability to look at things, but also how we look at things. It can change our moods and our perceptions about the things around us. It can make blues lighter, reds darker and whites change from welcoming to foreboding. This is why my all time favorite use of commercial lighting is at someplace where it really can influence the way art makes us feel: at live concerts.
If you’re a music fan you have to admit one thing: a live concert would be nothing without lighting. While a song can set a mood, the lighting which surrounds the performers can enhance it, either adding to or slightly tweaking the intended message of the artist. A stage bathed in a red glow makes for a much different message then a stage dressed in a blue hew. Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes lighting can have just as important of an effect on an audience as music does.
Radiohead has always been an artist that has always put a lot of thought into their concert lighting. While other bands might be flashier, Radiohead has always been able to use their light so smartly that they never overdo it. You wouldn’t believe how many bands you watch who barrage you with so many lights that you walk out with your head aflutter with a massive headache. Radiohead, on the other hand, has found ways to use their lights to enhance their songs without overshadowing them. That’s hard to do, especially in large venues.
Radiohead was the first band to fully embrace the use of LED lighting in the concerts. While other bands have used in sparingly, they were the first band to use nothing but the LED bulbs during their 2008 US tour. Because LED is crisper and brighter, it added such a dimension to their performance. Gone were the annoying strobe lights, the stage lighting was succinct and beautiful. They even were able to project images with the on the LED screens while lighting the stage. Plus since the LED lights don’t give off as much heat, it’s also better for the environment.
I once heard a quote that said going to see Radiohead live is like going to church. I have to say, after seeing them multiple times it is almost like a religious experience. There is no better live act to see. Just make sure you take a moment to look at their lighting.
Kimberly Green enjoys all aspects of concerts from T-shirt stalls to commercial lighting.
You ever look up at the lights during your favorite sporting event? If not you might be missing one of the most important aspects of the game.
A couple nights I went to a hockey game. One of my favorite things to do is watch sports live and to me there is nothing like watching a hockey game. There is something so awesome about the beauty and the force that you see on the ice. It’s a mix of toughness (both physical and mental), finesse, and luck all put together in a game that is played on the fastest sporting surface known to man.
Of course, none of this would be possible at a live setting without the commercial lighting at the arena. I know, I know, it’s a mundane thing to think about: lighting. We take it completely for granted at sporting events. But without expert lighting we wouldn’t be able to watch our favorite team go out there night after night to beat their hated rivals.
I know it’s obvious, but one must recognize lighting varies from sport to sport, and from arena to stadium. It’s not just about shining lights onto the playing field, it’s about expert planners, electricians and maintenance men and women making sure that the light shines in the right places at the right times and seamlessly melds into the playing area and crowd.
If you really look at the lighting the next time you go to your favorite sporting event you’ll notice that there are different lighting needs for the playing field and for the audience. For the playing field you have to find the perfect combination of lights to make sure the field of play is easily seen by both player and spectator alike without overwhelming them with unnecessary brightness or heat. There is an old phrase in baseball that says “He lost it in the lights on that fly ball”. That type of problem is unavoidable at times but as a lighting designer you have to make sure that that kind of issue is kept at a minimum.
For fans, different arenas and stadium have different levels of lighting for the spectator areas. Places like the Staples Center in Los Angeles like to darken the crowd during games so that the playing surface can be better seen. For football and baseball night games, stadiums have a tendency to keep the spectators in a slightly dimmer light then the playing surface, but still give them enough light to walk, eat and peruse comfortably.
Just a little something to think about the next time you go out to root on your favorite sports team.
Author Kimberly Green has experience with interior decorating and specializes in residential home lighting as well as some commercial lighting for businesses.
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