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Category Archives: Lighting
Baseball Field Light Fixtures
The best lighting for a baseball field or stadium is not the brightest possible light, but rather the most evenly distributed, glare-free light. Too often, DIY installers overspend when buying baseball field lights, buying both too many fixtures and fixtures at too high a wattage output. This not only results in more exorbitant front-end costs, but it also contributes to higher lighting costs and, in some instances, more glare for smaller baseball diamonds. Professional designers know that installing retail grade baseball lights pre-mounted to poles simply will not put America’s Game in the right kind of light. Advanced foot-candle calculations based upon the size and location of the field must first be done in advanced, then commercial grade fixtures with sophisticated reflectors must be mounted at exactly the right height on poles in order to produce maximum lumens per wattage efficiency. This is critical for mid-air lighting of the ball in play, and something that fixed-mount pole fixtures cannot deliver. Also, preconfigured baseball lights will almost always degrade more rapidly when exposed to extremes in weather, and when they begin to rust, they present an unsightly nuisance that eventually exposes wires to humid air and creates short circuit and possible fire hazard.
While commercial grade baseball lights do represent a price point for the small town, pee wee league, little league, or church camp, they can nonetheless be obtained at competitive prices on the front end and be configured in such a fashion as to create a energy-saving return on investment on the back end. This is why so many small towns, camps, and churches on a budget rely upon RLL Design for baseball lighting fixtures, poles, mounts and accessories. RLL Design experts add years of consultation and lighting expertise to the proposal of the professional looking to generate savings and ROI, and they add consultative value to the knowledge of the do-it-yourselfer at a savings of cost-per-hour labor fees. Many clients are often shocked to see how less can truly be more when it comes to baseball field and stadium lighting. For example, a small little league field seldom needs more than one or two 1000-watt lamps along the baseline, and a single or double 400-watt baseball light over home plate. Knowing the exact wattage to choose and where to install the fixture requires calculation of the size and location of the field and detailed knowledge of light pollution laws in one’s area. Having this knowledge available from your baseball lighting vendor is an added value that saves you time preparing proposals and prevents costly mistakes when you decide to install the purchase and lights yourself.
Savings isn’t limited to the small municipality or organization alone. RLLD baseball lights feature advanced ballast technology that renders superior electron flow, making them ideal for larger baseball stadiums and professional league lighting. RLLD baseball lighting fixtures are designed to resist corrosion in a multitude of climates. Featuring a powder coated die cast housing with formed aluminum lids, they can endure a greater level of stress from wind and rain. Baseball lights further protect lamp life with tempered flat glass insulated with gasket seals and aluminum clamp bands. Adding anodized aluminum reflectors to magnify lumens output and photometrical distribution can further customize each fixture. By working with an RLLD sports lighting specialist, you can choose from types 3, 4, 5, or 6 optics to achieve maximum visibility for safe play.
Superior ballasting technology also extends the lamp life of RLLD baseball lighting fixtures and produces a more reliable, consistent spread of illumination necessary for lighting a larger stadium. For best results, it is best for both contractors and DIY installers to work with a design specialist who will help them purchase poles and fixtures separately, then configure them into a specialty kit or custom lighting design. Each baseball field is different, so a variety of mounting brackets is also required to achieve precise positioning of light fixtures on poles so that directional angle of incidence is optimized and glare is minimized.
For baseball fields that already have light poles in place, you can work with one of our specialists who will fit them with new mounting arms and fixtures. Our baseball sports lighting fixtures can also be mounted on a variety of pole types and wall mounts, making them multi-functional for other sporting events and facility lighting needs. This is an added benefit we offer to contractors competitively bidding jobs for clients who have very limited procurement budgets, and it also serves to help smaller facilities looking to self-install a lighting system that can serve many needs at once.
We also understand that both professional and end-user clients simply do not have the time to do all the research and calculation necessary to effectively develop a baseball or sports arena lighting system. To help serve these organizations and individuals, we staff a team of Experts who will answer any question in our online forum, and we will help any serious inquiries over the phone.
Landscape Lighting Reviews
A cost effective and energy efficient way to brighten up the exterior of your home would be to install portable landscape lighting. There is tremendous upside to installing landscape lights. Some of which include the ability to keep walkways and pathways clear and visible during the night, to discourage robbers or criminals from entering the premises, or just to add some aesthetic appeal. Now, with the advancement in technology, landscape lighting is no problem, even for the average home owner with a wide variety of cost effective, energy saving options to choose from.
Landscape lighting is no longer something that is only visible on large upper class homes. These days, landscape lighting products are custom made for smaller houses to meet the home owners needs both from an aesthetic point of view and from a financial point of view. And, what is better is that many of these Landscape lighting manufacturers have a mix and match option so that you can design a landscape lighting system for your home for a reasonable price.
If you’re leaning towards investing in landscape lighting, then you might just want to look into the two top manufactures in todays market: Malibu and Sea Gull. For around 40 years, the Mailibu company has been manufacturing outdoor landscape lighting products. Malibu landscape lights are known for their warm, functional low voltage light. These lights add plenty of aesthetic appeal to your patio or garden, but they are also bright enough to discourage thieves and burglars from entering into your home.
The Sea Gull Lighting Company produces an ambiance lighting system that is well known for their quality, long life, low voltage systems, and easy installation. The Sea Gull company was established in 1992, so it is not as old as Malibu. However, since that time the company has risen to one of the top rate outdoor landscape lighting companies in the industry.
Both of these companies manufacture landscape lighting in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes that will suit the d?r and design of any home. In addition to the quality work and low voltage features, these companies produce landscape lighting products that will comfortably fit into any budget. Make sure that you take the time to do the proper research before going out and spending all that cash. Spend some time shopping around, and feel free to browse the internet for excellent content. Whenever, buying something online, be sure that the site your are on is a secure and trusted site. And most importantly, have fun!
Photography Lighting Techniques: Using Gobos
What is a gobo? It’s anything that controls or changes the beam of light as it is on the way out of your light source. The word comes from “goes between” or “goes before optics”. Gobos are typically used in theatre or stage lighting to create an effect. They control light by blocking it in some areas, by allowing the addition of color, or by diffusing it. They are used often with ellipsoidal spotlights that have a moveable lens for sharp or soft focusing.
Gobos are made from either thin metal or glass, commercially. Glass gobos can be colored or textured to create effects. Low budget theatre lighting has seen the use of everything from pie tins to soda cans with a pattern cut out. Essentially anything that won’t burn or melt in close proximity to a very hot light source has been used at one time or another to create a gobo.
For the architectural or interior photographer, as well as some studio portrait photographers, these creative lighting tools can come in very handy. Metal gobos come in a huge variety of patterns, including windows, blinds, doors, trees and leaves, and abstract shapes. Imagine the possibilities for interior photography! You can throw a light pattern across a room, giving the visual impression that there is a window somewhere just out of view in the image, when in fact there was none. Or you can use the technique with an abstract pattern to break up a blank and monotonous area (a stairwell, perhaps) and add interest to an otherwise dull area. It is also useful for adding light without having it look like a spotlight was placed on an object.
When used with an ellipsoidal light, a creative photographer can not only use the internal barn doors to flag the light beam, but also use the gobo to spread out a broken pattern with either a very soft edge or by adjusting the focus of the beam, create a very hard edge. This gives the option of simulating either soft, early morning light or mimicking the feeling of bright sunlight at noon. Add a dimmer switch to the equation and you can easily expand your possibilities.
Given the complexity and variety available from gobo manufacturers, you are limited only by your imagination…and budget. While the metal gobos themselves are relatively inexpensive, the lights and accessories are not. But having these tools at your disposal on a location shoot gives you options not possible any other way. Product photography goes from “same old thing” to something with depth and dimension. Your local theatre lighting supply company or Barbizon Lighting are good places to start. Ask for a catalog of gobos, sit back and let your imagination run wild. Just make certain you have sturdy stands and sandbags. Even the smaller ellipsoidal lights are heavy and need good support.