Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Who has time for this blogging business?

Ambient, task and other types of light
On to the serious business of lighting.  I make this disclaimer: I am not schooled particularly in what can be a very technical job.  My experience has been empirical, but it does cover a lot of time, close to thirty years, at least.

Lighting can be very subjective and the engineers in this field have made serious attempts to quantify every aspect of lighting which can be a numbing experience with light spread graphs and much talk of lumens and candelas and lux. It is quite hard to get a grip on all of this.  On the other hand, we pretty much all know what the light of a 60 watt incandescent bulb looks like and this makes a handy reference, especially when we get to the “efficacious” forms of lighting, the fluorescent and the LED bulbs.

Back to the topic on hand: Ambient light is the background or “fill” light that illuminates our interiors in a non-directed manner.  It can be harsh and unpleasant as in over-lit fluorescents sometimes found in factories and hospitals or fast food restaurants where too much comfort can result in customers overstaying their welcome. Or ambient light can be soft and romantic as candles on a dining room table with a nice bottle of Bordeaux.  Ambient light is not for reading, applying makeup or creating clever things with your hands. On these occasions we need task lighting.  As the name implies, this is light to help us with creative activities.  However, there is no clear division between ambient and task light as a table lamp can suffice as a reading light if you are sitting right next to it, but becomes a pleasing ambient light to fill a room with a flattering glow. But generally speaking, a task light is usually a small light with a reflector to place light exactly on to your work space and to prevent the light from spilling in every direction.  What is needed is the right blend of ambient and task lighting to get the job done.

The other aspect of lighting is decorative.  While the light may answer to other practical applications, it should also add to the general decorative interior scheme whether it is contemporary minimalism or 17th century antiquity.  Without lighting you are back in the cave.  What is attractive in decorative light is highly subjective and it would be too self-serving for me to pass judgment on the multitude of lighting available today.

So how do orchids relate to lighting design?  That will take some time to explain, but for now it is interesting to note that orchids, among many unique features, are bi-laterally symmetrical not unlike a human face…or a wall sconce.  More about this anon.   This is a Maxillaria from the mountains of South America.  Strange looking, you may think, and it is.  It is quite diminutive, less than an inch tall and smells strongly of rhubarb.  What more could you want?

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