Tag: LED

#365daysofbiking Disappearing from sight

January 6th – On a weary, late return from work, mercifully with the wind behind me, I stopped on cresting the remarkably steep Black Cock Bridge, and looked downhill towards the Coppice Road, as I’ve done many, many times before.

It looks like a great downhill, but parked vehicles, a T junction at the bottom and an abundance of cats and kids in summer make it too risky to pile in.

One thing I noted tonight was the orange of the sodium streetlights. That will soon go, as the local council have now announced a plan to replace all Walsall’s old style lights for new, white energy efficient ones, which it has to be said are better for visibility, with less light pollution and lower energy.

But sadly without the comfy, warm orange glow that glistens so well on tarmac.

Oh well.

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November 27th – Coming down from Priorslee in Telford along the cycleway to the station past nightfall.

The lighting here is still shrouded by the last remnants of the summer’s greenery and was changed at some point in the year for new LED fittings.

The combination of the much more specifically directional light and the tree overhang was some remarkable tonight that I had to stop and take a picture. 

This image hasn’t been doctored in anyway. 

January 21st – An experiment with long-exposure photography was fun with these thirty second exposures. The first was off the footbridge over the Chasetown bypass, and the gentle undulation of the structure clearly affected the image. Better from the crossing of the M6 Toll, which is a much harsher image since their change to LED lighting.

February 11th – Heading over Catshill Junction to slide down the High Street, I still can’t get over the lights and reflections of the new build, and the way it affects what was a formerly barren spot at night.

Combined with he LED streetlights from Chandlers Keep, it feels quite awake there these days, no longer lonely and isolated at all.

January 21st – Taking a shortcut home through The Butts in Walsall,I was struct by the beauty of the car-lined street of terraces under the ghostly white LED streetlights. I don’t often come this way as I find the traffic down here a nightmare, but it’s a lovely place; by day, busy and occupied but by night, almost somnambulant.

A snatched photo taken just because the scene charmed me.

Deember 21st – I’m interested in road safety technology and lighting as many readers will have gathered, and I’m intrigued by the recent upgrade to the zebra crossing on the Lindon Road by the Clayhanger Road junction.

The conventional Belisha Beacons have been replace for two LED streetlights, shining down on the crossing and adjacent footpaths, bathing the whole area in white light. This gives a stunning effect in an area of orange sodium lights; further, the beacons themselves are bracketed off the lighting columns, which have LED lights in them and shine out the white bands on the post that would normally just be paint or reflectives.

The overall effect is remarkable, but very hard to photograph. I’m impressed.

September 4th – I forgot my camera today, so instead I grabbed it and my little tripod when I had to run a late evening errand. It was quite still in Brownhills this evening, and there were few people around. 

I am fascinated by the new white LED streetlights the council are installing in some places. Unlike the ones in Birmingham, these seem much brighter and clearer than the sodium ones they replace, and the cold white light the spread is somewhat otherworldly, particularly on street corners where old and new technologies overlap.

At the Pier Street bridge, I was fascinated by the lights shining off the surface of the canal, something I’d forgotten in the light days of a summer now passed.

Now autumn is upon us, I must sharpen up my night photography techniques.

April 27th – I was working throughout the day, and only got out late evening.  It was threatening rain, and dusk was bearing down. I then realised I’d forgotten the camera, so had to use my phone. It didn’t really like the light, I think.

Nice to see that in the last week my favourite tree – the lone horse chestnut near Home Farm, Sandhills, has burst into leaf; I read the seasons by that tree, and now I know safe passage to summer is guaranteed. The canal all the way round to Newtown (and probably well beyond) is lush, and green, and beautiful. How I love this season.

Cruising up Short Street, I spotted the sky, and shot home before I got soaked. Interesting to note, though, that the street lights here have been changed for new LED ones; they’re very good, and are creeping onto many streets in Brownhills. Wonder what the rollout plan is?

So much nicer than the old orange ones.

December 11th – Taking a short cut through the Butts (no sniggering at the back), I noticed that Eastbourne Street has had it’s street lighting changed to LED technology. These lights are cool white rather than the customary yellow, and run much more efficiently and at lower power than sodium discharge types. Birmingham has being undertaking a rolling program of installing this type of lighting for a year or two now.

They’re a shock at first, but I prefer them. Although they look dimmer, their illumination is actually great, and I find they don’t cause the glare that the older types do.

The eerie effect on the urban scene is also rather wonderful.