Uplighting level 2

Way back in May of 2011, we wrote a blog titled Uplighting.  This was a very basic introduction to the how and what elements of uplighting.  As we have gotten feedback from you through out the past year, we thought that we would take some time to talk about different styles of uplighting.  Ok, there are several different types of lighting fixtures out there.  We already talked about incandescent vs LED lighting fixtures in our blog here.  This blog is going to focus on which type of lighting fixture is best to use to achieve the expected look, no matter if the fixtures are incandescent or LED.

There are all different types of beam spread that we can get out of lighting fixtures (i.e., how wide the beam of light is projecting up the wall).  Some lighting fixtures achieve this by what type of lamp is installed, while other fixtures achieve this by what type of lens is installed. Most lighting fixtures are flexible as to how we get different beam spreads out of one fixture, some are built by the manufacturer as a fixed beam spread fixture.  A couple of different looks can be achieved with uplighting.  In the shots below, we used lighting fixtures with a narrow beam spread.  This gives a striped look to the wall.

The striped look isn't for everyone.  With a lighting fixture with a wider beam spread, we can achieve what most imagine when they think of uplighting and that is to wash the entire wall with color.  In the shots below, we used the wider beam spread lighting fixtures.

As you can see, uplighting is not just throwing light up the side of a wall.  There is an art, as well as a fair amount of technical knowledge needed to get the correct fixture in the correct space to achieve a certain look.  There are many venues where it is appropriate to use several different types of lighting fixtures for uplighting the space.  You can count on us to get it right, every time.  Visit our website for more information.

Solus Lighting goes international

Solus Lighting LTD was recently hired to provide technical lighting support for a temporary exhibition in Tel Aviv, Israel.  We completely transformed an empty space into something everyone there was excited about.  The venue was in an old building on the site of Ha Tachana.  Ha Tachana was an old train station, that was in the middle of the railway traveling between Jaffa & Jerusalem.  Ha Tachana existed even before the city of Tel Aviv was built, and is now a bustling tourist site filled with shops & restaurants.  It is also the temporary home for Bodies...The Exhibition, produced by Premier Exhibitions.

We were able to travel a bit before we started to get to work on the rig and will be sharing more pictures on our website and Facebook pages.  For now, here is an introductory taste of some of things we got to see and work on!

This is a shot of the Dead Sea.  At 423 meters below sea level, it is the lowest place on earth.  The name comes from the fact that it is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, it is 8.6 times saltier than the oceans, and no animal can live in it's environment.  One other fun fact, people cannot sink in the Dead Sea - we all just float because of the denseness of the water from the salt.

After we floated out of the Dead Sea, we continued our travels into Jerusalem.  The photo above is of the Garden of Gethsemani, which is a place located on the Mount of Olives.  The garden now features beautiful landscaping, however the olive trees that are seen here are over 2000 years old.

Night time view of part of Tel Aviv.  Tel Aviv is open 24 hours a day, known as the "city that never sleeps".  It is also renowned for it's miles and miles of beautiful beaches on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Ha Tachana, the site of the venue, was one block from the Mediterranean Sea.  So most of the crew would have lunch on the beach.

Here is the venue before we started the transformation into the exhibit.  This building is known as Hanger 20 on the grounds of Ha Tachana.

Day two into the install and the truss structure is up and ready for the lighting hang.

This shot shows the rig coming together in the front half of the exhibition.  All specimens, descriptions and signs were all lit for visibility of the guests.  We used several different types of fixtures to light the exhibition.  All served their own specific purpose of lighting specific elements of the exhibition.

That's all we can show you here.  If you are abroad and would like to see the exhibition, more information can be found here.  If you would like more information or would like to see a Bodies...The Exhibition here stateside visit their website for current show locations.

Wedding season is here!!!

It's the beginning of May and it is 79 degrees in Cleveland, Ohio.  Wedding. Season. Is. Here!  We were thinking that now is a good time to offer up some links to help brides-to-be with the final details, and also for the not so immediate brides-to-be with where to get started.

Welcome to Solus Lighting LTD's Wedding Resource Blog Post!  Let's dive right in...

Today's Bride has an excellent articles section of their website, that has categories for anything that you forgot to think about, but they did not!  Everything from ideas about decorations, to tips on favors and guest accommodations.  They even have a section titled "Tips & Tricks" with a link to an article about how to remember names - we have read that one a couple of times!  You can find all of their great resource articles here.

Another great wedding resource page is on The Knot website.  The Knot also has a wedding planning section on their website.  Here you can find out about the current wedding color trends of the season, as well as the top bridal beauty dont's.  They also have links for many many other topics such as destination weddings and reception ideas, just to name a few.  You can find their resources here.

We round out this week's blog with Wedding Connections website.  Wedding Connections has an article page on their site where you can find tips, themes, traditions, guides and articles.  You can find tips on planning 24 months from your wedding date all the way up to last minute wedding day details.  You can find their article page here.

We hope that this will be helpful in either getting started for or putting the last finishing touches on your big day!

It's benefit week at Solus Lighting LTD

Solus Lighting LTD is proud to be a part of two excellent benefits this upcoming weekend.  The first will happen on Saturday 04.21.12 at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History with the Trout Club Banquet & Auction.  This event will support various conservation and environmental programs related to cold water fisheries.  Registration and more information can found here, on the CMNH website.

The second event is happening on Sunday 04.22.12 at Signature of Solon Country Club.  The event is the Bridal & Beyond Productions Spring Bridal Fair, with those proceeds going to benefit Wish Upon A Wedding.  Wish Upon A Wedding provides weddings and vow renewals to couples facing terminal illness and serious life altering circumstances.  Registration can be found here, on the Signature of Solon website or here, on the Bridal & Beyond Productions website.

Wether you support wildlife or are a bride-to-be or anything in between, come on out this weekend and support two great causes!

Tent season is right around the corner

When spring is in the air, it gets us thinking about what we refer to the late spring/summer/early fall seasons as "tent season".  Having a wedding reception or any kind of party for that matter in a tent is popular this time of year.  Your awesomely talented and creative staff members at Solus Lighting LTD can light a tent like no one else!  Our staff has dozens of years of combined experience in the professional lighting industry and half of that was spent summer after summer perfecting our tent lighting techniques.

We have blogged before about how we can do all of the same things in a tent that we can do in a traditional venue.  This includes, but is not limited to, uplighting, custom pattern projections (gobos), ceiling washes, string lights and paper lanterns.  When choosing a tent for the site of the celebration, there are several options available.  There are clear top tents, solid top tents, false (fabric) ceilings can also be installed in tents.  Fabric ceilings in tents transform the entire space and can be lit in several different ways.  The fabric ceiling can be lit so that ceiling feels high and unobtrusive or they can be lit to bring the space down for a more intimate feel.

Whatever the visions are for the dream tent party, we can turn them into reality!

Rockin "Studio 54" Wedding

Solus Lighting LTD had the distinct honor of providing the lighting for a wedding at the Akron Art Museum.  The wedding and reception featured LED fixtures highlighting the museums amazing architecture, as well as handling the dance floor lighting and illuminating the terrace which featured the bar.  Lead Designer, Maureen Patterson, also chose ETC Source 4 fixtures to project crazy interesting patterns over the lower and upper level of the sprawling Beatrice Knapp McDowell Grand Lobby area.  Patterson also used some small incandescent fixtures to provide up lighting in all of the different colors that were in the bridesmaids dresses.  Finally, the design was rounded out with lighting Robert J Events & Catering food stations.

Check out the brides testimonial here.  The wedding was also featured in the real weddings section of Today's Bride Akron publication, as well as in the Akron Ohio News!

Home page and social media facelift!

Solus Lighting LTD is announcing that our re-vamped home page is ready for your eyeballs...check out our re-designed home page on our website.  Complete with mini slide show, and all new links to our social media sites!

Speaking of some of our social media sites, we have now made our Facebook fan page easier to get to.  SLL can now be reached on Facebook at www.facebook.com/soluslightingltd.

Also, SLL has ventured into the awesome world of Pinterest.  Our Pinterest page will feature some of our own work, as well as some wedding ideas that we find that we think would be a great addition to any wedding reception!  We can be found on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/soluslighting.

Can't go a couple of hours without checking out what tweets are out there on Twitter?  We cant' either!  Not only do we tweet about what we are up to, but we also retweet all kinds of interesting information.  It's not all business on our Twitter account, we also retweet what is going on in and around Cleveland...especially where the local food trucks will be parked for lunch!  SLL tweets can be followed at www.twitter.com/#!/soluslighting.

You Tube can provide endless hours of entertainment.  We know that with what we do, some times a picture just doesn't relay how cool something looked like in person.  So we created our own channel!  Here you can find some videos of special lighting effects we have done.  Stay tuned to this channel for more new and exciting videos.  The Solus Lighting LTD channel can be seen at www.youtube.com/soluslightingltd.


Happy surfing!!!