Field notes after dark
Outdoor lighting, tested after dark
Make the night
part of the garden.
We are Roya & Josh. We test outdoor lights on two unruly acres in San Diego, then show you what survives, what enchants, and what is not worth the extension cord.
Real property · real weather · real photographs · no showroom lighting
The premise
A laboratory disguised as a landscape.
Most outdoor-lighting advice ends at the product box. Ours begins when the sun goes down. We install lights on paths, in trees, around gathering places and across steep ground—then live with them through heat, wind, watering and ordinary human clumsiness.
The result is part field notebook, part design studio: honest observations, after-dark photography and useful ways to compose a space—not a parade of specifications copied from packaging.
01 · We install
Where real nights happen
Path edges, terraces, trees, tables and the awkward corners product photos never show.
02 · We observe
Beyond first impressions
Charge, glow, glare, weathering, color transitions and whether a light still delights a month later.
03 · We compose
Light as landscape material
Not brighter for brightness’ sake. Rhythm, shadow and a reason to wander outside after dinner.
Three scenes,
one property.
Photographed by us · San Diego
Begin here
The solar-light field guide
Dozens of lights, photographed where they actually live. Start with our hard-won rules, then browse by the feeling or function you need.
The best lighting advice arrives after sunset.
Questions, discoveries, a light we should put through its paces? We read every note.
