Photo

     Not long ago all luminescent lamps gave the same disgusting green light as mercurial lamps. It could be corrected by using purple correction filters. Nowadays lamp manufacturers have learned to produce light sources which outwardly resemble usual luminescent lamps, but these chameleons shine almost like the sun. It’s fairly easy to get confused and instead of photographing on daylight film without any correction put a purple correction filter on the camera lens and have a flaw.
Being aware of all properties of light sources it's easy to predict what the beach illuminated by a mercurial lamp will look like.            
As for the attic of my summer cottage, I illuminated it with a high-powered professional flash gun. But I intended to make a warm, even reddish light. I directed the beam of light to the wooden ceiling which reflected it in a sunny orange colour. As a matter of fact, a correction filter was used & colour temperature of the flash was reduced to that of incandescent light bulbs.
     A very similar method was used when photographing a bridge across the Moskva River. The bridge was illuminated by green mercurial lamps from within but by blue & orange lamps from the outside. The granite stair-steps & the road in the foreground were illuminated exactly by the light coming from these lamps and reflected by the bridge construction. Without this illumination the photo wouldn’t have been so beautiful.
 

     The combination of mercurial and sodium lamps looks rather interesting.

     In recent years the use of sodium lamps has been increasing too. Their light is of a distinct orange colour. It is visible without any particular knowledge. This colour is reproduced on the film in the same way as we see it with our eyes. Objects illuminated by sodium lamps look festive especially in contrast with the deep blue or lilac twilight sky in the background.