Ed Cansino Lighting Design

Edward J Cansino Lighting Design is a lighting and design firm servicing both residential and commercial clients. The company installs and maintains creative lighting fixtures in.

• This is a story of unrequited love all the way around. It occurred in the early ‘50s. Think film noir, mood lighting, moonlight on the Riviera, that sort of thing. First, (and good casting for this story I might add) as the female lead was Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Carmen Cansino, to a Spanish Flamenco dancer father and Ziegfield girl mother.
• The “majority” of vulnerable people in the UK will be vaccinated throughout January and February, the government has said, as authorities prepare to rollout the first available doses of the.

When it comes to light quality, there exists no replacement for the incandescent lamp, other than mains voltage halogen in retrofit bulbs - most of which are also being phased out!
What is so unique about incandescent light then? * Unlike other light sources, incandescent and halogen lamps are tungsten black-body radiators, a version of fire-light which humanity has evolved with since fire was discovered. Like sunlight, incandescent light has the highest possible colour rendering (CRI 100), due to naturally continuous spectrum, and a warm-white, human-friendly light which radiates and makes colours come alive.
Update 25 june: Lighting designer Ed Cansino in a recent, highly informativeinterview:

'...if I were forced to choose the best lighting for residential overall, it would have to be incandescent. I feel that we as humans have had a deep connection to flame for many thousands of years. It’s almost like it’s in our DNA. It’s interesting that as time moves on, people are still drawn to sitting around the camp fire, a fireplace, even a barbecue. Think of a Yule log. It’s just that this particular quality of light is ingrained in us. You can even get a screen saver of log flames. Incandescents with their glowing filaments are a form of flame and are thus an extension of this inborn affinity that we have for fire.'

* When dimmed or used at lower wattages, the light colour gets proportionally warmer and more like candle light. Increase brightness and it gets whiter again. This is how a natural light source behaves.
* Icandescent light is the standard against which all other types of light is measured. This is why the lighting industry has put so much effort into trying to copy its light colour, colour rendering capacity and other qualities.
* CFLs are based on a completely different technology,and LEDs on yet another.Even if the industry can now mix phosphors to decently emulate incandescent light at a superficial level in some of the best brand models, FL/CFL or LED light is no more the same thing as incandescent light than a gold-coloured alloy can be called real gold, or synthetic microfiber real silk. Both have their respective uses, but in many cases a substitute just won't do.CFL light is a composite light, an artificial replica of the real thing that just doesn't feel the same and does not behave in the same way. When dimmed, for example, it just turns cooler and more grey and dull, not warmer.
See this interview with a pro-CFL professor explaining the quality problems with CFLs:Why Efficient Light Bulbs Fail to Thrive
Here are spectral distribution charts (from Osram) for different light sources, which illuminate the quality differences very clearly:
Incandescent light with continuous spectrum and full colour rendering (CRI 100).
Example of standard FL/CFL with uneven spectrum & limited colour rendering (CRI 82-85).
White LED, a smoother curve but peaking in the blue end of the spectrum instead of the red.

'I've tried the new CFLs, and they are a genuine improvement—they don't flicker perceptibly, or buzz, or make your skin look green. There is a difference, and I'd be in favor of replacing all current fluorescent bulbs with CFLs. But even CFLs glare and blare—they don't have that inimitable incandescent glow. So don't let them take lamplight away. Don't let them ban beauty.
'Don't get me wrong, this is not a plea for Ye Olde Times, for gaslight and quill pens. It's just a plea not to take for granted the way we illuminate our world. Not all change is improvement. Why do I put such a premium on incandescence? For one thing, I am a bit romantic about it. A lamp fitted with an incandescent bulb and dim translucent shades casts a lovely, painterly glow on human faces, while the light of fluorescents recalls a meat locker.
'Why do you think there is such artistry to so many lampshades? They are the lingerie of light.
'But the appeal of incandescence is not just a matter of romance. I suspect there are also answers to be found in the physics and linguistics of incandescence.
'I'd speculate that it has something to do with the different ways light is created by incandescents and fluorescents. Incandescent light is created by heat, by the way an electric current turns a thin metal filament (usually tungsten) red then white hot in a transparent or translucent globe filled with an inert gas that prevents the filament from burning up, allowing it to give off a steady glow. (That explains the warmth: The fact that incandescence emanates from heat creates warmth, distinguishes it from the cold creepiness of fluorescence.)
'Fluorescent light bulbs, on the other hand, are coated inside with chemical material that lights up as energy reaches the tubes. (It's a bit more complicated than this, but that's the general idea.) Fluorescents sometimes appear to flicker because alternating current brings that energy to the bulbs in pulses, rather than steadily. In incandescents, the hot filament stays hot—and therefore bright—despite alternations in current; it can't cool fast enough to dim or flicker.
'The new CFLs pulse faster than their ancestors, so the flickering is less perceptible, but at some level, it's still there. CFL manufacturers may be right that the new bulbs are an improvement, but there is still something discontinuous, digital, something chillingly one-and-zero about fluorescence, while incandescent lights offer the reassurance of continuity rather than an alternation of being and nothingness.'

Who wants to have a romantic dinner in the dull gloomy light of a CFL? Why do lighting designers of usually choose halogen, incandescent, high-pressure sodium or metal halide for shops, hotels, restaurants etc. when they want to create an attractive environment, and so rarely CFLs?
Most likely because they are well aware of the fact that even the best incandescent-mimicking warm-white CFLs give a dull, non-radiating light which makes colours look pale and dead due to lower colour rendering (CRI 82-85), spiky spectral distribution (lacking parts of the spectrum - check this out for yourself with the back of a CD and see the spectrum broken up into 3 blocks with all the wavelenghts inbetween more or less missing) and lack of radiance and glow.
And that's not mentioning all those odd coloured ones which still dominate the lower end and some of the high end of the CFL market (according to recent consumer tests).
Lighting designer Gad Giladi, D.E.S.A., M.F.A. FPLDA, explains what happens when wavelenghts are missing:

'Not only are the quantities of light of CFL 'equivalents' not equal to those of the planned replaced incandescents but also the quality of the light greatly differs. This is due to the fact that the spectrum of the incandescent is a continuous one, i.e. has energy in all wavelengths of the visible electromagnetic spectrum while the spectrum of the CFLs, like all discharge lamps is a discontinuous one, i.e., depending on the composition of the phosphor coating of the tubes will present a lack of or a deficiency in energy at certain wavelengths of the visible spectrum.

'This characteristic is not immediately visible to the human eye until the emitted light falls on a surface or an object: the energy in each different wavelength corresponds to a colour perceived by the human visual system. If that colour does not exist in the light, its corresponding pigment in materials cannot be perceived by the eye; if the energy in a specific wavelength is deficient, the corresponding pigment in materials will be perceived as dead, washed-out and distorted. (...)
'That means that where colour perception is important, i.e. everywhere the human being lives and spends time, the replacement of incandescents by CFLs is going to inevitably create dull looking spaces, distort colours of architectural finishes (stone, marble, timber, paint, stucco etc.), of furnishings – curtains, carpets, upholstery, furniture finishes, artwork etc.), warp the colour of skin (people are continuously going to look bad/sick in their mirrors as well as in the eyes of their partners).
'Incandescent lamps are close to theoretical 'point sources' which allow for the design of precise optical systems around them to direct the light in an accurate manner. This permits the creation of accent lighting, a means to create visual interest and drama in spaces. CFLs are diffuse light sources and no engineering will truly make a diffuse light source into a 'point-source'. Gone is accent lighting!'

Lighting designers against incandescent ban (for both light quality and environmental reasons):
IALD - International Association of Lighting Designers
IALD Statement
PLDA - Professional Lighting Designers' Association
PLDA Statement
Kevan Shaw Lighting Design
Summary of points against the CFL
Michael Gehring, Principal ofKGM Architectural Lighting
Gehring statement
Jeff Miller, President-elect IALD, Director of Pivotal Lighting, statement
Scott Yu, Principal, Chief Creative Officer ofVode Lighting
Yu statement
Summary:
There are both visible and measurable differences in quality between incandescent light and the light from even best CFLs and LEDs on the market.
Banning a top quality product in favour of a totally different and quality-wise inferior product is like banning wine with the argument that 'wine-lovers can just as well drink cider: practically the same thing' because both are mildly alcoholic beverages with a superficial similarity.
FL/CFL light may have its use where lamps are left on all day and quantity matters more than quality, e.g. at work, in public building corridors etc, but not necessarily in retail, hospitality and domestic environments where consumers expect a more attractive and/or relaxing light.

Ed Cansino Lighting Design

Light is like air, food and water - it's essential to our well-being, and quality matters!
Lighting is also one of the most powerful mood-enhancers, can markedly affect how environments are perceived, as well as both comfort, well-being and health.

Ed Cansino Lighting Designer

Ed Cansino Lighting Design

For this reason, I'm sure many would be willing to pay a little extra for top quality light just to still have choice.

By Wallace Wyss

This is a story of unrequited love all the way around. It occurred in the early ‘50s. Think film noir, mood lighting, moonlight on the Riviera, that sort of thing.

First, (and good casting for this story I might add) as the female lead was Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Carmen Cansino, to a Spanish Flamenco dancer father and Ziegfield girl mother. She was reportedly an under-age dancer at a Tijuana club when she was discovered by Fox Studios.

She became one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood. Her one-glove strip tease in the movie Gilda put her on the map. Rita was a top movie star and a popular pinup girl during the forties. Her second husband was famed director Orson Wells, who she married in 1943. Her career bloomed during that time, but she lived on the edge, by having a fling around 1948. Not with some ordinary Joe, mind you, but with an Ismaili prince, Aly Kahn.

I had heard about Aly Khan since I was a teenager but back then (you might say “before Wikipedia”) I never actually had been able to figure out what country he was a prince of, primarily because the Ismaili sect of Muslims have no country or territory of their own. Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan, known as Aly Khan, was a son of Sultan Mohammed Shah, Aga Khan III, the head of the Ismaili Muslims. Aly Khan’s son, born in 1957, is the current Sultan Aga Khan IV and worth about $800 million.

Rita was also associated with the Savonuzzi Gilda project. Click here to read story.

Well, a girl doesn’t meet a prince every day! She dumps Orson Wells and marries the prince, becoming – for a short time – a Princess. The couple had a daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. Now this is a car magazine, not a movie rag, so back to the Caddy. The Prince sees a flamboyant car at a European auto show and orders an identical one for her. Oddly, it’s an American car but you can’t tell that because Ghia, a famous Italian coachbuilder, has clothed it in a svelte European shaped body. And amazingly it has quad headlamps though no one told Ghia that GM wouldn’t have that for five more years!

They were both on Cadillac series 62 chassis.

Ever the sportsman, Aly Kahn was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1959.

Ghia had built the first car on spec—Cadillac did not pay – but Ghia was hoping that either wealthy individuals would order a copy or they could get a contract from GM. Ironically it was Chrysler who later came a-callin’ for the run of 52 turbine cars but that was later. Actually Ford did a deal with Ghia first on the Lincoln Futura dream car that became the first Bat Car.

Back to the Prince. The marriage was already falling apart and Rita filed divorce papers in 1951, though it took some time for the divorce to take effect. Some say the Ghia coupe was still being pounded out at Ghia when the marriage fell apart. Maybe it was intended as a reconciliation gift. If so, it didn’t take. Her next of five marriages had already begun in 1953. But good publicity never dies and from that point on this design on a Cadillac is called the “Rita Hayworth Cadillac”, regardless of the fact that the car may have never been actually owned or driven by her.

One of the two cars finally ended up at the Petersen Museum while its twin is at the Imperial Palace collection in Las Vegas.

It so happens the author, yours truly, had a brief encounter not with Rita but the Caddy. It was early in the ‘80s. I was driving down Highway 1, the coast road, through Encinitas, a few miles from San Diego and I passed a used car lot.

It had an odd turquoise blue car in the front row lineup. I slammed on the brakes and went back. The salesman said, “It’s a Ghia Cadillac.” Well, I knew about Carrozzeria Ghia. I knew about all the Chrysler dream cars they had built and I had never heard they had done a Cadillac. I proudly announced “Well, I know Ghia and they never did a Cadillac.” [There is no mention of the car in Ghia, Ford’s Carrozzeria, published in 1985. Ed.]

The more fool I.

He wanted $14,000. Now I had about $10,000 between my wife and me. We were saving for a down payment on a house. It woulda been a stretch but maybe he would have taken less. But what turned me off were the three exhaust pipes per side sprouting out of the body aft of the rear wheel wells. These looked hokey as hell, very George Barris-ish (sorry George!). I thought this has to be some Hollywood custom car. Certainly Not Ghia.

And the exhausts pipes were painted a dull gold, as was all the chrome trim. More Hollywood crapola, I thought.

But I had to admit the grille shape was beautiful as were the fenders. It probably had the best front end of any Italian-bodied American car I had ever seen, despite the four headlamps.

We found this image on Curbside Classic.

We drove off, me feeling smug that I had spotted a mis-represented car. Well, I was wrong. One of the two was later bought by Ken Behring, founder of the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, CA, and restored and became a million dollar car that appeared at many an event including Pebble Beach. The ugly exhaust pipes I hated had been “lost” along the way. I know they were probably original because the Touring- bodied Hudson Italia, done about the same time period, had them and so did the Boano-bodied Lincoln Indianapolis, though on the Lincoln their three exhausts per side were sprouting out of the front fenders behind the wheels. The Italians probably thought, “Americans like exhausts.”

Lesson to be learned here? Pride cometh before a fall. I bragged to the salesman that I had seen every Ghia design and the truth was I hadn’t. Not even close. And here it was, a genuine treasure, an-ex Royal car if you wanted to hang it on the man that ordered it, probably at the cheapest it would ever be at that point in time. So now I don’t make that mistake anymore, thinking I’ve seen everything, I’ve read everything so what I see before me must be misrepresented. I’m always willing to learn…but in this car’s case, it’s too late, that’s another one that got away….

All this happened decades ago and I’ve yet to find out whether the one I was offered -which was turquoise blue at the time – was the car intended for Rita Hayworth or not.

Ed Cansino Lighting Designs

If any readers know which of the two Ghia Cadillacs was intended for Hayworth, do post a comment to help the author nail this down before Volume 2 of Barn Finds is ready for print.

The Ghia Cadillac at the Petersen. Courtesy Petersen

And then what?

Ed Cansino Lighting Designers

Aly Kahn was killed driving his new Lancia in a head-on collision in Suresnes, outside of Paris on May 12th, 1960.

After a series of unsuccessful marriages but great films, Rita Hayworth died in New York City at age 68 from Alzheimer’s disease on May 14, 1987.

THE AUTHOR: Wyss will be at Automobilia at Monterey signing the first Vol. of Incredible Barn Finds and also at Concorso Italiano on Friday