James River Branch: Bug Light

Landsend Farm, Part 4 of 8: Bug Light on the Porch

The porch on the farmhouse was in need of some sort of detailing. With the arrangement of surrounding structures and trees, the only good view of the porch is at a narrow, oblique angle between the barn and a big old tree. This keeps the viewer at a distance, so super-detailing the porch would be something of a wasted effort. But the porch is also naturally shadowed, so some sort of light would draw in the eye as well as illuminate a few token details in the scene.

I toyed with the idea of installing a ceiling fixture to blast the whole porch with bright white light. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a bug light might be more interesting; plus, it would contrast the bright cool white of the interior lighting. In addition, a wall-mounted fixture next to the door could be visible to the viewer, and show off the advantage of an 0402 SMD LED—at about 5 by 9 scale inches, it's the size of a real light fixture. Careful placement was essential: it had to be located between the door and the window, just a little lower than normal, in order to be seen.

It was a simple, straightforward task, but not without some challenges. Fine solenoid wires were soldered to a yellow 0402 SMD LED (KingbrightUSA #APHHS1005SYCK); this was made much easier thanks to prior experience working with these flea-sized devices. Then, a hole was drilled in the wall at the appropriate spot with a #70 bit. This was a little tricky as the porch was already assembled, and the interior of the wall behind it was laminated with a sheet of light-blocking cardboard; the bit had to be extended out far from the chuck, which required the utmost care while drilling.

To make the LED look a bit more like a fixture of some sort, I dipped it in gloss white paint. This also helps to diffuse and soften the otherwise brilliant pinpoint of yellow light it generates. After passing the wires through the hole, I secured the LED in place on the wall with a dab of CA applied with the tip of a knife.

Adding a "point-source" light in a proper location such as this not only looks better, but it can create wonderful shadow-plays on objects around the light. I've also noticed that the light appears to be working as advertised—I'm not seeing any bugs congregating on the porch.

The porch on the farmhouse cries out for some sort of detailing.

The LED is dipped in gloss white paint to make it look more like a light fixture.

The wires attached to the LED pass through a hole in the wall behind it.

The light serves to catch one's eye and draw it into the scene on the porch.