NATCHEZ &045;&045; Light and dark take on new meaning when Brandon Brice checks out the grounds around a home or building.

The landscape lighting expert looks at the space with three objectives in mind: aesthetics, security and safety.

New to Natchez, Brice has brought his Mystic Illuminations Landscape Lighting to the area from Shreveport, La., with high expectations, seeing opportunities in the architecturally diverse structures and hoping to show home and business owners ways to use lights effectively.

&uot;Everybody needs light,&uot; he said. &uot;We need it to do work and to get around. My business is focused on beauty, security and safety.&uot;

Much of the security lighting now in place is incorrect, he said. &uot;Security lighting has gotten boring, and it’s wrong. The way to do it is not by blasting one area with one big light fixture.&uot;

Further, too much light causes light trespassing, he said. &uot;Maybe you have too much light in your neighbor’s yard. And you don’t want to be blinded by the glare as you walk by a house or business. That’s wasted energy, too.&uot;

The key, Brice said, is to get the right wattage on the right fixture. &uot;We use mostly copper fixtures or an aluminum. I can have them made in stainless steel or brass and can have them painted any color.&uot;

Brice said in Shreveport he frequently went behind someone who had used a light kit to provide outdoor lighting. &uot;The biggest problem with the lighting kits is that one wire sometimes is not enough. It overloads the system.&uot;

The fixtures used by Mystic Illuminations are manufactured by Nightscaping, founded in 1959 and one of the first companies to tackle outdoor lighting with low-voltage lamps.

The fixtures are made to blend in with the surrounding garden or architecture while fulfilling a functional role as well.

All the fixtures then are connected to a power center that has a lifetime warranty.

The low-voltage outdoor lighting Brice offers also is more energy efficient than most outdoor lighting and can save hundreds of dollars a year.

Brice works with the home or business owner to determine needs and tastes, then prepares a demonstration to provide a good idea about how the lighting would work.

Brice also looks forward to working with owners of lake houses, as lighting of piers is one of his specialties.

When his wife was offered a job at Promise Rehabilitation Hospital in Ferriday, Brice asked the Nightscaping representatives about the area. &uot;They were very excited to have me come to this area,&uot; he said.

He is eager to show what his business can provide, he said. Brice can be reached at (601) 807-5138.