Country road

Shot a decade ago in southwest France, this scene is typical of countryside roads there, still illuminated with mercury lamps (the old French countryside remained refractory to LEDs until quite recently). In the case shown here the luminaires had been re-lamped and the illumination was characterized by a clean white light that is typical of new mercury fluorescent lamps. I was there in the summer of 2024, eight years later, and the mercury lights were still there but the lamps were considerably dimmer and their light had acquired a strong greenish hue. I'm wondering if I'll still find them there this summer... If not, then I'll certainly miss that cool white mercury light that graced many backroads in the French countryside.