Light Makes a Splash

The play of water has an almost universal appeal, whether in the natural grandeur of a waterfall or in the manmade artistry of fountains and reflecting pools. In the 1920s, a German inventor, Otto Przystawik, had the idea of synchronizing jets and swirls of water with music and light to present elaborately choreographed water ballets.

The work of the company he founded, now called Waltzing Waters Inc. and ensconced in Cape Coral, Fla., is carried on by his grandson, Michael. Waltzing Waters specializes in both indoor and outdoor installations that are illuminated by 150- to 500-W halogen lamps in submerged or overhead arrays. The high-end displays, dubbed “Liquid Fireworks,” use integral dichroic filters to intensify color saturation by several times over that of gels and conventional filters.

The fountains are showstoppers at lakes, shopping malls and permanent performance sites, and -- not to worry -- precision nozzles keep all that moving water within the margins of the pools so as not to dampen the enthusiasm of the spectators.

Images Courtesy of Waltzing Waters