Actually the camera made it look lighter than it was outside. That photocell is very sensitive. It comes on later than all the lights out in the road and it's in a shady spot to.
I have both HPS (dusk to dawn, but on a switch) and clear mercury fixtures (on a switch) lighting my front & back lawns - the HPS is usually just fine, because the grass is usually dead. If it's sorta green, the clear mercury makes it look greener.
What's funny is here they will alternate between PCs that come on very early and ones the come on very late, I find it quite annoying. Of course the light in front my house had to get one that comes on far to late and goes off far to early.
I have a 175 watt mercury vapor streetlight outside my house that comes on when the other streetlights do but shuts off a few minutes after the other ones do.
The light in front of my house comes on pretty late and shuts off early too. I like more sensitive controls. Means less energy and the lamp and ballast won't be working for that extra time that the less sensitive PCs keep it on for.