The book of lantern ; being a practical guide to the working of the optical (1888)

146 THE BOOK OF THE LANTERN. In the first place, the worker must consider which of his pictures will be benefited by a coating of colour, for some subjects are very much better left alone, and shown as untouched photographs. This is especially true of such pictures as exhibit a mass of detail entirely covering the glass; a woodland scene, for instance, with tangled masses of branches and underwood, and ferns in profusion. On the other hand, if the subject be an open landscape, with more than half of it consisting of white sky, it is undoubtedly improved by being tinted. The white sky receives, with great benefit, its natural tint of blue, relieved by masses or feathery tufts of clouds, which, if carefully introduced, can be made to look very like the real thing. In the directions that I am now about to give, it may therefore be taken for granted that all colour is to be put on most sparingly, and that its' amount must not be suffi- cient to obliterate the least detail in the photograph. Of course, if a bad photograph is to be coloured instead of being thrown into the dust-hole,—which latter is by far the better course, — colour can be piled on to it to hide its inherent defects, but this is only justifiable when the colour- ing is a necessity, and there is no time to procure a better photograph. Let it be understood that this work of colouring lantern transparencies is not easy. It not only requires a steady hand and good eyesight, but it wants artistic perception also,—at least, to do it well. I do not say that a knowledge of drawing and painting is absolutely necessary to the slide- painter ; but it is certain that he who understands the use