Edison Your Way Through

Hand colouring is something I was introduced to back in late 2014 by the very same tutor who sparked my passion for film photography. I began by experimenting with my prints and the results often mimicked that of a toddler let loose with paint.

Years have passed and in that time I have practised, read up on, learned and attempted to refine my technique. Not that it always goes right. I've spoken before about the challenges hand colouring presents and my latest  mistake is proof that it's so very easy to get it wrong. Oh so wrong!

One of the major pitfalls I am always in danger of is overworking the image I'm colouring. Usually I give myself a limit of four and a half hours, and once I reach that, I step away from the print and come back to it with fresh eyes the next day. This week I paid the price for ignoring that rule. 

I went from this:

To absolute madness:

From a distance (a good half mile away) it's not so bad, but in the light of day and "up close" (in the same room) there is so much wrong with what I produced. 

Halos, badly blended shadows, too much black, it's all there, plain to see. So what went wrong? I got carried away. Over Enthusiastic? Stubbornness? Cabin fever? Buckling under pressure? Quite possibly a combination of all of these but it doesn't matter because whilst I didn't end up with a print I can use as part of my FMP, I have learned some new, useful  tricks to carry through into future colouring. 

Of course, I now have to reprint and start all over again but isn't that part of the fun? And who knows what I might learn next time.