Stranica 78 [78]
OCR
44 LIGHT AND WATER We have seen how a point is elongated into a vertical streak, a lamp reflected in gently moving water appearing as an upright line of light; and so it is that in these drawn-out reflexions in rippled water the perpendicular lines of the object are retained whilst its horizontal lines disappear. In the reflexion of a house having rows of windows evenly arranged one above another, it will be noticed that it is often impossible to distinguish the windows of the different floors, they having become merged together into vertical lines extending from the top to the bottom of the house, as can be seen in Plate VI. Again, in the reflexion of a railing in rippled water the upright posts may be perfectly distinct, though the rails connecting them have entirely disappeared, and, in the same way, the piers of a bridge will remain long after its arches have vanished. In a stretch of water of any size there is almost always enough motion to destroy the horizontal lines of the image, so that, in drawing reflexions, this most characteristic feature must not be forgotten. Thevertical edge of awhite cottage wall is sharply defined, but the horizontal lines of its red-tiled roof have escaped us, and in the water white dissolves into red and red fades away into the green of the wood behind. (See Plate V, page 30.) The trunks of the trees and the masts of boats stand out prominently, whilst other parts of the reflexion picture are blurred and indistinct or vanish altogether (Plate XII); the very upright and straight stems being more distinct even than those that slope only a little. A beautiful example of this effect may be seen in the reflexion ofa
