Harriet Tubman - Light Study

In the process of painting anything, I believe reference pics (especially the ones you take) are important to accuracy. Taking a pic from the internet really doesn't give you the feel of the environment and even the true lighting. So right on the James River, right off the slave trails, I went out with a friend right after sun set to get reference shots of my own of an old lantern with several candles in it to get a true idea of how the glow worked. These are just some of the nearly 3 dozen pics I got. Yes, I know some of the pics are blurred.