Portraiture 3rd Place

This series recreates photographs of black American Civil War combatants with their descendants. The project was three years in the making, following comprehensive searches of archives for photographs of black American Civil War soldiers, where the identity of the person in the photograph could be verified. Working with genealogists from Wikitree’s U.S. Black Heritage Project, we traced the descendants of the Civil War combatants and brought them together from all over the United States to be photographed using a period 5x7-inch tintype process in an authentic daylight studio. The sitters had to stay perfectly still, which often meant using a neck brace for exposures of up to 40 seconds. The sitters wore custom, handmade costumes and sets were built especially; some of the props used were authentic Civil War items.

Drew Gardner with a background in Photojournalism Drew specialises in storytelling using techniques old and new.
His work is influenced by life experiences and love of history, bringing a strong narrative and cinematic feel to imagery a unique and innovative approach to photography combined with use of light and an attention to the detail distinguishes his work.
He is always seeking innovative ways to tell stories