Chris Heisey

In 1990, Chris Heisey began photographing American battlefields, chasing the light and profound beauty that still abides at our treasured hallowed grounds. His pursuit of artistic battlefield images has taken him to more than 400 battlefields the past three decades in the quest of evocative images that share the beauty of stunning light in the majesty of all seasons. His hope is that his work will continue to motivate others to not only to visit our sacred battlegrounds, but to inspire many to support saving these sacred fields.

He has published images in more than 225 worldwide publications and media venues, and his images have garnered numerous awards, including four-national merit awards. He has collaborated on three books: In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee with Gordon Rhea and Gettysburg: This Hallowed Ground and Gettysburg: The Living and The Dead with Kent Gramm. He is currently collaborating with Emerging Civil War and Southern Illinois University Press on a book project.

The visual drama of his images is born out of a life-long scholarly interest in the Civil War that began in the second grade when he first visited Gettysburg with his parents in 1972.

Not only does he seek haunting battlefield landscapes, he is an avid wildlife and nature photographer. Battlefields abound with wonders of nature, and capturing that enduring beauty is also a keen focus of his work.

Chris lives in Mechanicsburg, PA, 25 miles north of Gettysburg, and he has worked for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg as a photojournalist and writer for nearly 35 years.