A true distinction of Gardiner's work, and the one that would become his legacy, was the production of hand-tinted views. All Mackinac photographers offered prints of scenic island locations. Gardiner offered regular black and white prints, framed or unframed. His colored views, each hand tinted, were a cut above the rest. Hand-tinted scenic views were popularized in the United States by Wallace Nutting. A New England Congregational minister, Nutting was forced into retirement while only forty-three due to ill health. He developed a deep interest in early American architecture and decorative arts and became a pioneer of the Colonial Revival and preservation movements. Nutting published extensively on early American furniture and began to produce reproductions of the same. He also took an interest in photography, focusing on early American themes. Nutting's hand-colored images of New England, Florida and Ireland often highlighted their archaic historical charm. They were very popular, and Nutting is known as the father of early twentieth-century hand colored photos. Numerous photographers across the country emulated the Nutting style, producing views of picturesque locals. Gardiner likely began producing his hand-colored photographs of Mackinac Island and Florida in the early twentieth century. The compositions closely resemble Nutting's. Each was inscribed with the title and Gardiner's signature "W. H. Gardiner" in pencil at the bottom. H. Marshall Gardiner would produce the same type of images in Florida, Bermuda and Nantucket. Gardiner also continued to market un-tinted images, both framed and unframed.