Nic Antaya, an editorial photographer and photojournalist based in Royal Oak, Michigan loves to connect with others through the art of photography. For Nic, developing a connection with his subject is equally as important as getting a great shot.
After learning about the CWH Santa Claus School several years ago, Nic’s natural curiosity in the event led him to visit and document the non-profit organization. The CWH Santa Claus School is the longest continuously running Santa Claus School in the world – celebrating 85 years of nurturing the development of the most authentic Mr. and Mrs. Claus’ around the world.
Nic has been interested in photographing the three day event, that takes place in Midland, Michigan, for quite some time. After calling the school and pitching his idea to document, Nic was awarded permission to join in on the fun. Since Nic already had a working relationship with Annaliese Nurnberg, a photo editor at The Washington Post, he pitched her the story and she picked it up.
I wanted to convey the ins and outs of what it takes to become Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.
Charles W. Howard, who famously played Santa in Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade from 1948-1965 (perhaps the most visible Santa in the United States), originally opened the school in 1937 in Albion, New York.
Charles’ desire to develop the school grew out of his dissatisfaction with the presentation of other Santas. He felt their frayed suits, cheap beards, and inadequate knowledge of reindeer could be improved upon, thus the CWH Santa Claus School was born.
After Howard’s passing in 1966, Nate Doan, famous for his appearances at Santa House and a Santa school alum, took over the school and moved it to Bay City, Michigan. Today, the Santa Claus School is run as a non-profit organization by Tom and Holly Valent.
Nic wasn’t given a shot list for the project, however, he did have certain things in mind that he knew would be happening. To bring Nic’s vision to life, he used a strobe to create high-key imagery – drawing out the colors in the images and making them pop.
I’m often drawn to quirky stories like this and using a strobe for this story emphasized the quirky factor. Annaliese and I were able to talk about visual ideas and approaches and agreed I would take the strobe approach.
The project took place over the course of three days. The school is only open once a year, typically in September or October, allowing ample time for the students to prepare for the holiday season.
Surrounded by approximately 200 aspiring Santas and Mrs. Claus’, Nic spent most of his time capturing photos in the Midland Center for Arts where the students learned the history of Saint Nicholas, live reindeer habits, Santa sign language, and how to properly dress as Santa.
The rest of the time, Nic took photos of the Santas at Bronner’s, “The World’s Largest Christmas Store,” in Frankenmuth, Mich. In addition to Gerace construction – an off-site location where the Santa’s learn to fly reindeer, make toys, and tour a North Pole train car.
The days were long and filled with Santa Spirit. I was smiling from eye to eye each day.
Working on the shoot was both interesting and enjoyable for Nic. He was given the opportunity to get to know a few of the Santas and found it interesting to see different Santa groups form and stay together over the course of the event.
Nic wanted the images to illustrate the depth of what it takes to become Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. With a specific idea in mind, Nic asked Santa and Mrs. Claus duo, Robert and Debbie Auer, if he could spend time with them as they wound down for bed in hopes of capturing the humanity between the characters they play.
Participating in the holiday cheer at the Santa School was fun for Nic. He connected with a variety of Santas and Mrs. Claus’ and they even encouraged him to learn how to fly reindeer. A skill that only a unique story like this could expose him to.
Altogether, it was a fun and light story published a few weeks before Christmas.
See more of Nic’s images on Instagram.
Credits
Photo Editor: Annaliese Nurnberg
Writer: Steve Friess
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