Digital Photography Gets Kids Into History
Article by Mary O. Bradley
The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Picture this.
Photographer/author Michael S. Class has written a marvelous American history book for children that is factual and fun.
Through the magic of digital photography, Class sends his son Anthony, 12, back in time to witness significant historical events.
In "Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame," the lad is in the laboratory with inventor Thomas Edison in 1920, in the cockpit of the "Spirit of St. Louis" with aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1927, in Yankee Stadium with baseball legends Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in 1931, on Iwo Jima as Marines raise the Stars and Stripes in 1945, in the office of polio vaccine pioneer Dr. Jonas Salk in 1955 and on the moon with astronaut Buzz Aldrin in 1969.
The 45 composite photographs are accompanied by in-depth reports in which Anthony shares what he learned during his adventures. While the essays are written in an appealing format, they are historically factual.
"I just thought teaching American history could be better than it was being done," Class said in a telephone interview from his home in Issaquah, Wash. "My kids were bringing history books home from school that were so dull -- names, dates and a few black and white news photos."
A magic picture frame on the wall in Anthony's bedroom is his window to the past, but the actual time machine is Class's expertise in digital photography, which allowed him to insert Anthony's image into authentic photographs.
Anthony wears iconic props, such as a World War I helmet or an aviator's leather hat with goggles, but with his blue jeans and polo shirt, he looks very much like a 21st-century lad.
"I wanted kids to project themselves into Anthony's place, and if he looked too different from a modern-day kid, they wouldn't do that. I want kids to be drawn into the picture and replace Anthony with themselves so they are seeing history as an exciting adventure.
"The pictures are my Trojan horse. If I get them by the pictures, they might read the stories. That's my tool to draw the kids into history," said Class, 47, a Georgia Institute of Technology educated engineer. When he decided to do a picture book, he enrolled at a Seattle school to study digital photography.
Class photographed his son against a blue screen in the family's garage. "My blue screen was basically a blanket and a bed sheet." He worked on his computer as much as a week on each photograph to meld Anthony into the historic picture without sacrificing its vintage qualities.
To get permission for altering the photographs, Class drew upon his knowledge of copyright laws gained while working at Bill Gates' Corbis, an imagery services business.
Class did extensive historic research so that he could use authentic quotes in the celebrities' conversations with Anthony.
Class said when he started photographing Anthony, his son "didn't quite understand what I was up to, but, after a while, he caught on, and it started taking longer and longer. I would say, here's the [vintage] photo. I want you to stand like this: put your arm over here as if it's going to be around someone."
Anthony, however, dawdled, intently studying the historic photo while telling his father, "'I've got to get into the mood,'" Class said, adding that "Anthony turned into a Method actor."
Class said he wanted to make history relevant to today's youngsters. To show children that what they learned in the past can help them now, Anthony shares what moral lesson he gleaned from each encounter. For instance, he learned about unwavering determination in conversations with Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
The photographs are clearly reproduced on the high gloss paper in the 10-by-10-inch, 225-page book. The book is one of those rare publications that reproduces the front and back covers on the dust jacket.
In addition to the text on Anthony's encounters, the book has 61 pages of expanded footnotes and lists of books, music, movies, Web sites and historic sites.
"I view those things as the time machine for kids," Class said. "If they want to go back in time, that's how they do it. They can visit the places, read the books, listen to the music from the past, watch the movies. They can get an idea of what it was like when Anthony stepped through the picture frame and went into the past."
Class said the book is directed at children 12 and older, although he has heard from younger readers who enjoyed it. In his next book, his daughter, Angela, will join Anthony to step through the picture frame to visit famous American heroines.
Anthony tells the story of the arrival of immigrants at Ellis Island by going back to the disembarkation of his great-grandfather. "People and personal stories, that's what makes up American history, the gripping stories, the sad stories, the exciting stories, some stories we wish we would forget," Class said. "They are all there. They are personal stories.
Since history is about personal stories, Class said, the moral of his book is that "one person can make a difference. That's what I want to leave kids at the end of the book."
