Michael Ernest Sweet
Michael Ernest Sweet | |
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Born | 1979 (age 44–45) Martock, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Occupation | Photographer, writer, educator |
Education | Johns Hopkins University Concordia University Nipissing University St. Mary's University |
Genre | Street photography, nonfiction, essay |
Years active | 1996–present |
Notable works | The Human Fragment |
Notable awards | ![]() |
Signature | |
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Website | |
michaelsweetphotography |
Michael Ernest Sweet (born 1979) is a Canadian photographer, writer, and educator. He is the author of two books of street photography, The Human Fragment[1] and Michael Sweet's Coney Island.
Teaching
[edit]Sweet was born and raised on his family's horse farm in Martock, Nova Scotia. He taught in public schools in Montreal, Quebec, from 2003 to 2015 and founded Learning for a Cause,[2][3] which earned him two of Canada's highest civilian honors for service to education, A Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence[4] and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal.[5] Sweet was also a national finalist for a 2011 Governor General's Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History[6] and has been added to the Wall of Fame at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in the United States.[7] As of 2019, Sweet was listed on the faculty at the Robert Louis Stevenson School, a private therapeutic day school in Manhattan, New York.[8]
Photography and writing
[edit]Sweet has made grainy black-and-white,[9] oddly-framed, gritty,[10] low-fi,[11] close-up street photography. He has used cheap cameras, including disposable and instant cameras,[12][13] and the Ricoh GR Digital. He is the author of two street photography monographs, The Human Fragment,[14] and Michael Sweet's Coney Island. His photography often consists of "human fragments"—partial views of people on the street.[15][16]
Sweet's photography has won both portfolio and spotlight prizes in Black and White Magazine,[17] and a 2nd prize and Editor's Pick in Life Framer's "Black & White" and "Human Body" awards in 2024.[18][19] He has written for the Evergreen Review,[20] Canadian Teacher Magazine,[21] Reed Magazine,[22] English Journal,[23] Photo Life Magazine,[24] and Digital Camera magazine in the UK.[25] He was a regular blogger for The Huffington Post photography section from 2014 until early 2017.[26]
In 2018, Sweet appeared in Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable, a feature-length documentary film on the life of photographer Garry Winogrand produced by Sasha Waters Freyer. In 2021, Sweet appeared in the film, Fill The Frame, a documentary about street photography in New York City.
Sweet wrote for Canada's Photo Life magazine from 2015 until its closure in 2021.[27] He now contributes regularly to F-Stop Magazine.[28] Sweet has also been a regular contributor to Canadian Teacher Magazine since 2008.[29]
Personal life
[edit]Sweet is married to poet Matthew Hittinger.[30]
Publications
[edit]Books of work by Sweet
[edit]- The Human Fragment. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Arts, 2013. Second edition, 2017. ISBN 978-1936767243. With a foreword by Michael Musto.
- Michael Sweet's Coney Island. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Arts, 2015. ISBN 978-1936767403.
- Disposable Camera. Purple Poetry, 2016. ISBN 978-0987756466.
Booklets of work by Sweet
[edit]- The Street Photography Bible: an Opinionated Little Guide to Street Photography. Self-published, 2014. ISBN 978-1499374438.
References
[edit]- ^ "New York Noir: Capturing the City's Grit and Grime". Hyperallergic. February 26, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ "Montreal Students Get Down to Earth". Canadian Teacher Magazine. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "Publishing Student Work Validates Young Voices". Montreal Families Magazine. June 15, 2010.
- ^ "Prime Minister's Awards For Teaching Excellence". ic.gc.ca. November 18, 2021.
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal Database". The Governor General of Canada. June 11, 2018.
- ^ "Michael Sweet and Raymond Tomasino Finalists for Governor General's Award for Teaching History". Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "National Teachers Hall of Fame Database". NTHF.
- ^ "Faculty Directory". Robert Louis Stevenson School.
- ^ "New York Noir: Capturing The City's Grit & Grime". Hyperallergic. February 26, 2014.
- ^ "Canadian Street Interview with Michael Sweet". canadianstreets.ca (Interview).
- ^ "La street photography Lo-Fi de Michael Ernest Sweet". Fisheye Magazine (France). August 25, 2014.
- ^ "Instinct Interview: Photographer Michael Ernest Sweet". Instinct Magazine.
- ^ "Michael Sweet's Disposable Camera". The Huffington Post. September 29, 2014.
- ^ "The Sweet & The Tough". Out. December 12, 2013.
- ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet: Attraction to the Human Fragment". Leica Camera AG.
- ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet Discusses The Human Fragment and What He Hates About Digital Photography". The Village Voice. December 12, 2013.
- ^ "B&W 2013 Portfolio Contest Winners". Black and White Magazine.
- ^ "Winners 2024 - Black and White". Life Framer.
- ^ "Editor's Picks 2024 - Human Body". Life Framer.
- ^ "The Evergreen Review, Issue 119". Evergreen Review. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "Controversy in the Classroom". Canadian Teacher Magazine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "About Reed Magazine". San Jose State University. December 5, 2013.
- ^ "English Journal, Vol. 98, No. 4". National Council of Teachers of English.
- ^ "Photo Life Contributing Writers". photolife.com.
- ^ Sweet, Michael Ernest (March 1, 2016). "Cover Story: Save Our Streets". Digital Camera (174): 40–51.
- ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet HuffPost Article Archive". HuffPost.
- ^ "Contributors & Editorial Staff". Photo Life Magazine.
- ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet". F-Stop Magazine.
- ^ "A Pandemic of Change". Canadian Teacher Magazine.
- ^ "Creative Couples: Interview with Michael Sweet & Matthew Hittinger (p. 34-37)" (PDF). Poets & Artists Magazine.
External links
[edit]- Street photographers
- Canadian photographers
- Writers from Nova Scotia
- Canadian expatriates in the United States
- People from Hants County, Nova Scotia
- Living people
- 1979 births
- Gay photographers
- Canadian male non-fiction writers
- Canadian gay writers
- Canadian gay artists
- Canadian LGBT photographers
- 20th-century Canadian LGBT people
- 21st-century Canadian LGBT people