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Michael Ernest Sweet

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Michael Ernest Sweet
Born1979 (age 44–45)
Martock, Nova Scotia, Canada
OccupationPhotographer, writer, educator
EducationJohns Hopkins University
Concordia University
Nipissing University
St. Mary's University
GenreStreet photography, nonfiction, essay
Years active1996–present
Notable worksThe Human Fragment
Notable awards Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Canadian Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence
Signature
Website
michaelsweetphotography.com Edit this at Wikidata

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

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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

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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 contributor to 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 as a photography critic.[28] Sweet has also been a regular contributor to Canadian Teacher Magazine since 2008.[29]

Personal life

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Sweet is married to poet Matthew Hittinger.[30]

Publications

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Books of work by Sweet

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  • 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

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  • The Street Photography Bible: an Opinionated Little Guide to Street Photography. Self-published, 2014. ISBN 978-1499374438.

References

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  1. ^ "New York Noir: Capturing the City's Grit and Grime". Hyperallergic. February 26, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Montreal Students Get Down to Earth". Canadian Teacher Magazine. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Publishing Student Work Validates Young Voices". Montreal Families Magazine. June 15, 2010.
  4. ^ "Prime Minister's Awards For Teaching Excellence". ic.gc.ca. November 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal Database". The Governor General of Canada. June 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "National Teachers Hall of Fame Database". NTHF.
  8. ^ "Faculty Directory". Robert Louis Stevenson School.
  9. ^ "New York Noir: Capturing The City's Grit & Grime". Hyperallergic. February 26, 2014.
  10. ^ "Canadian Street Interview with Michael Sweet". canadianstreets.ca (Interview).
  11. ^ "La street photography Lo-Fi de Michael Ernest Sweet". Fisheye Magazine (France). August 25, 2014.
  12. ^ "Instinct Interview: Photographer Michael Ernest Sweet". Instinct Magazine.
  13. ^ "Michael Sweet's Disposable Camera". The Huffington Post. September 29, 2014.
  14. ^ "The Sweet & The Tough". Out. December 12, 2013.
  15. ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet: Attraction to the Human Fragment". Leica Camera AG.
  16. ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet Discusses The Human Fragment and What He Hates About Digital Photography". The Village Voice. December 12, 2013.
  17. ^ "B&W 2013 Portfolio Contest Winners". Black and White Magazine.
  18. ^ "Winners 2024 - Black and White". Life Framer.
  19. ^ "Editor's Picks 2024 - Human Body". Life Framer.
  20. ^ "The Evergreen Review, Issue 119". Evergreen Review. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  21. ^ "Controversy in the Classroom". Canadian Teacher Magazine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  22. ^ "About Reed Magazine". San Jose State University. December 5, 2013.
  23. ^ "English Journal, Vol. 98, No. 4". National Council of Teachers of English.
  24. ^ "Photo Life Contributing Writers". photolife.com.
  25. ^ Sweet, Michael Ernest (March 1, 2016). "Cover Story: Save Our Streets". Digital Camera (174): 40–51.
  26. ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet HuffPost Article Archive". HuffPost.
  27. ^ "Contributors & Editorial Staff". Photo Life Magazine.
  28. ^ "Michael Ernest Sweet". F-Stop Magazine.
  29. ^ "A Pandemic of Change". Canadian Teacher Magazine. September 26, 2022.
  30. ^ "Creative Couples: Interview with Michael Sweet & Matthew Hittinger (p. 34-37)" (PDF). Poets & Artists Magazine.
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