Nationality Canadian | Education Johns Hopkins University | |
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Born March 23, 1979 (age 37)
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada ( 1979-03-23 ) Occupation Photographer, Writer, Educator Alma mater Johns Hopkins University Genre Street Photography, Poetry, Essay Notable works The Human Fragment, Michael Sweet's Coney Island Books The Human Fragment, Dances with Love, Lucky Bastard: New and, Cosmopolitanism: World Citizenshi, Ab Ovo Profiles | ||
Photobook review the human fragment photographs by michael ernest sweet brooklyn arts press
Michael Ernest Sweet (born March 23, 1979) is a Canadian photographer, writer and educator.
Contents
Michael sweet s coney island photography book review all images copyright michael ernest sweet
Teaching
Sweet was born and raised on his family's farm in Martock, Nova Scotia. He taught in public schools in Montreal, Quebec, from 2003 to 2015 and founded Learning for a Cause, which earned him two of Canada's highest civilian honors for service to education, A Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal. Sweet was also a finalist for a 2011 Governor General's Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History.
Photography and writing
Sweet is known for his oddly-framed, gritty, low-fi, close-up street photography, as well as for his use of cheap cameras, including disposable and instant cameras. He is the author of two street photography monographs, The Human Fragment, which earned him praise from photographers Jay Maisel and Roger Ballen, as well as the attention of New York arts writer and critic Michael Musto, and Michael Sweet's Coney Island, which features a foreword by Bruce LaBruce, and received praise from Magnum Photos photographer Martin Parr. Sweet's most notable photographic work, grainy close-up black and white shots of Coney Island, earned him a "passing of the torch" in an endorsement from photographer Harold Feinstein, who spent most of his life documenting the famous urban beach. His photography often consists of "human fragments"—partial views of people on the street. His works are mainly presented in black and white, with a grainy texture.
Sweet's photography has won a portfolio and spotlight prize in Black and White Magazine, and a Popular Photography 2013 prize. Sweet has written for the Evergreen Review, Canadian Teacher Magazine, Reed Magazine, English Journal, Photo Life Magazine and others. He was a regular blogger for The Huffington Post photography section from 2014 until early 2016. Sweet is currently a judge and member of the curator team for the World Street Photography organization.
Personal life
Sweet is married to poet Matthew Hittinger. They live in New York City.
Books
