:Michael Ernest Sweet

{{Short description|Canadian photographer, writer, and educator}}

{{Infobox writer

| pseudonym =

| image = Michael Ernest Sweet 2025.jpg

| caption = Sweet in 2025

| birth_date =

| birth_name =

| birth_place = Martock, Nova Scotia, Canada

| education = Johns Hopkins University
Concordia University
Nipissing University
St. Mary's University

| death_date =

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| occupation = Photographer, writer, educator

| nationality =

| genre = Street photography, nonfiction, essay, art criticism

| years active = 1996–present

| movement =

| notableworks = The Human Fragment

| awards = 30px Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Canadian Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence

| signature = Signature Michael Ernest Sweet.png

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

Michael Ernest Sweet is a Canadian photographer, writer, and educator. He is the author of two books of street photography, The Human Fragment{{cite web|accessdate=2019-12-27|title=New York Noir: Capturing the City's Grit and Grime|url=https://hyperallergic.com/111316/prowling-the-new-york-city-streets-for-photographs-of-its-grit-and-grime/|date=26 February 2014|website=Hyperallergic}} and Michael Sweet's Coney Island.

Teaching

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,{{cite web| url=http://www.canadianteachermagazine.com/archives/ctm_focus_on_schools/spring08_montreal_students.shtml| title=Montreal Students Get Down to Earth| publisher=Canadian Teacher Magazine| access-date=December 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920044931/http://www.canadianteachermagazine.com/archives/ctm_focus_on_schools/spring08_montreal_students.shtml| archive-date=September 20, 2017| url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.montrealfamilies.ca/Montreal-Families/April-2010/Publishing-student-work-validates-young-voices/ | title=Publishing Student Work Validates Young Voices | date=June 15, 2010 | publisher=Montreal Families Magazine}} which earned him two of Canada's highest civilian honors for service to education, A Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence{{cite web|url=https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/pmate-ppmee.nsf/eng/wz01548.html | title=Prime Minister's Awards For Teaching Excellence| date=November 18, 2021|website=ic.gc.ca}} and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal.{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=226600&t=13&ln=Sweet | title=Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal Database | date=June 11, 2018 | publisher= The Governor General of Canada}} Sweet was also a national finalist for a 2011 Governor General's Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History{{cite web |url=http://www.canadashistory.ca/Awards/GG/Articles/2011/Michael-Ernest-Sweet.aspx |title=Michael Sweet and Raymond Tomasino Finalists for Governor General's Award for Teaching History |access-date=2015-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121022248/http://canadashistory.ca/Awards/GG/Articles/2011/Michael-Ernest-Sweet.aspx |archive-date=2015-11-21 |url-status=dead }} and has been added to the Wall of Fame at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in the United States.{{cite web|url=https://nthf.org/wall-of-fame/michael-ernest-sweet/ | title=National Teachers Hall of Fame Database| publisher=NTHF}} As of 2019, Sweet was listed on the faculty at the Robert Louis Stevenson School, a private therapeutic day school in Manhattan, New York.{{cite web|url=https://www.stevenson-school.org/administration-faculty-and-staff | title=Faculty Directory | publisher=Robert Louis Stevenson School}}

Photography and writing

Sweet has made grainy black-and-white,{{cite web|url=http://hyperallergic.com/111316/prowling-the-new-york-city-streets-for-photographs-of-its-grit-and-grime/ | title=New York Noir: Capturing The City's Grit & Grime | date=February 26, 2014 | publisher= Hyperallergic}} oddly-framed, gritty,{{cite interview |url=http://www.canadianstreets.ca/2015/01/featured-photographer-michael-ernest.html | title=Canadian Street Interview with Michael Sweet|website=canadianstreets.ca}} low-fi,{{cite web|url=http://www.fisheyemagazine.fr/2014/08/25/michael-ernest-sweet-street-photo-noir-et-blanc/ | title=La street photography Lo-Fi de Michael Ernest Sweet | date=August 25, 2014 | publisher= Fisheye Magazine (France)}} close-up street photography. He has used cheap cameras, including disposable and instant cameras,{{cite web|url=http://instinctmagazine.com/post/instinct-interview-photographer-michael-ernest-sweet | title=Instinct Interview: Photographer Michael Ernest Sweet | publisher= Instinct Magazine}}{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-ernest-sweet/michael-sweets-disposable_b_5893854.html | title=Michael Sweet's Disposable Camera | work= The Huffington Post| date=September 29, 2014 }} and the Ricoh GR Digital. He is the author of two street photography monographs, The Human Fragment,{{cite web|url=http://www.out.com/entertainment/art-books/2013/12/12/michael-ernest-sweet-human-fragment | title=The Sweet & The Tough | date=December 12, 2013 | publisher= Out}} and Michael Sweet's Coney Island. His photography often consists of "human fragments"—partial views of people on the street.{{cite web|url=http://blog.leica-camera.com/photographers/interviews/michael-ernest-sweet-attraction-to-the-human-fragment/ | title=Michael Ernest Sweet: Attraction to the Human Fragment | publisher= Leica Camera AG}}{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/qanda-michael-ernest-sweet-discusses-the-human-fragment-and-what-he-hates-about-digital-photography-6672509 | title=Michael Ernest Sweet Discusses The Human Fragment and What He Hates About Digital Photography | date=December 12, 2013 | publisher= The Village Voice}}

Sweet's photography has won both portfolio and spotlight prizes in Black and White Magazine,{{cite web|url=http://www.bandwmag.com/galleries/bw/contests/15/photographers/5204 | title=B&W 2013 Portfolio Contest Winners | publisher= Black and White Magazine}} and a 2nd prize and Editor's Pick in Life Framer's "Black & White" and "Human Body" awards in 2024.{{cite web|url=https://www.life-framer.com/black-and-white-2024 | title=Winners 2024 - Black and White | website= Life Framer}}{{cite web|url=https://www.life-framer.com/human-body-editors-pick-2024/ | title=Editor's Picks 2024 - Human Body | website= Life Framer}} He has written for the Evergreen Review,{{cite web |url=http://www.evergreenreview.com/119/15.html |title=The Evergreen Review, Issue 119 |publisher=Evergreen Review |access-date=2015-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708014627/http://www.evergreenreview.com/119/15.html |archive-date=2016-07-08 |url-status=dead }} Canadian Teacher Magazine,{{cite web |url=http://www.canadianteachermagazine.com/article_ti_controversy_in_classroom.html |title=Controversy in the Classroom |publisher=Canadian Teacher Magazine |access-date=2015-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204085502/http://www.canadianteachermagazine.com/article_ti_controversy_in_classroom.html |archive-date=2016-02-04 |url-status=dead }} Reed Magazine,{{cite web|url=https://reedmagazine.wordpress.com/about/ | title= About Reed Magazine | date= December 5, 2013 | publisher= San Jose State University}} English Journal,{{cite web|url=http://www.ncte.org/journals/ej/issues/v98-4 | title= English Journal, Vol. 98, No. 4 | publisher= National Council of Teachers of English}} Photo Life Magazine,{{cite web|url=https://www.photolife.com/subscription/contributors-staff/ | title=Photo Life Contributing Writers|website=photolife.com}} and Digital Camera magazine in the UK.{{cite journal |last1=Sweet |first1=Michael Ernest |title=Cover Story: Save Our Streets |journal=Digital Camera |date=2016-03-01 |issue=174 |pages=40–51}} He was a regular contributor to The Huffington Post photography section from 2014 until early 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/author/michaelernestsweet-404 | title=Michael Ernest Sweet HuffPost Article Archive | publisher= HuffPost}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.photolife.com/subscription/contributors-staff/ | title= Contributors & Editorial Staff | publisher= Photo Life Magazine}} He now contributes regularly to F-Stop Magazine as a photography critic.{{cite web|url=https://www.fstopmagazine.com/blog/author/michaelernestsweet/ | title= Michael Ernest Sweet | publisher= F-Stop Magazine}} Sweet has also been a regular contributor to Canadian Teacher Magazine since 2008.{{cite web|url=https://canadianteachermagazine.com/2022/09/26/11416/ | title= A Pandemic of Change | date= September 26, 2022 | publisher= Canadian Teacher Magazine}}

Personal life

Sweet is married to poet Matthew Hittinger.{{cite web|url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52508ca0e4b078f5507265fc/t/53f26644e4b0cb681af67d06/1408394820444/Poets_Artists_PoetsArtists_42.pdf | title=Creative Couples: Interview with Michael Sweet & Matthew Hittinger (p. 34-37) | publisher=Poets & Artists Magazine}}

Publications

=Books of work by Sweet=

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}}.