Michael Ernest Sweet

Michael Ernest Sweet was born in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1979 and grew up on a small horse farm. Since the age of about twelve, Michael has not been too far from a camera.

Michael has been photographing the streets and beaches of New York City for more than fifteen years. He is known for his distinct style of photography, which combines up close, gritty, images of “human fragments” along with the use of cheap and disposable cameras. The result is an instantly recognizable body of work with a strong visual signature.

In 2013, Brooklyn Arts Press published Michael’s first full-length monograph of street photography titled, “The Human Fragment”. In 2015, they released his second book, “Michael Sweet’s Coney Island”, which features a collection of highly-saturated, low-fi color photographs made with a Digital Harinezumi – a Japanese toy camera with a worldwide cult following.

Educated at The Johns Hopkins University, Michael was a long-time arts contributor for “The Huffington Post”, as well as a regular columnist for “Photo Life Magazine”. He has appeared as a photography critic in the feature-length documentaries “Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable” and “Fill The Frame”.

Michael is a recipient of numerous civilian awards and honors including a Canadian Prime Minister’s Award and a Queen Elizabeth II Medal for significant contributions to education and the arts in Canada. He has also won various photography awards including prizes from “Black and White Magazine” and “Popular Photography”.

Michael divides his time between New York City and his 200 acre private nature reserve in Nova Scotia, Canada.

https://michaelsweetphotography.com/