Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is fortunate to have a young digital photographer intent on sharing it’s beauty with locals and the world. His name is Michael Supowitz, 25, locally born and bred. Michael  is not your stereotypic artistic photographer. With nothing but an inexpensive pocket camera, he manages to capture breathtaking panoramas in vivid photorealism. He has an eye for selecting and framing his subjects in ways that bring out what others had not before noticed. His photos teach us about the intricate craftsmanship of beam and bolt at the base and underbelly of suspension bridges. They let us appreciate the embroidery of the chain-links in a cyclone fence scaling a river trail. They allow us to witness a railroad track on red gravel cutting through a meadow of green foliage on a fading afternoon. With one side of the meadow in deep shade and the other in bright sunlight, Supowitz invites us to explore how much dark/light green can absorb and still remain green.

Michael’s path to art, like his art itself, was not conventional.  When Michael was two-and-a-half, he was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Delay, a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum. His early years were spent in silence.  His parents surrounded him with a team of dedicated specialists who taught him to speak, listen, and practice the natural rhythms of conversation. His various therapies were long and arduous and, in the end, successful. Michael now works two jobs in which he takes great pride. He has built relationships of trust and mutual respect with his co-workers. He enjoys a rich social network of family and friends.  But despite all the training to see and attend as others do, Michael from the start of life was seeing and attending “against the grain.” Michael’s determination to confront his challenges in life gave him a voice in art that others now hail.

In May & June 2018, some of Michael’s framed photographs were on display in the street front windows of the Friendship Circle in Pittsburgh.  Acclaimed artists and the public alike have praised Michael’s talent.  We think you’ll agree.  Enjoy!