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Michael Wriston

@michaelwriston.com
2.7K followers 751 following 1.4K posts

Little old nobody in Baltimore. Public record enthusiast and data journalist at @projectsaltbox.com. Sometimes street portrait photographer. Forever enamored by the liminal, the misunderstood, and the unconventional. Signal: mwriston.410

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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 20/09/2026
Was not aware you could find Pete Hegseth at Walgreens.
A photo of a box of supplements called Super Beta Prostate Advanced with Saw Palmetto.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 20/09/2026
Sabina-Mattfeldt. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A silver vintage Citroën DS sedan parked at the curb at night in front of a two-story wood-frame house with black shutters, the whole scene washed in deep red light.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 19/09/2026
Panway-Braddish. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A rusted, pale blue 1970s Ford Thunderbird parked at the curb in front of a brick rowhouse block at night.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 18/09/2026
Midtown-Edmonson. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A nighttime street corner where a stone church with "COME UNTO ME" lettered over its arched entrance faces a brick building housing Visions Beauty and Barber at 1842 W. Franklin Street. A long exposure turns a passing MTA bus's lights into white and amber streaks across the empty intersection.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 17/09/2026
Pimlico. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A silver 1980s Corvette parked at night beside a utility pole and a row of trees, with a red streak of taillight trailing across the frame.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 17/09/2026
Just want to say that the Baltimore Book Festival logo always goes hard. I'd love for a standalone poster of those rowhouse books to go in my reading room.
Logo for the annual Baltimore Book Festival, which depicts two rowhouses that look like opened books.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 13/09/2026
Catonsville, MD.
A nighttime photograph of a black 1930s car parked under a large red neon guitar-shaped sign.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 10/09/2026
Overlea, MD. 2026.
A weathered two-tone dark green and cream 1970s Dodge Dart coupe parked at night along a curb next to a chain-link fence, lit by a streetlight with a large leafy tree overhead and dark blue night sky in the background.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 08/09/2026
I AM NOW BEEFING WITH THE STATE FAIR. Apparently "embellishment" means "made up entirely by AI, inspired by a real photo."
Screenshot of an email from Maryland State Fair to Michael Wriston, sent at 2:21 PM. Subject line: Re: A letter regarding the winning "photo" in the Neon category. The message says the writer understands why people are upset when they see a photo they believe was created with AI, but that this is not what happened. It describes the entry as an embellished photo submitted to a "fun class" rather than a traditional photography category, and says the fun classes change each year and are meant to allow more creative and experimental work. It states that the original designer has entered the same photo in other fairs and has been completely open about how he created it, posting exactly what he did to produce the finished image, with no attempt to hide or misrepresent the process. It closes by saying that suggesting the creator was deceptive is not accurate, and that this was a creative project entered in a class specifically intended to be fun and different.A boxed entry from the Maryland State Fair premium book. Header reads H42, Special Contest, Neon Lights, May be embellished. Basis for Judging: composition, print quality, center of interest, strong image, overall presentation, including matting. Prizes: first place $11.00, second place $7.00, third place $6.00, fourth place $4.00.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 06/09/2026
I am tired of crapy tomatoes. Essex, MD. 2026.
A nighttime scene of a stack of handmade white signs leaning against an electric pole. They are flanked on all sides by medium-height trees. The signs are cast in red light. The foremost sign reads: "Tired of crapy tomatoes."
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 04/09/2026
You guys are getting records back from FOIA?
A young man with short reddish-brown hair and a distressed, indignant expression, wearing a striped pink and white polo shirt, standing in front of an RV. Meme template known as "You Guys are Getting Paid."
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 04/09/2026
The results might shock you. (I talk like someone from Maryland.) As a former linguist and someone from Maryland, I'm peeved it doesn't have any questions about the "o" phoneme so distinct to the Mid Atlantic. Do you pronounce the "o" in "phone" as "oh" or as "o̴̡̪͚̝͊̌͌ ?" mydialect.us/quiz-standar...
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 03/09/2026
A few from AFRAM '26. Druid Hill Park. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A man riding a blue and white dirt bike. Druid Lake is visible in the background.A man in a grey hoodie and red sweat pants straddles a purple and black dirt bike in a grassy field in Druid Hill Park.A shirtless man with a gold chain, reflective glasses, and fanged grills poses with a large smile in front of a yellow background.A quintet of women, each holding a snake, pose for the camera.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 06/08/2026
Baltimore elemental. Pigtown and Mount Clare. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 30/07/2026
A cartoon giraffe stands holding a skateboard, one hand raised in a wave. It wears a dark long-sleeve shirt, baggy blue pants, and brown boots, with a colorful rainbow swoosh curving around its feet. Rainbow bubble letters across the top read "THE PAST IS DEAD." Smaller text to the left reads, in quotation marks, "The World You Were Born Into No Longer Exists."
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 18/07/2026
Wildfire haze. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 15/07/2026
Manhattan. New York, NY. 2026. #StreetPortrait #Photography
A man in a tan Ghostbusters jumpsuit stands with his arms crossed, facing the camera with a slight smile. He wears a proton pack on his back, a green ecto-goggle headpiece pushed up on his forehead, black combat boots, and a name patch reading "JUANSO" on his chest. The Ghostbusters no-ghost logo patch is on his shoulder. Behind him is a blurred indoor train concourse with a glass railing and a bakery storefront.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 13/07/2026
I took my kids to the art museum and my five year old asked if he could use my phone to take a picture and this is what he wanted to photograph.
A museum tip jar containing cash money.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 07/07/2026
Monday morning, 3 a.m.
A dark street of peak-roofed rowhouses is silhouetted against a moody sky. The darkness is pierced by the bright red and blue glow of police lights as a line of law enforcement cars are parked in the middle of the street. An officer stands in a pool of light, looking at his phone.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 05/07/2026
The 4th of July. Reservoir Hill. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A bolt of lightning strikes from storm clouds over a skyline of square and triangular rowhouse rooves in west Baltimore.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 29/06/2026
i am scrolling through my inbox and questioning reality and coining new words
A mock dictionary entry styled like the Oxford English Dictionary. The headword reads "par·a·noi·A·I," followed by the pronunciation in IPA, then "noun." The etymology gives it as a blend of "paranoia" and "AI," abbreviation of "artificial intelligence," and defines it as the suspicion or belief that text encountered online was generated by artificial intelligence rather than written by a human author. Sense 1: the condition of doubting the human authorship of online text, especially when it appears generic, fluent, or formulaic. Sense 2, by extension: a general distrust of digital written content arising from the proliferation of machine-generated material. A "Compare" line points to deepfake and slop.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 29/06/2026
Manhattan. New York, NY. 2026. #StreetPortrait
Two young women pose together in front of a tall stone doorway, both making playful clawing gestures with their hands toward the camera. The woman on the left has straight black hair with bangs and purses her lips; she wears a black top, a choker, layered silver necklaces, and stacked metal bracelets. The woman on the right has dark hair with magenta-streaked bangs and sticks her tongue out while smiling; she wears a pink corset-style top with black lace trim, dark nail polish, and silver bracelets. The background is a beige stone building facade with a dark recessed entrance.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 27/06/2026
I don't know wtf is happening in the world anymore but I hope you all are having fun.
A screenshot of the BlueSky "Trending" pane which shows that Deltarune, Supergirl, Bible Readings, Music Challenge, and Constitution Debate are trending.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 20/06/2026
First night of AFRAM. Druid Hill. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 14/06/2026
Hoop. Irvington. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A white wood-frame house with Victorian-style roofline photographed at night, lit by a nearby streetlight. A red wooden fence runs along the front of the property. An American flag hangs from the front porch at left; a basketball hoop is visible behind the fence at right. Utility poles and wires cross a deep blue-black sky.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 13/06/2026
Baltimore Pride.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 13/06/2026
A passing storm. Reservoir Hill. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
Brick rowhouses with arched windows and peaked gables beneath a pink and purple sunset sky, with patches of blue breaking through clouds at right. Treetops fill the foreground.Rowhouse rooftops silhouetted against a deep orange sunset sky streaked with dark clouds. The brick facades and a leafy tree sit mostly in shadow.A row of brick houses with white-trimmed arched windows under a soft pink and lavender evening sky, a large tree in shadow at the foreground.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 12/06/2026
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 10/06/2026
Ten street portraits. Manhattan. New York, NY. 2026.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 08/06/2026
Eutaw Street. Orioles Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
Nighttime crowd of baseball fans walking along Eutaw Street outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. A person in a white Orioles "Henderson 2" jersey stands in the foreground with their back to the camera. String lights crisscross overhead, the long brick B&O warehouse runs down the right side lit by hanging lamps, and a large scoreboard glows red with the Orioles bird logo in the background.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 03/06/2026
Apple. Rittenhouse Square. Philadelphia, PA. 2026.
Two young people sit facing each other on a wide stone balustrade in a park. The woman on the left, with curly reddish-brown hair and glasses, sits cross-legged in a striped long-sleeve shirt and jeans, biting into an apple held in her mouth. The man on the right, with dark curly hair, wears a tan polo shirt, dark pants, and bright red socks with black sneakers; he smiles at her warmly, his hands resting near hers between them. Behind them are blossoming white azalea bushes and sunlit green trees. A phone rests on the ledge to the left, and a teal water bottle sits to the right.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 02/06/2026
Spider-Man. Cedar Park. Philadelphia, PA. 2026.
A man in a homemade Spider-Man costume stands in front of a West Philadelphia storefront. He holds up a sign that reads "IT'S MARVEL TIME."
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 31/05/2026
Crapy tomatoes. Essex, MD. 2026.
Long exposure photograph of a farm stand sign, propped against a wooden electric pole and flanked by trees. The sign is washed in red light. It says “Tired of crapy tomatoes.”
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 29/05/2026
Electric. Rosedale, MD. 2026.
A yellow vintage electric car parked at night, photographed at a low front angle. The compact vehicle has an angular, wedge-shaped body with the word "electric" written along the side in a stylized script, a single round headlight set into a square housing, and an amber turn signal below it. Its front end is open, exposing a metal panel with a taped-on wiring instruction sheet, washed in red light. The front tire is visible at center. In the background, a maroon station wagon and other cars sit in a parking lot under a dark sky, with a distant streetlight glowing.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 24/05/2026
Delighted to help. Overlea, MD. 2026.
A small storefront church photographed at night from across an empty street. The building has a purple-painted brick lower facade and a tall, peaked white gable in the center reading "Bethlehem Baptist Church" with a cross above the front door. A taller brown brick building rises behind it, and white single-story additions extend to either side. To the right stands a brightly lit billboard for Magothy Electric reading "Electrical Problems? We'd Be Delighted To Help!" with a cartoon electrician. Trees and a dark sky frame the scene, and the blurred streak of car taillights crosses the foreground.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 23/05/2026
Etude. West Arlington. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A vintage black and white 1950s Ford Fairlane parked on grass beside a two-story yellow clapboard house at night. The house and a leafless tree in front of it are dramatically lit, glowing warm against a dark blue sky. Lush green grass fills the foreground, with trees and a chain-link fence in the background.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 21/05/2026
Coppin' Jesus. Winston-Govans. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A white two-story house converted into a small Apostolic church, photographed at night. The building has a cross mounted at the peak of the gabled roof, yellow trim accents, a covered front porch with white railings, and a blue-painted door. A sign above the porch reads "Scriptually Sound." In the front yard, a yard sign reads: "What You Should Be Coppin is.. JESUS For Real!" A large tree stands to the left. The sky has a warm purple-gray glow from city light pollution.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 19/05/2026
Strange that some Substack activist groups seem to be relying on bought likes & coordinated restacks to astroturf their content. Organic growth apparently not being their strong suit. Nearly all of these accounts in the “like” list subscribe to the same 64 newsletters, & have the same user bio.
A list of 14 Substack user accounts, each showing a profile photo and name, with a Follow button. Names include Samantha Knowles, Spencer Davis, Callum Archer (appearing twice), Lydia Vaughan, Aaron Robertson, Louie Barnett, Summer O'Neill, Finlay Baxter, Victoria Dobson, Tyler Frost, Harriet Vincent, Ellie Donnelly, and Jessica Carter.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 18/05/2026
I have fielded so many phone calls and emails about this Washington County NDA and I am happy to squash it. I’m also hoping this stops the baseless, tasteless accusations and insults certain members of this movement have made against me for keeping a skeptical mind. Now back to work.
Screenshot of a letter from the Washington County, Maryland Office of the County Attorney dated May 18, 2026, addressed to Michael Wriston regarding Maryland Public Information Act request 26-325. The letter states the county processed a request for a non-disclosure agreement discussed on Dec. 9, 2025, but says portions are exempt from disclosure under Maryland public records law because they contain confidential commercial and financial information. The county attorney writes that the agreement is not related to ICE, DHS, or any federal agency, and does not pertain to the Williamsport warehouse property at 16220 Wright Road / 10900 Hopewell Road. The letter is signed by County Attorney Zachary J. Kieffer.Screenshot of the first page of a “Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement” dated December 2025 between the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland, and a redacted Maryland limited liability company. Large portions identifying the company are blacked out. The agreement defines “Confidential Information” broadly to include business plans, facility network strategy, location strategy, economic development incentives, mergers or acquisitions, finances, and other proprietary information. The document states the parties may use the information only for a project located on the company’s property and may not disclose it to third parties without written consent.Screenshot of the second page of the NDA. The page outlines provisions covering return or destruction of confidential information, a two-year term for the agreement, injunctive relief for unauthorized disclosure, limits on creating partnerships or agency relationships, amendment procedures, nonwaiver clauses, and governing law. The agreement specifies Maryland law applies and says legal disputes must be brought in Washington County, Maryland courts.Screenshot of the signature page of the NDA. Most information identifying the company representative is redacted with black boxes. The Washington County Board of County Commissioners section is signed in blue ink by John F. Barr, identified by handwritten text as “Pres. BOCC,” indicating President of the Board of County Commissioners.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 15/05/2026
Vanity House. Rosedale, MD. 2026.
An illuminated building on a dark street. A red, lit-up sign in the window says “The Vanity House.” A long, red light trail from a passing car streaks by into the darkness.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 13/05/2026
Woke up feeling reductivist.
Two-panel dinosaur meme.

Top panel shows Rex, the friendly green toy dinosaur from Toy Story, smiling in a child’s bedroom with the caption: “THE LEFT VERSUS THE RIGHT.”

Bottom panel shows the terrifying Tyrannosaurus rex from Jurassic Park roaring in the rain beside overturned cars, with the caption: “THE LEFT VERSUS THE LEFT.”
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 10/05/2026
Mothers. Shrewsbury, PA. 2026.
Night photograph of a small roadside cemetery and memorial business along a rural two-lane road. A glowing sign in front reads, “Mothers hold our hearts forever,” followed by a phone number. Rows of gravestones fill the right side of the image, while a white religious statue stands near the sidewalk in the foreground. Long red and white light trails from passing cars stretch down the road beside a “Speed Limit 25” sign and a large “Silbaugh Memorials” billboard. A single streetlight illuminates the pale house and the dark blue night sky behind it.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 09/05/2026
After a brief rain. Overlea, MD. 2026.
Photograph of a beige hearse parked under a service station roof at night. The hearse is missing a tire. The cement and pavement shines with puddles from a brief rain.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 03/05/2026
Evergreen.
Meme styled like a parody video game cover for an Xbox Advance game. The box reads, “Saw Gerrera’s Leftist Infighting Simulator — Andor Edition.” Subtext says, “Play as one of eight leftist rebel cells… or start your own!” The cover features characters from Andor/Star Wars: Mon Mothma in front, Saw Gerrera centered in the background, and Stellan Skarsgård’s character Luthen Rael on the right. The joke mocks the factionalism and ideological infighting among anti-Empire rebel groups in Andor by presenting it as a video game premise.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 21/04/2026
Ivanhoe. Wilson Park. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A house and small garden consisting of potted plants at night are bathed in a strange purple light from a delaminated LED street light.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 02/04/2026
Officially in my "experimenting with Darktable" era.
A collapsed and derelict house surrounded by overgrown trees and weeds.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 22/03/2026
The things I wish had existed when I was a kid…
Kid on a Razor Crazy Cart on a green basketball court.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 20/03/2026
A Country Squire. Liberty Square. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
Long exposure photograph of a smashed RV parked under an illuminated sodium vapor street lamp.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 18/03/2026
Thinking about how I used to take photos for fun. Harlem Park. Baltimore, MD. 2026.
A long exposure photograph of a snow field, beset on both sides by rowhouses. An unusual tree comprised of three winding, tendrily roots, raises out of the middle of the field.
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Michael Wriston @michaelwriston.com · 17/02/2026
Let me break down simply why DHS’ claim that they used industry standard software with highly complicated tools and datasets to create these forecasts is empty jargon: I drew this in an industry standard software with highly sophisticated tools.
A poorly drawn face made with industry standard software.
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