St. Clair resident of 30 years, Leslie Cieplechowicz has always enjoyed the art of connecting a love of photography to her talent for describing off-the-beaten-path Michigan locations in a way that finds readers longing to follow her path.
After a divorce, Cieplechowicz became a paramedic to support her four children, after spending several years as a volunteer firefighter in Emmett. Little did she know, her long hours on the streets of Detroit and working in city emergency rooms, would provide her content for painting a more positive picture of a city with a reputation. This prompted her first book, Detroit Revealed - A Different View of the Motor City.
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Leslie Cieplechowicz, author of Michigan Revealed - Exploring the Mitten’s Thumb.
“Detroit is a cool city with cool people,” Cieplechowicz says.
Cieplechowicz found peace each time she returned home following a 12-hour shift in Detroit, often sitting in her car for several minutes in the driveway, soaking in the sight of her beloved 1850s farmhouse.
“I could think of no other place I would rather call home,” Cieplechowicz says.
But the thumb area of Michigan had always enticed Cieplechowicz. After the successful release of her first book, she began entertaining the possibility of writing about the more country style of Michigan living, specifically in the thumb area.
She enjoyed taking photos for this project while finding unique places exploring and chatting with farmers, visiting local bars, and driving through quaint historic towns. She describes the thumb as having a “small town, earthy, country charm, a place to escape the roar of the city, to meander down the empty, hushed roads, a place to be able to meditate and reflect.”
Sharing the places she has come to cherish along the way, Cieplechowicz invites readers to explore along with her as she paints towns with her words and personal photos of favorite locations in her home region of Michigan’s thumb.
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Port Sanilac Harbor.
Her most recent book,
Michigan Revealed - Exploring the Mitten’s Thumb, is scheduled for release in October.
In addition to teaching high school and college science courses and photography at Schoolcraft College, Cieplechowicz continues exploring her beloved state of Michigan, anticipating the release of a third book featuring Detroit in early 2025.
Cieplechowicz can be reached at 4amphotographydetroit@gmail.com, or by visiting her
website.
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