My name is Scotty Fernandes, and I was born and raised in Lodi, California; if you’re not a wino you probably haven’t ever heard of it. Despite living in an upper-class town, my family was very far from that. My sisters and I are first generation Americans; my parents are from the Azores Islands, which are nine islands off the coast of Portugal. Hard work and supporting your family was all there was when I was growing up, and seeing movies was never a part of that; at least not for my parents. Luckily for me, my friends’ homes weren’t the same way; and we just couldn’t get enough of films.
Unfortunately, my love for films turned into more of a hobby than a profession. I decided to go into nursing, but after 20 years of that I decided I would rather be happy than wealthy. I applied for art school and was accepted for the photography program. While obtaining my BFA in photography I took a photography in motion class and fell in love with films all over again. I was offered the opportunity to teach high school photography. The ability to show my students how they can visually make a story come to life is something I use every time I film. People say that my drive to never let things stop me is who I am; I tell them it’s really not and they remind me that I was hit by a bull while taking pictures and walked away. So maybe they are on to something?
