Michael Fernandes: “We all want to never be forgotten.”

“Pictures are a moment captured in time.”

Immortality – photographer Michael Fernandes is ever in pursuit of it. His perceptive eyes ever roam, pinpointing the essence of a moment for his camera lenses to frame, to capture, to immortalise, to preserve for prosperity.

At age 10, young Michael first felt the power and emotion an image can contain when he fell in love with “the girl with the tiger eyes”, the iconic 1984 National Geographic cover image taken by Steve McCurry – his biggest influence. When he saw that photography of the green-eyed Afghan girl, he said, he knew photography was for him. And as soon as he was able to afford it, he bought his first camera, which he says he will never sell for any amount of money and will keep for his first child should he have one so that they could take pictures together. Fernandes, who now resides in Timehri, East Bank Demerara, but was raised in Georgetown, Guyana and Toronto, Canada, still has the first cheque he ever received for selling a photograph.

“I love photography very much,” the intensely private 31-year-old stated simply. “…I have a day job and most of my weekends are taken up doing photo shoots, so people say ‘you work seven days a week’, but it never feels like work to me. When you love something you do, it never feels like work – if it means I don’t eat, sleep…I always make it a priority.”

“Yes, money is important, but do what you love [whatever it is]… Love what you do and it does not become a job.”

“Original ideas, a lot of thought are put into my pictures. I like to push myself to try to get the most different something I can get…I don’t follow the norm.” And he prides himself on taking shots that require minimal editing.

“It moves like the tide – sometimes it’s up, sometimes it’s down, but that’s business” was the young entrepreneur’s poetic description of commercial photography. For those looking to become business owners, Fernandes noted, self-belief was of paramount importance. “Believing in yourself covers many aspects, but if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else is going to believe,” he stressed, as he recounted that to learn the photography business, he spent a year working as a photography assistant with a Guyanese Toronto-based photographer, Alvaro Gouveia, who to this day remains his mentor. “I never touched a camera.”

After eight years of being a professional photographer, whose clientele includes international customers, Fernandes related that the most important lesson he has learnt along the way is learn from your mistakes. “I have had some clients tell me what they want (against his better judgement) and when the photos come out, I see the mistake I made,” he said candidly. “You wouldn’t tell a professional chef how to cook…” The second lesson was to admit your mistakes.

He also advised, “Don’t’ be afraid to ask questions.”

“My favourite thing is to work with new clients… I want for as many people as possible to see my images.” “If I have one picture published by National Geographic, I could die a happy man tomorrow,” he said reverently when asked his definition of success. “We all want to never be forgotten. That’s why we have kids.” Contact: [email protected]