Antonio A. Fernandez American, b. Cuba, 1941-
Havana-born Antonio Alfonso Fernandez is an educator known for incorporating film and video in the classroom as an innovative teaching tool. He graduated from the University of Florida (B.A. in political science, 1963), where he was first introduced to photography by Jerry N. Uelsmann. After serving in the Peace Corps in Panama (1964-66), Fernandez returned to the United States to study photography and cinematography with Aaron Siskind, Arthur Siegel, Wynn Bullock, and Frederick Sommers at the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology (M.S., 1970). He continued his education, earning degrees in elementary education/language arts from Oakland University (M.A.T., 1972) and Michigan State University (Ph.D., 1978). He taught elementary school in several U.S. states before going on to teach educational media at the University of Manitoba (1976, 1977) and photography at Michigan State University (1976-78) and the New World School of the Arts (1987-90, 1993-present). Since 1978 he has taught education and photography at St. Thomas University in Miami.
Fernandez was included in the Contemporary Photographers exhibition at George Eastman House, Rochester (1968), and regularly exhibits his photography in Florida. Since 1987 he has used a series of black-and-white 35mm images, dubbed racetrack "mug shots," to explore the myriad human emotions evoked by the activities of betting and watching horse races. He also works with medium- and large-format cameras. Fernandez lives in Hialeah. A.W.