46 Douro St, Nth Geelong, Vic. Ph: 03 4222 8359
Focal Point Photography Studio, Darkroom & Gallery
Creating and celebrating great photography.
About Focal Point studio, Darkroom & Gallery
The Studio
The Darkroom
The Darkroom
We have Geelong's only fully-equipped studio for hire, with a small cyclorama (infinity wall). The studio is 9m x 4m, while the cyclorama is 2.4m wide and 3m deep. There are three shooting positions within the studio, with a range of backdrops. The studio is most suitable for portrait and product photography.
Hire rates are very reasonable
We have Geelong's only fully-equipped studio for hire, with a small cyclorama (infinity wall). The studio is 9m x 4m, while the cyclorama is 2.4m wide and 3m deep. There are three shooting positions within the studio, with a range of backdrops. The studio is most suitable for portrait and product photography.
Hire rates are very reasonable.
We have numerous studio flashes, stands, backdrops, reflectors, modifiers, etc available as well.
The studio can be hired any day, but additional costs apply for Monday and Tuesday.
The Darkroom
The Darkroom
The Darkroom
Our darkroom is available for hire on any day, from 10am to 5pm. Additional costs apply for Monday and Tuesday. We have a great choice of professional-quality enlargers, from 35mm to 4"x5", all suitable for Ilford Multigrade. We also have a dedicated film processing room, which can be put into total darkness, so you can load films out on
Our darkroom is available for hire on any day, from 10am to 5pm. Additional costs apply for Monday and Tuesday. We have a great choice of professional-quality enlargers, from 35mm to 4"x5", all suitable for Ilford Multigrade. We also have a dedicated film processing room, which can be put into total darkness, so you can load films out on the bench, rather than using dark-bags. Basic chemicals are included in the hire.
The Gallery
The Gallery
The Gallery
We aim to celebrate photography in all its forms: from hand-printed black & white prints to colour digital files; hard-hitting news to fine-art; historically significant to contemporary works; from established and well-known photographers to emerging.
Our upcoming exhibitions include Photojournalism; contemporary photography; landscapes; p
We aim to celebrate photography in all its forms: from hand-printed black & white prints to colour digital files; hard-hitting news to fine-art; historically significant to contemporary works; from established and well-known photographers to emerging.
Our upcoming exhibitions include Photojournalism; contemporary photography; landscapes; portraits; works by students; and special themes from individuals or groups of photographers.
The Shop
The Gallery
The Gallery
We want you to enjoy creating beautiful photographs as affordably as possible. We have everything you need for film photography, from film to printing paper. We even have some pre-owned cameras and other equipment. Of course, we would like you to enjoy our darkroom, but if you want to build your own darkroom, or already have one, then we
We want you to enjoy creating beautiful photographs as affordably as possible. We have everything you need for film photography, from film to printing paper. We even have some pre-owned cameras and other equipment. Of course, we would like you to enjoy our darkroom, but if you want to build your own darkroom, or already have one, then we can supply the chemistry, paper and accessories you need, as well as some pre-owned enlargers and other darkroom gear.
Workshops and Training
Darkroom Training
Learn the art of printing in the darkroom from our principle, Craig Watson, who has over 30 years' experience in film photography. Whether you're a complete novice, an experienced printer wanting to improve your skills, or you haven't printed in the darkroom for a long time, the one-on-one training is catered to meet your needs and to suit your level of experience. One-on-one training is available from as little as $40 per hour. Or grab a couple of friends and make a small group, and save $10 per hour, per person.
Guest Workshops
From time to time we will have guest presenters doing workshops on advanced techniques, alternative processes, analogue and digital photography techniques and lighting. Contact us or see in the upcoming events below to book.
About Watto
Craig “Watto” Watson worked for several years in retail and industrial camera shops before beginning a course in photography at RMIT in 1986. This led to a part-time position at Leader Newspapers in Blackburn, which in turn led to a full-time position as darkroom technician at the Herald & Weekly Times.
Watto worked in the darkroom for two years, before taking up a position as photographer on The Weekly Times newspaper, covering all aspects of country life, including farming, news, sport, politics, gardening, cooking, the environment and industry. During his six years on the The Weekly Times, he won numerous prestigious photographic awards, in state and national media competitions.
He began photographing motorsport and classic cars in 1994, and in 1996 left the paper to begin a freelance career specialising in classic motoring, motorsport and corporate events. Since then he has been published in over 40 magazine and newspaper titles in Australia, the United Kingdom and USA, being the sole Australian contributor to six motoring magazines in the UK for a decade.
His corporate work has included official events photographer at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, including a visit by a Chinese delegation for the opening of the Chinese mining display in 1998, the relaunch of Blood on The Southern Cross in 2003 and the Royal Visit by The Queen and Prince Phillip in 2000.
In 1997 he was the official photographer at the Avalon International Air show, and he has been official photographer on charity bush rallies for Camp Quality, Canteen and Make-A-Wish, as well as numerous other events.
In 2000 he worked as Photographic Supervisor (Cycling) at the Sydney Olympic Games and Photographic Manager (Cycling) at the Sydney Paralympic Games. While not photographing at these events, his role was looking after international photographers to ensure they had everything they needed to carry out their work.
From 2004 to 2017, Watto ran his own niche market motoring magazine covering British cars from Mini, Morris, Austin, MG, Austin-Healey, Jaguar, Rover, Leyland and others. Unfortunately, the bottom fell out of the market in 2017 and the magazine was closed down in June of that year.
Following twelve months’ research and planning, and acquiring of equipment, Watto and his family opened Focal Point Darkroom and Gallery in North Geelong in February 2019. The primary purposes of the business are to support and encourage local photographers, from students and amateurs to professionals, and to provide a local photographic hub to bring photographers together to create and celebrate photography.
The business consists of five main components, being:
• The gallery.
• The darkroom.
• The Studio.
• The shop.
• The library (with over 700 books on photography).
Access to the darkroom and library is via Focal Point membership, which also includes discounts on shop merchandise and workshops, as well as free entry to most exhibitions in the gallery.
