Focal Point Darkroom and Gallery owner Craig Watson speaks to Luke Voogt about his passion for photography, coping with COVID-19 and what’s next.
Tell us about you…
I’m 59 and I’ve lived in Leopold for 22 years with my wife Jayne. We just liked the idea of our kids growing up here.
We have two adult kids. Our daughter has moved out but our son is here at the moment with his girlfriend.
One thing we really like about Leopold is we’re 15 minutes from both the centre of Geelong and the beach.
I grew up in Melton and Eltham, opposite sides of Melbourne. My dad was originally from Geelong and a shire secretary – so we moved around a lot.
How did your career in photography lead to you opening Focal Point Darkroom and Gallery?
I started out at the Herald and Weekly Times in the darkroom, where I worked for six years.
I then spent 25 years as a freelance photographer for motorsports and classic car magazines.
The bottom fell out of the car magazine market in 2017, so I spent 12 months working out what I wanted to do.
After another 12 months preparing, researching and just making sure I was heading in the right direction, we opened Focal Point in 2019.
Out of all the work I had done, being in the darkroom was the most enjoyable, so I wanted to give people the opportunity of doing that.
It evolved into a photographic hub for local photographers to produce and exhibit their work, and celebrate photography.
We’ve got a darkroom, a studio that people can hire, a gallery and a library with more than 700 books on photography.
What’s next for the gallery?
We were meant to have an exhibition of our members’ work starting last week, which will begin once restrictions allow.
From September 2 to October 31 we’ve got still photography from Australian movies from 1900 to the 1980s.
We will then have our music photography exhibition, See The Music, from November 26 through to January 30.
We want to bring great exhibitions to Geelong to inspire local photographers.
What do you love about photography?
Photography can capture moments in time and freeze history for future generations to see. A great photograph is more memorable than almost any video.
What are your favourite things to do locally?
There are so many places to make great photos, whether it’s Eastern Beach, or some of the grungier places and factories. It doesn’t have to be pretty to be good photography.
How are you coping with COVID-19?
We’re just holding on. It’s just so frustrating – every time you think you’re getting ahead and things are starting to go well again, you get another lockdown.
What’s something about you that people might not know?
I’ve got a Mini Moke that I’ve owned for 39 years and Mini Van that I’ve owned for 25 years. I’m part of the Victorian Mini Club.
I’ve driven Minis and Mokes all over Australia from Cape York to Perth and everywhere in between. And in Tassie!
I’ve done 13 charity bush rallies: more than half in Minis and Mokes.
Details: focalpointdarkroomgallery.com.au
