Watto’s photography experience and history didn’t begin until he attended Swinburne Tech to study Graphic Design, which also included a photography subject. His subject teacher was a photographer who had shot the Antarctic for many years. Watto was instantly inspired by the lecturer's Antarctic slide shows. Furthermore, as part of the subject requirements, Watto was to own and shoot with a Pentax K1000 - a 35mm film SLR. The fully manual, mechanical camera with its 50mm lens was an ideal body to learn the craft.
After leaving school, Watto worked in a local camera store and continued to explore photography by shooting a wide range of genres. He later returned to studies to learn and master the technical aspects of cameras, lenses, and darkroom processes.
A fellow student (whom Watto still knows) was working for Leader Newspapers (a local Melbourne community newspaper). She invited him to apply for a role as a classified pages photographer, shooting cars for sale. His role photographing cars in car yards was mundane, but it taught him all he needed to know about exposure, both when capturing the images and later when processing and printing the images. Watto loved his time in the darkroom and mastering the end-to-end process to deliver the magic by the deadline! Watto scored a role at The Herald, one of Melbourne’s most prominent daily newspapers. His role was to process and print other photojournalists’ images to meet newspaper deadlines. Having spent countless hours in a darkroom myself as a young student, I can appreciate Watto’s expertise and masterful capabilities in managing a large-scale darkroom and printing process.
Watto’s work at the newspaper soon led him to take on press photography jobs in and around Melbourne and Victoria. A chance opportunity to shoot motorsports in Geelong opened the door for Watto to explore his passion for the genre. Watto lived for the vintage cars, atmosphere, and thrill of motorsports, and soon left the paper to become a full-time motoring photographer. He spent the next 20 years as a freelance photographer capturing motorsports, classic motoring, and corporate events. His images and words have been published in over 40 magazines and newspapers in Australia, the USA, and the UK. He was also the only Australian photographer contributing to popular UK motoring magazines.
Given Watto’s fascination with motoring magazines and photography, he took the brave step of creating, editing, and publishing his own magazine. From 2004, Watto published his motoring magazine, featuring popular British models, including Mini, Morris, Austin, Jaguar, Rover, and Leyland. Watto ran the magazine until 2017, when he had to close the publication due to the rise in internet content and the fall of magazines. Watto was a freelance photographer and shot commercial and event gigs, and was the official events photographer at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, Victoria. Sovereign Hill is a theme park with strong historical ties to the gold rush era of central Victoria during the 1850s. Furthermore, Watto was the official photographer at the Avalon International Air Show and also for charity car rallies for Camp Quality, Canteen, and Make-A-Wish. He was also a Photographic Supervisor at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
It’s fair to say that Watto more than dabbled in a sweeping range of photography genres. But the darkroom called to him. In 2019, Watto opened Focal Point Darkroom and Gallery in North Geelong to support and encourage other local photographers. Watto planned to create a local photographic hub complete with a vast exhibition space, photographic library, studio space, and one of the county's best-equipped public access darkrooms. Despite the looming global pandemic, Focal Point drew big names and equally big crowds to countless exhibitions, including the Nikon-Walkey Press Photography Exhibition. While Focal Point initially refused to be defeated by COVID, it was never to be the same, and Watto was forced to close the space.
After a significant personal loss accompanied by a serious health crisis, Watto took the necessary time to process his grief and consider the next leg of his creative journey. Watto returned to the local photography scene with a new business venture, Focal Point Photographic Services. Focal Point 2.0 specialises in archival quality scanning, photo restoration, printing, photography, and darkroom training. I applaud Watto’s dedication to analog processes and desire to teach film photography and darkroom skills to a new generation. Life is not without balance, and Watto also dedicates time to exploring his creative interests and exhibiting his work throughout Victoria.
Watto still loves film photography, the darkroom, and printing processes. He especially loves the look and feel of black-and-white film shots, and during our chat, he quoted famous Australian photographer Max Dupain. Watto has begun to explore fine art photography with multiple exposures on 5x4 large-format film. You can teach an old dog new tricks! Watto has recently returned to the Geelong Revival, the modern version of the Geelong Speed Trials, where he first started his photographic journey.
“Colour tells everything. Black and white tells just enough to stir the imagination.”
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Find Watto:
- Website: https://focalpointdarkroomgallery.com.au/
- Instagram: @wattophotogeelong
