The Centre for Creative Photography (CCP), located in the Sunjive Studios Adelaide innovation precinct, is unique being the only dedicated private photographic school in South Australia. As a boutique school, CCP caters to a student’s individual needs, with flexible study options both online and in-person. Established in 1997 to meet a need for education that could work around people’s busy lifestyles, the inclusive creative environment allows students to choose their path, whether they study individual subjects, or complete a comprehensive qualification. CCP offers the Certificate IV and Diploma of Photography and Digital Imaging, nine-week nationally accredited courses, short courses, workshops, masterclasses, private tuition, studio and facility hire.
With growing technological requirements, CCP recognised the need to improve their internet and began researching a new location. When considering Sunjive Studios Adelaide, CCP founder and Director, Gavin Blake recalls, “All Troy (Wilkey, Facilities Manger) and Dan could talk about was how good the internet was! Since our desire for a venue change was primarily for an internet upgrade as our current premises couldn’t handle our requirements, being part of a creative hub as well as having super fast internet seemed like a perfect match.”
Sunjive Studios Adelaide was established by filmmakers from all across Australia. Each brings a unique perspective and set of skills to the table to expand upon the usual services a studio can offer, creating a true “one-stop-shop” for filmmakers. The precinct is supported by the ultra fast GigCity connection that caters perfectly to the clientele of tenants and filmmakers. The powerful cloud computing and storage capabilities provided by GigCity supports highly interactive and visually immersive experiences, aligning perfectly with the needs of the film industry.
“Being located at Sunjive Studios Adelaide has been a good fit. Aside from the usual challenges of moving location, the transition to the GigCity connection was smooth. We offer a variety of photography courses, workshops and masterclasses, as well as studio and facility hire, making the exceptional speed and flexible pricing options of GigCity perfect for our needs,” says Gavin.
The speed and reliability of the GigCity connection has supported the CCP operations in many ways. “All our bookings for the sound stages, studio, darkroom and digital suite are online. Our students love the ease of booking due to the fast internet.” The digital suite is equipped with data hungry software programs such as Photoshop and Lightroom. GigCity supports the computing power with its unlimited bandwidth, speed and reliability.
Having no lag on lectures has been a major benefit for both students and lecturers, providing confidence in the technology. “Our lecturers can focus on the content of their tutorials, because they can be confident that the technology will work,” says Gavin. The mixed delivery lectures are all recorded and can be accessed by students across Australia. “Each of our students has their own email address to connect to and access Google classroom. There have been no problems accessing course materials, recorded lectures and documents such as calendars.”
Administrative and marketing tasks have also been supported by the GigCity connection, including website maintenance, creating and sending out newsletters and remote printing. Staff meetings are undertaken via Zoom, are accessed in real time without lag or disruption, and recorded. “We don’t worry any more about the internet – we don’t even think about it. You only notice if it doesn’t work,” says Gavin.
CCP is continually improving and adjusting, taking into account student feedback. This has resulted in a student lounge and studio expansion, a sizeable library and most recently a shift to more online courses. One of the upgrades has been the state of the art darkroom. “We are very proud of our darkroom being the largest and best equipped public darkroom in Australia.”
The CCP has been a successful creative incubator with many students going on to do other things and winning awards. One of the CCP graduates won the prestigious “Photojournalist of the year” award in Darwin, another graduate is Kelly Champion, a photographer based in the Adelaide Hills, who has a successful photography business and a growing reputation, and Sam Graves is a student who at only 23 years of age is a Nikon Ambassador and already well recognised and successful.
With the shift to offering more online courses, the GigCity connection has become more important than ever and a valuable support for future offerings. Gavin says,“We can confidently provide comprehensive online courses, including live lectures due to the reliability and speed of GigCity. It enables us to focus on our core business of educating and creating successful, independent-minded photographers and nurturing the artists of the future.”
Centre for Creative Photography website
GigCity is a Government of South Australia initiative delivering affordable, high-speed internet to innovation precincts across the state.
Participating businesses experience gigabit speed broadband, enabling greater collaboration between colleagues and easy sharing with clients around the world.
For more information, visit gigcity.com.au.
