  We present a photometric catalog (based on V and I photometry) of galaxies in
the central regions of the Fornax galaxy cluster. Our 11 CCD fields cover 0.17
degrees in total. The limiting surface brightness is around 24 mag arsec^-2,
similar to that of Ferguson's (1989, AJ 98, 367) catalog, whereas our limiting
total magnitude is around V = 22 mag, about two magnitudes fainter. It is the
surface brightness limit, however, that prevents us from detecting the
counterparts of the faintest Local Group dwarf spheroidals. The photometric
properties of all objects are presented as a catalog. The properties and fit
parameters of the surface brightness profiles for a sub-sample are presented as
a second catalog (both catalogs are available in electronic form at the CDS).
We can only add 4 new dwarf galaxies to Ferguson's catalog. However, we confirm
that the dwarf galaxies in Fornax follow a similar surface brightness-magnitude
relation as the Local Group dwarfs. They also follow the color (metallicity) -
relation seen in other galaxy clusters. A formerly suspected excess of dwarf
galaxies surrounding the central cD galaxy NGC 1399 can finally be ruled out.
An enhanced density of objects around NGC 1399 can indeed be seen, but it
appears displaced with respect to the central galaxy and is identified as a
background cluster at z = 0.11 in Paper II of these series, which will discuss
spectroscopic results for our sample.
