Curbed called all the way from New York to talk with me about Lost Collective and shooting industrial relics and abandoned factories.
The interview was part of "Behind the Lens", which looks at architectural photographers both professional and amateur, examining how they got their start, stories from their portfolios, and tricks to capturing great design.
I have to admit that I had never even heard of Curbed before they reached out for this interview. I'm glad they did in the end, Curbed has since become one of my favourite websites.
Given the quality of the content they post and the other creative minds they interview, it was quite humbling to have Curbed think of me for this interview.
Like many who find themselves entranced by sprawling factories, deteriorating buildings, and abandoned industrial sites, Syndey-based photographer Brett Patman was blown away by the scale.
But unlike others drawn to massive relics, Patman had a decent sense of how much of it worked.
A former "fitter and turner," better known as a machinist, Patman spent hours as a service technician exploring these sites.
He had been an amateur photographer for years—streetscapes, street art, "all the normal things everyone would photograph"—before curiosity got the better of him, and he turned his lens on the country's industrial heritage.
After shooting inside an abandoned denim factory, he was hooked, and soon started Lost Collective, a website, Instagram account, and Facebook page dedicated to documenting images and stories of factories, plants, and other abandoned workspaces.
Curbed spoke with Patman about the meaning of "ruin porn," the best way to capture larger-than-life subjects, and the benefits of asking politely instead of scaling fences.
To read the interview, click here.
Since 2004, Curbed
