Field note · April 2026
Behind the Lens: White Bay Power Station
Brett Patman on working inside White Bay Power Station. The thirty-metre boilerhouse, the overhead cranes, and photographing a building that is open again.
Read the note
Series · 124 prints
White Bay Power Station
About this series
White Bay Power Station was the longest-serving of Sydney's metropolitan power stations. Construction began in 1912; it ran from 1917 until Christmas Day 1983. A coal-fired steam plant on the western edge of the harbour, it was extended in two further phases - 1923 to 1928, and 1945 to 1948 - and at peak employed around 500 to 600 people. It is now state-owned, mostly vacant, and opened occasionally for arts and film.
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm. Metallic Gloss 260 gsm for glass-mounted prints.
Sizes
Five sizes, XS to XL, from $100. Open editions in XS and S, limited editions in M, L and XL.
Print tiers →Production
Made to order in 3 to 5 business days.
Prints in this series
Control Room
Turbine Hall
Glass Curtain
Turbine and Condenser
Boiler House Basement To Ceiling
Boiler House Control Room
Turbine
Administration Entrance
Knife Switches
Workshop
Boiler Feed Valves
Condenser
Chimney Stacks And Boiler House
Telephone Exchange
Ammeters
Control Room Cross View
Boiler House Basement
Administration Foyer
Entertainment Hall
Bailey Meters
Turbine Hall Basement
Alternator Air Chamber
Ash Handling Tower
Ash Handling Tower Lookup
Baclkit Reactors
Basement Pump
Battery Charger
Beneath Boiler House Operator Level
Beneath Pump House
Blowers
Boiler 2 Void
Boiler 2 Void To Glass Curtain
Boiler House
Boiler House Cabinet
Boiler House Ceiling
Boiler House Chimney And Ash Plant
Boiler House Control Room Dials
Boiler House Exterior
Boiler House Floor
Boiler House Handrail
Boiler House Mezzanine
Boiler House To Coal Handling Shed
Boiler Number 1
Boiler Valves
Boiler Wall Access
White Bay Power Station Boiler Water Valves – Industrial Print
Boiler Water Wall
Breaker Box
Chimney
Coal Bunkers
Coal Conveyor
Control Room Desks
Control Room Side
Control Room Switches
Controllers
Dart Boards
Entertainment Hall Door
Entertainment Hall Kitchen
Entertainment Hall Seating
Entertainment Hall Stage
Field note
Read all field notes →
In the press
Capture Magazine
Capture Magazine Features White Bay Power Station | Lost Collective
Capture Magazine was the first publication to ever contact me for an interview. Not long after posting the first White Bay Power Station gallery, Marc Gafen reached out to discuss how the shoot came about and what it felt like to step in...
Read →Yen
Yen Magazine Feature - Power Outage | Lost Collective
Yen Magazine was one of the first publishers ever to talk to me about Lost Collective, which is quite exciting for me because I love Yen.
Read →Broadsheet
Broadsheet - Why I Take Photos in Abandoned Buildings
I was invited to write for Broadsheet early in 2016. it was an opportunity to tell the story of what drives me to do what I do with Lost Collective.
Read →Ignant
iGNANT Feature On Brett Patman | Lost Collective
Online art magazine iGNANT got in touch early 2016 to talk about Lost Collective. Another amazing publication who helped share the story from the very beginning.
Read →Curbed
Curbed - Industrial Relics are Focus of Photographer | Lost Collective
Curbed called all the way from New York to talk with me about Lost Collective and shooting industrial relics and abandoned factories.
Read →Vice
Creators - Photographer Captures Nature Reclaiming | Lost Collective
This feature for Creators was right at the start of Lost Collective when the project was just three months old and receiving local and international recognition. I think I had three major features in this week alone!
Read →Domain
Domain Interview And Picture Feature | Lost Collective
This article in Domain was the digital version of my feature in Sydney Morning Herald, and the beginning of a wave of media exposure during the infancy of Lost Collective that really helped to propel the project to where it is today.
Read →RNZ
RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERVIEW WITH KATHRYN RYAN | LOST COLLECTIVE
I haven’t been able to bring myself to listen to this interview I did with Radio New Zealand Nine to Noon .
Read →