The photographer documenting Australia’s abandoned places

(CNN) — Brett Patman never set out to be a photographer.He began his working career as a tradesman, working inside some of Australia’s factories, power stations and other industrial sites. But photography had always been his side passion.”I bought my camera in 2011 and I didn’t know what to do,” Patman explains. “I was just starting out like taking photos of the skyline and the city and just standard postcard photos that everyone’s seen a million times. I was just racking my brain a bit to think, ‘What would be a bit more interesting than this?'”It turned out the answer was hiding in plain sight. Patman began documenting some of his visits to industrial sites. But it was an out-of-use site that most piqued his interest — the abandoned Bradmill Denim factory in Yarraville, a suburb of Melbourne. He walked through an open section of the fence and began snapping pictures. What he didn’t know at the time was that he had just set his life on a new course.Since 2011, Patman has been traveling to abandoned places all over Australia to take photos — not just factories, but hotels, wool sheds, a former homeless camp and more. Now, it’s his full time career. Trips down Memory LaneOnce Patman began pursuing his photography career in earnest and upgrading to better equipment, he began posting some of his pictures on .