The Beginning of the End

I never knew how long I’d be doing this. Climbing cranes.

It started with urbexing in January 2020. My love for photography has always been so strong, especially as I’ve always regretted not taking more photos throughout my childhood and later years. Like all my other creative ventures, it helps me cope with life and all its BS dramas but we’re all hurting. We’ve all got problems. We’re all self-medicating and trying to keep moving forward. Cranes are one of the few things that help me cope, especially when shit gets bad.

Although, I never imagined I would be climbing cranes. I didn’t even like getting up a ladder!

Around August 2020, I stumbled on Ally Law’s YouTube channel and became hooked. Most people get hooked. I get obsessed. Welcome to the world of autism. I get so fixated to the point it’s near impossible to move on.

Over the next few months, my coping skills diminished and so did my fears and feelings. Apparently that’s pretty normal for suicidal people, although I had no idea my sense of reality would completely change. My lack of respect for people and hate for the world grew, largely as a result of negative experiences over the past year. Nothing mattered anymore, nor did the consequences. I kept telling myself, if shit got too bad, I could die whenever I want.

In October 2020, my mate took me down to the Wearne Hostel crane in Cottesloe. I wasn’t too keen on climbing it to be honest but my mate persuaded me to give it a try and I’m glad I did.

As time went on, I started doing more and more cranes, rooftops, scaffolding and tower climbs. I loved seeking out different views of my world to share with others in the form of photos. Not to encourage them, despite myself being originally influenced by one of the world’s most famous YouTubers. I loved turning average photos into something incredible and changing people’s perspectives.

I have always been fascinated with construction sites but particularly over the past few months, this has increased tenfold. Despite change always being very difficult for me to adjust to, change that was outside my own experience and impersonal, made it something I wanted to document and photograph. I’ve since developed a strong interest in architecture, a fascination with everything from the creative and the unusual, materials to designs.

To succeed in life you need to create your own opportunities. So many people have told me to go and photograph nature. Millions of people do that. I want to photograph things few others do and perhaps if I could learn everything I can about construction in order to develop a reflective writing approach to accompany my photos, I could find a future in this field.

I know I won’t be climbing cranes forever. In fact, I know it won’t be for much longer. Especially with a particular construction company’s Communications Manager’s recent chain of emails listing my website. Plus many in the industry now keeping an eye on my Instagram account like a Senior Tower Crane Technician, scaffolders, crane operators, a concrete finisher, as well as Elizabeth Quay construction workers.

I know I don’t have a right to access your site, nor do I especially have the right to climb your crane. Which is why I never steal, move or damage anything on site. I come to take photos and I go.

But everyone gets caught in the end. Just like armed robbers, serial rapists and murderers. I get it.