Watch: Young photographer climbs to dizzying heights to get the perfect shot
Bryce Wilson is probably Australia's most well-known and potentially most controversial urban explorer, but turns out he came across urban exploration, or "urbex," by pure chance.
His jaw-dropping perspectives and controversial involvement in the lifestyle have been discussed extensively online, but a new eight-part series on Red Bull TV exploring the dangerous, illegal world of urbex, takes it to new heights.
The 25-year-old, who goes by "Drjft," became a lightning rod for criticism after a video of his very first attempt at urban exploration – a climb up the 304 metre (997 feet) crane on Melbourne's Prima Pearl construction site, went viral.
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However, he's not a thrill seeker without a cause. Photography is what drives him, he merely climbs to get perfect shot. But boy, does he climb.
Speaking of his first climb, he tells Mashable: "I went to a building for fun -- to find unique angles for my photographs. Only after that did I find that other people did this and it was a 'thing.'"
"I was motivated and obsessed by the idea of tackling every major icon in Melbourne for my photographs, but not obsessed with the act of urban exploration."
"The destination was always more important to me than the interim act of getting into the spot or climbing," he said.
As his photos show, Wilson's now an experienced urban explorer, having climbed cathedrals, towers and cranes in the name of night-time photography. He says urban exploration in Melbourne is "easier than ever before. Cities are covered in high-rise developments, scaffolding and cranes."
With his stunning photos, Wilson's also courted controversy. In July 2015 it was reported that he was sentenced to perform 100 hours of community service after stealing A$11,000 (US$8,301) worth of camera equipment and posting it on Instagram.
As the vertigo-inducing, POV-filled online series URBEX: Enter at Your Own Risk also shows, Wilson's also been highly criticised by the more underground urban exploration community of Melbourne, who felt he was drawing too much attention to the culture. He even received serious threats of violence.
"The people that criticised me for 'spoiling' spots are more motivated by the idea of being in a special, exclusive club than they are photography or exploration of urban spaces," he said.
"We live here, and the cities belong to us. Why shouldn't we explore them?"
Check out his free climb of Melbourne's Prime Pearl construction site here.
Jerico Mandybur is the editor of Mashable Australia. Previously, she worked as a digital editor at SBS, Oyster Mag, MTV and ASOS. Tweet her at @jerico_m.
