EXCLUSIVE: Daredevil photographer dubbed 'Spiderman' who boasted of his 'pursuit of art in the face of death' STOLE gear he used to take the amazing pictures

  • Bryce Wilson has been praised for his spectacular night time photography
  • It was revealed that Wilson stole $15,000 worth of camera equipment
  • The 24-year-old was charged with burglary and handling stolen goods  
  • Jon Grundy said Wilson is profiting from images taken on the stolen gear   
  • 'People should understand what kind of person he really is,' he said

By Belinda Grant Geary For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 23:41 EST, 8 July 2015 | Updated: 02:58 EST, 9 July 2015

A Melbourne man who attracted national attention as an urban 'Spiderman' for his spectacular night time photography has been producing his work on stolen equipment.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal Bryce Wilson's amazing dusk shoot above the Melbourne skyline was captured on $15,000 worth of camera gear which he removed from Melbourne photographer Jon Grundy's home last year.

Police have confirmed Wilson pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrate' Court on 20 February 2015 to burglary charges relating to the theft on 20 July 2014.

But Mr Grundy, 30, is furious that Wilson is continuing to profit from the photographs taken using his camera gear.

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Mr Grundy was furious when he saw Mr Wilson had advertised this picture of  Melbourne's skyline for $35 when it was taken with his stolen camera equipment 

Mr Grundy was furious when he saw Mr Wilson had advertised this picture of  Melbourne's skyline for $35 when it was taken with his stolen camera equipment 

Spiderman: Bryce Wilson said he risked life and limb to capture his 'urban exploration' set which was photographed from atop a sky scraper

Spiderman: Bryce Wilson said he risked life and limb to capture his 'urban exploration' set which was photographed from atop a sky scraper

Initially, Mr Grundy said he 'wasn't interested' in publishing details of the case, but once he noticed that Wilson was seeking media attention', he had a change of heart.

Following an article published by Daily Mail Australia on July 2, Wilson was interviewed on Sunrise and his work was shared thousands of times, even featuring on Melbourne Tourism's Facebook account.

‘The photography looks really amazing,' Mr Grundy told Daily Mail Australia. ‘But people should understand what kind of person he really is.'

Mr Grundy, an IT consultant and part-time photographer, said he first came into contact with Wilson, 24, when he expressed interest in two Canon lenses he had advertised for sale last year. 

Following an article published by Daily Mail Australia, Wilson was interviewed on Sunrise and his work was shared thousands of times, even featuring on Melbourne Tourism's Facebook account

Following an article published by Daily Mail Australia, Wilson was interviewed on Sunrise and his work was shared thousands of times, even featuring on Melbourne Tourism's Facebook account

After Wilson obtained Mr Grundy's address he said he couldn't afford to buy the camera gear and pulled out of the sale.

‘Bryce then knew that I had professional photography gear that he was interested in owning, my exact address and finally he knew that I would not be home for at least a week,’ Mr Grundy said.

Three days later, Mr Grundy’s wife arrived home to discover their home had been broken in to and every piece of camera equipment owned by her husband had been taken.

High end IT gear, laptops and jewelry remained untouched, leading Mr Grundy to believe the burglary was targeted and Wilson was behind it.

However, despite his suspicions, police were not able to obtain a search warrant for Wilson's home because of lack of evidence.

Then, in August, Mr Grundy noticed that Wilson had posted a picture on Instagram boasting about ‘his’ new Canon 5D Mk III and Canon 35mm 1.4L, which bore striking resemblance to his missing equipment.

$15,000 worth of his camera gear was found inside the home of Bryce Wilson (above) home and despite facing burglary charges, Mr Grundy said Wilson is still profiting from photographs that were taken with the stolen equipment

$15,000 worth of his camera gear was found inside the home of Bryce Wilson (above) home and despite facing burglary charges, Mr Grundy said Wilson is still profiting from photographs that were taken with the stolen equipment

Mr Grundy noticed that Wilson had posted a picture on Instagram boasting about ‘his’ new Canon 5D Mk III and Canon 35mm 1.4L, which bore striking resemblance to his missing equipment

Mr Grundy noticed that Wilson had posted a picture on Instagram boasting about ‘his’ new Canon 5D Mk III and Canon 35mm 1.4L, which bore striking resemblance to his missing equipment

‘It was just so frustrating watching him post all these photos of the equipment, plus the photos he took with it, knowing we couldn't say anything.' 

But Mr Grundy continued to monitor Wilson’s social media accounts and discovered that Wilson had posted several images that he claimed were taken with his new Canon 5D - and he was selling the prints for $35.

'It caused us a lot of stress and heartache knowing that he was out there, boasting about his work which was clearly produced with stolen camera gear.'

There wasn't another development in the case until October, when Mr Grundy received an email from a photographer who had uncovered some concerning metadata.

A man who had been working with Wilson noticed that his raw image files were coded with Mr Grundy’s name.

Wilson received national media attention after his 'urban explorer' set was published online 

Wilson received national media attention after his 'urban explorer' set was published online 

‘My name was all over the copyright metadata on Bryce’s work and he hadn't even thought to take it off'

‘My name was all over the copyright metadata on Bryce’s work and he hadn't even thought to take it off'

‘My name was all over the copyright metadata on Bryce’s work and he hadn't even thought to take it off.' 

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, asked Wilson how he obtained the camera equipment, Wilson allegedly joked that it was 'stolen'.

'This was obviously a red flag for him and that's when he emailed me to tell me about the metadata.' 

Mr Grundy immediately notified police of the new electronic evidence that confirmed Mr Grundy’s camera was used to take Wilson’s published works, giving police enough to obtain a warrant to search Wilson’s residence where they found Mr Grundy’s camera equipment.

Jon Grundy's name was found in the metadata of Wilson's images which can be seen in the bottom right hand corner under 'Artist'

Jon Grundy's name was found in the metadata of Wilson's images which can be seen in the bottom right hand corner under 'Artist'

Mr Grundy said was furious when he saw Wilson advertising his prints for sale  

Mr Grundy said was furious when he saw Wilson advertising his prints for sale  

Wilson was arrested on October 16 and charged with burglary and handling stolen goods. 

The camera, along with memory cards and lenses, were returned to Mr Grundy. 

‘The fact that every photo he was taking had my name against it shows that he didn’t think through what he was doing and, ultimately, led to him being caught red handed.’ 

Mr Grundy said Wilson 'at no stage' showed any 'empathy' for him or his wife during the one year ordeal.

'All he wanted to do was get ‘his’ gear back without any thought to what he had done or how it had impacted people.'

Mr Grundy recovered several images from the camera, including above, when it was returned by police which have been posted to Wilson's Instagram account

Mr Grundy recovered several images from the camera, including above, when it was returned by police which have been posted to Wilson's Instagram account

Mr Grundy advised that this dusk shoot- taken atop the Prima Pearl crane- was photographed with his stolen equipment 

Mr Grundy advised that this dusk shoot- taken atop the Prima Pearl crane- was photographed with his stolen equipment 

Wilson received a 12 month community service order for the burglary charges. 

He attracted media attention last year when he posted a video of himself dangling atop a crane as police and onlookers looked on from below, earning him the title 'Spiderman'.

To gain access the 24-year-old broke into the construction site and was subsequently charged with trespassing.

Probuild Construction also sought an injunction to restrain Wilson from entering any of their construction sites. 

BRYCE WILSON'S STATEMENT 

'I made a sincerely regrettable mistake, one for which I am sorry. I cooperated with police enquiries, assisted them in recovering the property, and fulfilled all of my legal obligations, including bail conditions, and paying my own legal costs.'

'Jon's actions come following my life moving on. I have not possessed any of this gear since the search warrant was executed. All of my work since has been shot on other photographic gear, with no link to Jon. 

'His public revelation of this case comes as a direct retaliation to me receiving recognition for my work, something he comments on himself. That is not the actions of a victim, but instead a malicious and calculated move designed to besmirch my character, name, and work.'

Mr Grundy said Wilson has shown 'a very serious tendency towards breaking the law, what makes it worse is he knowingly breaks the law and has no issue with it'

Mr Grundy said Wilson has shown 'a very serious tendency towards breaking the law, what makes it worse is he knowingly breaks the law and has no issue with it'

TIMELINE OF BURGLARY 

11 July 2014

Mr Grundy advertised the sale of two Canon lenses and received an expression of interest from Wilson

15 July 2014

Mr Grundy provided his home address to Wilson so he could pick up the lenses

Shortly after Wilson sent another message stating ‘I just realised I won’t have enough money to buy it tonight’ and did not complete the transaction

20 July 2014

At approximately 9pm, Mr Grundy’s wife returned home and discovered the lock on the front door had been tampered with and the camera equipment was gone.

The theft was reported to the police but there was no physical evidence linking Wilson to the crime

2 August 2014

Mr Wilson posted a photo on Instagram showing a ‘new’ Canon 5D Mark 3 camera with a Canon 35mm f/1.4 lens attached 

8 October 2014

Wilson posted several images on Instagram that Mr Grundy would later find were taken with his camera

10 October 2014

A photographer working with Wilson contacted Mr Grundy via email to ask if he was missing a Canon 5D Mark 3 as he had seen ‘Jon Grundy’ in the metadata of Wilson’s work

Mr Grundy confirmed that he had several items of equipment burgled in July and provided the photographer with details to contact police

16th October 2014

Wilson was arrested and charged with burglary and handling stolen goods.

10 January 2015

Police returned Grundy’s photography equipment and he recovered several of Wilson’s published photographs on his memory cards

20 February 2015

Wilson pleaded guilty to burglary and handling stolen goods at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, but no conviction was recorded.

Wilson was given a community service order that stipulates he must perform 100 hours of work

 

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