A garden in Sunshine West proudly landscaped with topiary hedges is among the photographs from Warren Kirk's book Westography. Credit:Warren Kirk "It's the same everywhere, the destruction of what was," Kirk says of the rapidly changing landscape. "The proliferation of inappropriate developments is on every level ... but they say that's progress, apparently! I don't believe it's progress at all. I think there's a cabal between developers, construction industries, bank, councils – it's just vandalising the suburbs in my humble opinion." Kirk, 65, is a self-taught photographer and what began as something of a hobby has in recent years become a full-time undertaking. He's driven to document Melbourne – and regional Victoria and beyond; he doesn't only photograph the west – because he sees a certain aesthetic of the city fringe and suburban landscape, and its ageing population, are disappearing "Every day something goes off the end of the conveyor belts and disappears forever, so I like to be out there, looking to get as much as I can, snooping around." The images in the book – just a small sample of an archive he estimates at more than 40,000 images – include hand-painted shop signs in Kensington and Footscray, gardens in Seddon and Sunshine West proudly landscaped with topiary hedges, small businesses like bakeries, delis, old-school barber shops – some of which have already disappeared since the book's publication. Perhaps most arresting of all are the images featuring people – mostly older men and women, tending their gardens, sharing their unrenovated kitchens, living rooms and even bedrooms with him.

Cruising through Yarraville. Credit:Warren Kirk He often meets them as he's photographing their gardens, or their vintage cars, and he says he's rarely had anybody ask him not to take photos. "Very occasionally people will be suspicious and won't want me to, and that's their prerogative; I don't like to upset people," he says. "But generally, once they understand what I'm about, people are pretty accommodating, even about letting me into their houses." A proud car enthusiast from Airport West. Credit:Warren Kirk He always returns to his subjects with a copy of the photographs for them, even making friends with some of them.

"Sometimes I'll re-photograph them again – they might be more relaxed the next time around, or some of the women might have different outfits on that I want to get. I like to do little series of people." A bedroom from a house in West Footscray Credit:Warren Kirk Only occasionally does someone tip Kirk off to a great car or garden they've seen; mostly he just "runs into places". "It's often just serendipitous, in a way. If you have an interest in something, or a passion, you tend to be a bit of a magnet for it." A Bulldogs supporter at home in West Footscray. Credit:Warren Kirk

He's never mapped out his previous subjects, and doesn't keep a record of where he's been; he likes to wander, usually accompanied by his dog, Ocky, who sometimes appears in shot. "It's a bit like prospecting, what I do – it isn't everywhere and you have [to] just get out there and have a prospect and every now and then you hit a little nugget and it's worth the time and the effort," he says. A dimly lit corner of suburban Sunshine. Credit:Warren Kirk He's not tempted to shift his photos onto Instagram – and he prefers to think most people view his Flickr account on a larger screen than their mobile phone – and declined to be photographed for this article. "To me it's the work that's important, not being published or being a little bit 'known'; I'm not interested in that," he says. "That's why I never get my photo taken. I'm not looking for fame or fortune, I'm looking for my images to be seen. I don't want to be anybody. I just like to take photos."

Relaxing at home in Yarraville. Credit:Warren Kirk And the book, he says, isn't a culmination of anything; he's still out and about most days. "Having an audience, as it were, on Flickr, and now the book, I'd put myself under the pump to come up with new stuff, which is good – it makes me keep on digging and digging," he says. "I'm just addicted to it, in a way." A fish and chip shop in Sunshine. Credit:Warren Kirk Westography: Images Of A Vanishing Suburbia, by Warren Kirk, is out now, published by echo.