Amazing, inspiring work! I have always been fascinated by this place, and saddened by the reality of what happened there. You have captured it perfectly.
Schmoo, these are some of the most amazing, powerful and thought provoking photos that I have ever seen!!!! Thanks so much for taking them and sharing them!!
Ron
"The question is not what you look at, but what you see". Henry David Thoreau
I was teaching at the Insitute of Nuclear Energetics when the disaster hit.
Lots of Chernobyl NPP personnel were our grads.
Many of our students and local grads went to help.
Many suffered the consequences, often the gravest ones :-(
It was a sad story. Your pictures add to it beautifully. Great work!
--
Nikolai
Nikolai that's sad to hear, but I really appreciate hearing your firsthand account. I have have several friends and acquaintances give the "Why?" reply in the weeks leading up to the trip, and they were all people who grew up in Russia and Eastern Europe. It's definitely not a happy memory for millions of people, but to an outsider the chance to visit was an enriching, educational and life-changing experience.
Quite mind boggling to get my head around the devestation and how people can still be there...
You capture the spirit of a ghost town really well I think - the clock without the hands on all the gas marks was quite poignant I thought
An adventure and something that I guess you won't forget in a hurry... but sometimes we have to see this to understand how good we really have it... I had a similar experience in Oradur sur Glane
^^
there are some dying out villages that have never even bothered to move.. My father was assisting with bringing people out of the hot zone, and a few villages in the area just locked their doors, and would refuse to come out.. Some even went as far as using gunpower to avoid the unwanted move.
"we can't see anything wrong" they said.. While many were dying from rad poisoning..
Many houses are empty in the area because in early 1990s "stalkers" would go to that area and break into flats, and steal the irradiated household items to sell them. I remember around 1993-1995 it was a common practice to check rad level on anything we would buy at a bazaar.
Quite mind boggling to get my head around the devestation and how people can still be there...
You capture the spirit of a ghost town really well I think - the clock without the hands on all the gas marks was quite poignant I thought
An adventure and something that I guess you won't forget in a hurry... but sometimes we have to see this to understand how good we really have it... I had a similar experience in Oradur sur Glane
Thanks for sharing
Hi Jason, wow that is a very cool article about that town. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, as it's worth more research.
I wish I spoke Ukrainian as I would love to know more details about what it's like to live and work in the area. I do know that they work in two-week shifts, so faces are always changing. They also get very good pay and also are eligible for early retirement, so they are well-compensated.
^^
there are some dying out villages that have never even bothered to move.. My father was assisting with bringing people out of the hot zone, and a few villages in the area just locked their doors, and would refuse to come out.. Some even went as far as using gunpower to avoid the unwanted move.
"we can't see anything wrong" they said.. While many were dying from rad poisoning..
Many houses are empty in the area because in early 1990s "stalkers" would go to that area and break into flats, and steal the irradiated household items to sell them. I remember around 1993-1995 it was a common practice to check rad level on anything we would buy at a bazaar.
That's scary, not knowing what you're buying but since radiation is so invisible it's undoubtedly inevitable. Your personal experiences lend even more life to the whole issue. Where were you living at that time?
I was never really fully cognizant of how deadly the invisibility was until I was there in the woods on a beautiful autumn day and my companions were freaking out about the geiger readings right next to me.
Hey Chris, yes the view was incredible. I think they were used to lift cargo from boats, but I am not 100% sure.
The tallest one was just breathtaking. I wasn't sure I could make it all the way up but it's just one hand in front of the other. Once you get to the top, you realize the welds attaching the ladder to the platform have broken so it just kind of sways free
That's scary, not knowing what you're buying but since radiation is so invisible it's undoubtedly inevitable. Your personal experiences lend even more life to the whole issue. Where were you living at that time?
I was never really fully cognizant of how deadly the invisibility was until I was there in the woods on a beautiful autumn day and my companions were freaking out about the geiger readings right next to me.
On the day of disaster, I was being walked by my mother as I was 1 yr old We were few thousand kilometers away from the area, I was born in Minsk, Belarus. Though, when my mother told me about that day, she said that even in our area if she was to look towards sun, there would be an odd rainbow, and she was getting very sick as soon as we would get into an open area, unshielded by trees or roof.
My father was in the ranks of the military folks who volunteered to help others.. he was not serving in any army, was a gun to hire, so to speak.. He is one of the only 3 men who are still alive who he ran that mission, and the only one who hasn't been diagnosed with some sort of cancer (knock on wood),he is 57 right now.
in Later years, however, my dad's adventures lead us to live much closer to the area.. closest we lived was about 300km away form the hot zone..
Arseny, that's incredible. Is your mother OK? That is absolutely chilling about the rainbow, and I am so glad that your father has been so fortunate. I don't know what to say, but thank you for giving a peek into your personal experiences. This certainly was no joke and each day even after we've been back I keep learning and discovering more and more.
Absolutely fantastic post apocalyptic set. The way you have related images of the mundane and the bizzare is chilling, it makes it soooooo real. I love the detail, and the way you illustrate how everyday life seemed suddenly interrupted by the disaster.
btw, imo the #1 scariest shower I have found was in Hanoi, a hose & garden sprayer in the wall with a drain that smelled of exhaust fumes. I'll have to go to the Rus to see how it stacks up!
We visited one of the crane claws that had been used to remove debris from the reactor during liquidation. That capped at about 375 μSv, which was the highest we'd seen. We didn't stay there beyond taking photos of the readings.
The crane claw actually registered 575 μSv so it was still rather 'hot'.
It's interesting getting the view points from people who lived near Chernobyl when this happened and the aftermath.
As much as most people in that area want to ignore/forget the incident they do make generate a decent sum of $ from tourism into the zone. As hard as it is they should look into doing something like Poland has done with Auschwitz, or the Japanese have done with Hiroshima and developed a tour that exhibits information about the incident, the aftermath, and lessons learned that can hopefully be put towards preventing another incident in the future. It is still somewhat grim but it can help boost an economy that has taken a beating in the last year.
I was surprised to see how scrapped and vandalized parts of Prypiat were. But as Foques alluded to people have been going there for years looking for anything of value to resell which is why most of the windows in places have been knocked out (for the metal in the window frames), the gas masks in schools are laying all over the place (for the silver inside the gas mask filter), and why pretty much every vehicle in the area has been stripped down to their bare frames.
As said on FB, outstanding. Your shots are amazing, I'm almost embarrassed to look at and edit mine after looking at these.
I had a great time on the trip, I'm glad you found out Arek's info like you did and we were all able to go, I had a great time.
The crane claw actually registered 575 μSv so it was still rather 'hot'.
It's interesting getting the view points from people who lived near Chernobyl when this happened and the aftermath.
As much as most people in that area want to ignore/forget the incident they do make generate a decent sum of $ from tourism into the zone. As hard as it is they should look into doing something like Poland has done with Auschwitz, or the Japanese have done with Hiroshima and developed a tour that exhibits information about the incident, the aftermath, and lessons learned that can hopefully be put towards preventing another incident in the future. It is still somewhat grim but it can help boost an economy that has taken a beating in the last year.
I was surprised to see how scrapped and vandalized parts of Prypiat were. But as Foques alluded to people have been going there for years looking for anything of value to resell which is why most of the windows in places have been knocked out (for the metal in the window frames), the gas masks in schools are laying all over the place (for the silver inside the gas mask filter), and why pretty much every vehicle in the area has been stripped down to their bare frames.
Hey Kevin, don't be ridiculous! I have seen some mighty fine pics from your many trips, so fair is fair. Looking forward to seeing your shots soon.
You're always a wealth of information. I actually had no idea there was anything worth scrapping from gas masks, but that explains a lot. It is sad enough to see natural decay of things, but it happens. Human-accelerated decay is a little more depressing.
Each summer for a number of years, the city of Grass Valley, CA has hosted a group of young kids and teens from Chernobyl for a couple of weeks to give them a chance to be in a place where they can play in the sun and forests and just be kids out of sight of this disaster.
The community goes out of their way to make sure the kids have an experience to give them hope for their futures.
Great sequence, what an educational trip- I can't believe you climbed the cranes/scaffolding.
Your pics were slow to load on my connection, and the page kept resetting position, when I saw a picture full of fossils scroll past on my screen. When I went back to look for it, it was the picture of all the gas masks on the floor with the clock. At first glance, it really looked like a fossil hash of turritellas or something similar, like heteromorph ammonites.
It was kind of an eerie confluence of pattern recognition and symbolism-
Some of the pictures maybe cliched- but only because they have so much to say that people keep trying to say it over and over and over again because it's warranted.
Schmoo...wow. That was the most amazing set I think I've ever seen. You captured so much with it...the mood, the 'frozen in time' aspect... I'm just completely awestruck. Fantastic set!
fantastic shots, i felt like i was there! it must have been quite an experience to see something of that magnitude with your own eyes. i would love to go some day.
fantastic shots, i felt like i was there! it must have been quite an experience to see something of that magnitude with your own eyes. i would love to go some day.
Our guide goes a few times a year and if you're serious, he may be taking another group with him in the spring. It'd be a good time to go since it'll be a full 25 years since the accident. They're planning a lot for April 2011.
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I was teaching at the Insitute of Nuclear Energetics when the disaster hit.
Lots of Chernobyl NPP personnel were our grads.
Many of our students and local grads went to help.
Many suffered the consequences, often the gravest ones :-(
It was a sad story. Your pictures add to it beautifully. Great work!
--
Nikolai
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
You capture the spirit of a ghost town really well I think - the clock without the hands on all the gas marks was quite poignant I thought
An adventure and something that I guess you won't forget in a hurry... but sometimes we have to see this to understand how good we really have it... I had a similar experience in Oradur sur Glane
Thanks for sharing
Jase // www.stonesque.com
there are some dying out villages that have never even bothered to move.. My father was assisting with bringing people out of the hot zone, and a few villages in the area just locked their doors, and would refuse to come out.. Some even went as far as using gunpower to avoid the unwanted move.
"we can't see anything wrong" they said.. While many were dying from rad poisoning..
Many houses are empty in the area because in early 1990s "stalkers" would go to that area and break into flats, and steal the irradiated household items to sell them. I remember around 1993-1995 it was a common practice to check rad level on anything we would buy at a bazaar.
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Hi Jason, wow that is a very cool article about that town. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, as it's worth more research.
I wish I spoke Ukrainian as I would love to know more details about what it's like to live and work in the area. I do know that they work in two-week shifts, so faces are always changing. They also get very good pay and also are eligible for early retirement, so they are well-compensated.
But it's sobering, that's for sure.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
That's scary, not knowing what you're buying but since radiation is so invisible it's undoubtedly inevitable. Your personal experiences lend even more life to the whole issue. Where were you living at that time?
I was never really fully cognizant of how deadly the invisibility was until I was there in the woods on a beautiful autumn day and my companions were freaking out about the geiger readings right next to me.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Hey Chris, yes the view was incredible. I think they were used to lift cargo from boats, but I am not 100% sure.
The tallest one was just breathtaking. I wasn't sure I could make it all the way up but it's just one hand in front of the other. Once you get to the top, you realize the welds attaching the ladder to the platform have broken so it just kind of sways free
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
On the day of disaster, I was being walked by my mother as I was 1 yr old
My father was in the ranks of the military folks who volunteered to help others.. he was not serving in any army, was a gun to hire, so to speak.. He is one of the only 3 men who are still alive who he ran that mission, and the only one who hasn't been diagnosed with some sort of cancer (knock on wood),he is 57 right now.
in Later years, however, my dad's adventures lead us to live much closer to the area.. closest we lived was about 300km away form the hot zone..
My Site
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Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
All I can blame on Chernobyl myself is my height..
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btw, imo the #1 scariest shower I have found was in Hanoi, a hose & garden sprayer in the wall with a drain that smelled of exhaust fumes. I'll have to go to the Rus to see how it stacks up!
www.borrowedlightphotography.com
This is easily one of the most fascinating photo sets that I've ever seen. Impressive and inspiring.
As said on FB, outstanding. Your shots are amazing, I'm almost embarrassed to look at and edit mine after looking at these.
I had a great time on the trip, I'm glad you found out Arek's info like you did and we were all able to go, I had a great time.
The crane claw actually registered 575 μSv so it was still rather 'hot'.
It's interesting getting the view points from people who lived near Chernobyl when this happened and the aftermath.
As much as most people in that area want to ignore/forget the incident they do make generate a decent sum of $ from tourism into the zone. As hard as it is they should look into doing something like Poland has done with Auschwitz, or the Japanese have done with Hiroshima and developed a tour that exhibits information about the incident, the aftermath, and lessons learned that can hopefully be put towards preventing another incident in the future. It is still somewhat grim but it can help boost an economy that has taken a beating in the last year.
I was surprised to see how scrapped and vandalized parts of Prypiat were. But as Foques alluded to people have been going there for years looking for anything of value to resell which is why most of the windows in places have been knocked out (for the metal in the window frames), the gas masks in schools are laying all over the place (for the silver inside the gas mask filter), and why pretty much every vehicle in the area has been stripped down to their bare frames.
Hey Kevin, don't be ridiculous! I have seen some mighty fine pics from your many trips, so fair is fair. Looking forward to seeing your shots soon.
You're always a wealth of information. I actually had no idea there was anything worth scrapping from gas masks, but that explains a lot. It is sad enough to see natural decay of things, but it happens. Human-accelerated decay is a little more depressing.
I was going to make a photo book for this trip (esp as right now Smuggers get 20% off Blurb orders) but then I found this amazing photojournalist's portrayal of the victims and their families. So there goes that idea. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/bowdown.gif" border="0" alt="" > (Really though the preview is worth a look.)
And lastly, here are some adorable radioactive puppies:
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Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
The community goes out of their way to make sure the kids have an experience to give them hope for their futures.
What a trip.
While it may not provide happy memories, I don't think it should be forgotten, lest it happen again.
In order to care and have a motivation to prevent past disasters we must be affected emotionally as well as academically.
Image like your will help.
Sam
Your pics were slow to load on my connection, and the page kept resetting position, when I saw a picture full of fossils scroll past on my screen. When I went back to look for it, it was the picture of all the gas masks on the floor with the clock. At first glance, it really looked like a fossil hash of turritellas or something similar, like heteromorph ammonites.
It was kind of an eerie confluence of pattern recognition and symbolism-
Some of the pictures maybe cliched- but only because they have so much to say that people keep trying to say it over and over and over again because it's warranted.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Glad you got through the trip without any 'problems' and thank you for sharing, I'm not sure I could 'cope' with that much raw emotion.
.DAVID.
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Our guide goes a few times a year and if you're serious, he may be taking another group with him in the spring. It'd be a good time to go since it'll be a full 25 years since the accident. They're planning a lot for April 2011.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Did you find other places you would like to revisit while in the area?
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