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D200 goes to ... Chernobyl

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The town of Chernobyl is around 6-8 miles south of the nuclear plant. The higher concentrations of radiactivity due to the accident travelled North and West of the plant.

Most of the radiation levels I saw in the town were either within the normal background range or just slightly above it (normal is 5-50 microroentgens/hr ... I saw anywhere between 12-120 in the town).

They cleaned up the town pretty well. The hotel building was manufactured in Finland and brought to Chernobyl after the accident and initial cleanup, so it was never exposed to the higher radiation levels that occurred from the accident. I'm sure there are spots in town that have higher radiation levels, but not where I stayed.
 
Mark,

The Tchernobyl accident continues to fascinate me. Your gallery is one of the best I have seen on the subject, especially concerning the surrounding villages. You added the photographer's touch to these pictures of ruins and hastily abandoned objects, making the message much more powerful. Well done.

I guess you went there for professional reasons, and that a pass is still needed to access the zone, right? Though I guess it will just be a matter of time before the zone is opened to tourism...

I sure would love to go on a photo trip there myself.

Cheers,

--
Wepwawet
----------------

Please visit my gallery: http://www.mpibpc.mpg.de/abteilungen/071/start/people/bbouvie/gallery/
 
ENJOYED!!! I would go with you and your friends in a heartbeat! But I would rather sleep in a tent that I brought, and only eat and drink what I carried in, and leave naked following a 60 minute shower. ;-) The hotel guests/workers might have carried radiation with them. but on second thought, if I had equipment to test the area, along with calibration/verification of the equipment I guess I would feel comfortable anywhere my instruments indicated I was safe. ring me up the next time you go!! :-)

Oh ... so many of the pictures look as if the place was looted with all the windows broken out and items scattered about on the floor. I didn't expect that look. I thought "things" would be in there place with only damage being water from leaky ceilings.

Thanks again. My phone number is 309-555-1212. ;-)
 
Thank you for your comments.

I have researched the topic for quite some time and just needed to see the area for myself. I also help out on the English division of the Pripyat.com website and was able to meet several friends from the site including Sasha (from the photos), who used to live in Pripyat. It was so much more meaningful to visit Pripyat with a former resident.

Tourism has actually started in the Zone. There are several tour operators in Kyiv that offer day trips. You do need to obtain permission from the government agency Chernobyl InterInform, and you do need a guide to accompany you throughout the Zone. Most importantly, you must have your passport with you at all times. I had to show mine numerous times during my visit.

Thanks again.
 
You would not be allowed to sleep in a tent there, though most people only go on day trips anyhow. Radiation levels are typically not too high in most places the guides take you, so for a short day or two, there is not much to worry about. They will keep you away from the hot spots.

Regarding food, we brought a few things ourselves, but the food served by Chernobyl InterInform (the government agency) is brought in from Kyiv, so it is fine.

You are correct about the looting. Some looting occurred in the villages, but many items still remain there. Looting was a huge issue in Pripyat, which is why you do not see much furniture or appliances in the photos. The entire city was evacuated, which made it easy for the thieves (who knows why they wanted contaminated items). Very bizarre is that most of the windows were broken out so the looters could get the window frames.

You may also have noticed gas masks on the floor in one of the school photos. They were originally stored in the basement and were there in case of a nuclear attack by the US (remember this was Cold War Soviet Union at the time). Their presence in the school had nothing to do with the nuclear plant. Looters brought them upstairs to get the filters which were made from silver.

It was a fascinating and sometimes very strange place to visit.
 
Very nice series!

I've been curious about taking this tour for some time. I'm wondering who is directing the tours now since Rimma Kiselitsa has passed away? Were you able to travel at all freely within the zone or only while accompanied by a guide? If the latter, did you feel your time for taking photo's was restricted in any way?

I'd love to make this trip one day but I'm just not sure how Interinform would feel about my insistence on standing around in some spot for who knows how long waiting for the light to change. :)

--
Tom Young
http://www.pbase.com/tyoung/
 
Rimma was a senior guide and did not direct all the tours. They did and do have other guides. She is just the one that got the most publicity. BTW, not all the guides are associated with Chernobyl InterInform, but all requests for entry to the Zone goes through them.

The rule of thumb in the Zone is that you can work in the Zone for 2 weeks and then must spend the next 2 weeks out of the Zone, so there are different guides at different times.

Only people with a lot of experience in the Zone are allowed to travel freely, though you still need permission for access. Virtually everyone is required to have a guide with them.

I was able to take my time, but rushed myself so I could see as much as possible. :-) I think timing depends on your arrangements and who else is with you (e.g. if you go through a tour operator there is probably very little leeway).

Due to the people I know over there that helped arrange my trip (I went with friends, not a tour group), I got more of a personalized tour and got to do some things that most people can't do (e.g. see inside the Reactor 4 control room, thoroughly investigate some of the villages). I also got to see more because I was there for 2 days.

I think on most any tour, there are certain things they want to show you and there is only so much time in the day. My guess is that they will be patient with you and eliminate some things from the tour depending on the time left. Trust me though, there are not many places that you would really need to stand around for a while to get proper light, and inside the buildings, you don't have much of a choice (my SB-800 was great indoors, and the built-in flash worked fine too in some cases).
 
Mark---

Absolutely fascinating series of images. i ahve to say that i do not believe that i have ever sat through someone's gallery and clicked through so many images. well i did look at every last one with much enjoyment and anticipation. everytime i was getting ready to click next while thinking--"ohhhh-I hope he has some from inside!" you delivered. kudos on telling a great story

the schools, the amusment park, the church, the hospital, the pool, everything was very interesteing.

glad i caught this thread.

patrick
 
You did a great job showing this!...
--
And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography,
it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as
though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being
a photographer has made my life possible.'-Richard Avedon
 
I am off to meet 20 kids visiting from Chernobyl in North Yorkshire.

They will be guests on a pony breeding farm, and be able to ride or touch the ponies. I hope they will have fun...

I will post pics later on! I have been fascinated by Chernobyl for the longest time, and it is quit shocking to see that people still work in that plant...

I know there is huge danger of the sarcophage not holding, so I wonder when the next disaster will occur...

They showed "Chernobyl heart" here in UK a couple of months ago, and it was extremely chilling!

We need to show the world all we can about this, as there are still so much babies born with serious ilnesses and deformations... Not to mention the children and young adults growing up with strange cancers.

I loved seeing your series Mark... I would not have the courage to go there... You had and it has become an almost biblical series...
 
photoc@t said:
I know there is huge danger of the sarcophage not holding, so I
wonder when the next disaster will occur...
Click to expand...
In the photos of Reactor 4 outside the plant, you can see about 5-6 black cut-outs in the wall of the Sarcophagus that look like windows. They cut those out about 1-2 months ago and will be sliding support beams into the structure for additional support.

Once the Sarcophagus has been "stabilized", they will start construction of a new "shelter object" which looks like a dome and will totally enclose the existing structure.
 
Hey Mark, great series of photos, I clicked and saw each photo of the series and enjoyed it very much. I didn't know that you could even go there now! I just couldn't do it myself, I don't trust what we know about this and figure my chances of getting cancer are enough as it stands without going there....but hey the photos were just increadiable and I did enjoy them very much...it must be a ghostly feeling to actually go there...I would be spooked for months afterward!! Thanks for posting such a great series of photos!!
 
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