Ian Rance Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hi, I have heard alot about Chernobyl and especially about faked and stolen web-images. I was at Chernobyl last week and have some of my photos that I took here on the board - see: http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=400615 These were NOT stolen unlike some - I have the negs! It was a real experience, and to visit the ghost town of Pripyat (pronounced 'pripit' was like visiting a world in which humans have dissapeared - very eerie. Hope you like the pics! Ian, UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_eaton Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Great images. The one with Lenin's statue is particularly haunting. Out of curiousity, what safety considerations were involved, or areas that were off limits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbs Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Thank you for these images....;)....J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_nelson___atlanta__ga Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 The lack of vandalism makes my head spin. Almost anything in America that is abandoned for a couple of hours is covered in graffiti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernhard Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 What strikes me most is that these pics don't look too different from my visual memories of eastern Germany after the fall of the Berlin wall, so I'm not sure this place looked a lot better 20 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatrice_flowers Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Except if it's in a military zone, Dave... :-) The pictures, though nice enough in a way, don't allow the place to look any different from most any other Soviet provincial town/ village. Even the lack of people isn't much out of the ordinary; villages are being depopulated in Russia/ CIS; everyone moves to the city, the provinces are dying. That motorcycle chick's pics were really *good*. These aren't. Those Lenin statues still stand in every village; they all look the same, and they all look as on this photo, Scott. I guess Pripyat looks like everything else until you enter those homes... I kind of liked the shot of the cinema, though. Wish you'd gone inside, though; I just love Soviet cinemas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuel_dilworth Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 I missed the fake photos that I keep hearing about recently (where are they and who took them?). But these photos look good to me. I was expecting black and white, so nice to see sunshine and colour. I can imagine Pripyat as a modern town, thriving with human activity (and plenty of entertainment, apparently). The unscathed church building is indeed very striking, amid a world of dilapidation. Bee, you've got a fascinating site. But there is plenty of room for honest imagery too, of the type Ian has presented to us here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatrice_flowers Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 Samuel: yes, but how interesting 'honest' imagery is, will depend on what the photographer has noticed. The motorcycle chick's pictures are here http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chapter1.html Aparently she's never been there on a motorcycle, but many pictures are truly good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Rance Posted May 28, 2004 Author Share Posted May 28, 2004 Hi, Sorry for the delay in the reply. In answer to the questions about access, this is resticted by the fact that you must be accompanied by a guide at all times, and there are some areas within the town that have high radiation - on the steps to the riverside being one such place. There were attempts to clean the town for re-population (by removing top-soil and washing the streets), however although the level of radiation is lower, it is still elevated everywhere in the town enough to make it uninhabitable. Re. The lack of vandalism, well this is only skin deep. I went into many apartments hoping to find some interesting shots, however without exception all had been broken into and looted - they were completely empty. Only bits of bed and a broken piano remained. Someone had recently even been taking paving slabs from the town!! Well Bee, I thought as you did and went straight into the cinema, however it was completely stripped - projection gear, seats, screen - the lot. Yes, I agree the biker girl took some great shots, and indeed I hoped that I could meet her whilst I was on my trip - no such luck though :-( I will be putting a few more shots on today. Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominic_. Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 Beautiful and very haunting Ian, after seeing the biker girl's essay it was nice to see the town in some sunshine, it looks less depressing that way (in my opinion). What did you have to go through to get access to the zone of exclusion, are the rules really strict? Thanks, --Dominic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob soltis Posted May 29, 2004 Share Posted May 29, 2004 Very nice work, Ian. I really like the image of the babushka. Thanks for posting. fsyevo horosheva (be well), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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