Back from the Zone

Saturday, March 28th, 2009 | decay, project wormwood | 4 Comments

I’m currently blogging from the ninth floor of an apartment building in Kyiv, where we are staying until tomorrow. Yesterday, we came back from the Chernobyl zone of exclusion, where we had spent two days, including an overnight stay at Hotel Chernobyl, close to the research station.

The two days were intense. We’ve seen a dozen of different locations, shot thousands of pictures and had a great, weird time. I won’t forget the sound of my Geiger counter (so happy to have it with me!) while walking by the abandoned ferris wheel, or down the stairs to Prypiat port. It truly is a ghost city.

Here are some photographic impressions (raw and uncut, so don’t expect brilliant colors or even horizons) from these two days. More words and pictures later.

[UPDATE: thumbnails now link to bigger versions - sorry for the oversight]

Tags: Chernobyl, Prypiat

Chernobyl Resources

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 | project wormwood, reviews | No Comments

Just finishing my breatkfast before I head to catch my plan east, first to Riga, then to Kyiv. Before I leave, here are a couple of the many, many resources about Chernobyl out there. If you want to know more, check them out.

Books

• Mary Mycio, “Wormwood Forest”: An excellent book by a biologist about the zone of exclusion, and the effect of radiation on its flaura and fauna. Scientifically down-to-earth, but chillingly entertaining.
• Robert Polidori: “Chernobyl & Prypiat”: A beautiful, and probably the most well-known photo book capturing the haunted beauty of Prypiat and the zone

Movies

• “Inside Chernobyl’s Sarcophagus”: BBC documentary for the 10th year’s anniversary of the accident.
• “Chernobyl 2006“: YouTube video by Carl Montgomery showing impressions and discussions from a trip to the zone

Games

• “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – Shadow over Chernobyl” – an RPG/FPS taking place in an alternate history of the zone, inspired by Tarkovsky’s movie “Stalker“
• “Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare” – FPS with two levels in Prypiat (the maps mash up a couple of locations in Prypiat, but it’s intense and beautifully made)

Internet

• The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster – great introduction site
• chernobyl.info – the official international information platform for Chernobyl

I’m planning to post updates on my Twitter account, maybe even on the blog during my trip – it’s all a matter of cell phone reception.

Meanwhile, thanks for all your support and encouragement – see you soon!

Destinations around Chernobyl

Friday, March 20th, 2009 | project wormwood | 1 Comment

Finally, my vacation has started! I will spend the next few days making the last preparations for the trip, which starts on Tuesday with a stop-over in Riga, Latvia. From there we will travel to Kyiv on Wednesday, and spend Thursday to Friday in the zone of exclusion.

But what can you actually see around Chernobyl? Well, check out our Google map of the area (the resolution is amazing!):

Link

The zone contains 5 main areas to visit:

• Prypiat, the ghost city (west of the danger symbol): Once a city of 10 000 people which was abandoned over night; contains a lot of buildings and interesting sights, including a school, a hospital, a public swimming pool and a ferris wheel.
• The power plant area (east of the danger symbol): Includes the Chernobyl sarcophagus, the other reactors 1-3, a large power grid, as well as an island with the unfinished reactors 5 and 6.
• Chernobyl city (southeast of Prypiat): Once abandoned, now home to the research station and about 500 citizens, mostly nuclear scientists
• The radar station “Chernobyl 2″ (west of Chernobyl city): Once a Soviet military secret, now a rusty installation
• The abandoned vehicle yard (southwest of Chernobyl city): A huge graveyard for vehicles deemed too contaminated to leave the zone – zoom close, it’s worth it!

We haven’t decided which areas we will be visiting, but we will likely spend a whole day in Prypiat because it’s such a big area, and use the other day for specific sites such as the reactors or the shipyard. The weather will have a big influence as well.

Any postcard wishes? What areas would interest you most?

Tags: Chernobyl, map, Prypiat, sights, travel

Radiation

Friday, March 20th, 2009 | project wormwood | 2 Comments

Radiation Symbol (Source: Wikipedia)

First of all, I’m not an expert on radiation: I’m neither a physicist nor a medical worker. I’ve just read a lot about the topic and have been called a radiation geek (which I don’t think is true – I’m just an aspiring radiation geek). This entry is to answer the question: “Aren’t you worried about the radiation in Chernobyl?” that I get asked every time I tell about the trip. › Continue reading

Tags: Chernobyl, danger, Prypiat, radiation, x-ray

A Short History of the Chernobyl Accident

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 | project wormwood | 2 Comments

Chernobyl Disaster Aftermath (Source: Wikipedia)

On October April 26, 1986, the operators of the Chernobyl nuclear power reactor #4 started a test. They wanted to find out if, in the event of a external power failure, power from the reactor turbine could be used to keep the cooling water flow until the emergency generators were powered on. Because if the cooling water couldn’t be exchanged, the reactor would overheat, triggering a nuclear meltdown.

The test was high on their priority list, because it concerned a primary safety feature of the reactor. It had been signed off without being properly tested in order to keep deadlines for launching unit operations in 1984. Not keeping this deadline would have meant cut bonuses and extras for thousands of workers and engineers, and records were falsified to hide the missing test. In other words: The crew wanted to test something that was supposed to have been tested two years before. › Continue reading

Tags: accident, Chernobyl, history, nuclear, Prypiat

Project Wormwood: A Trip to Chernobyl

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 | decay, hdr, project wormwood, reviews, updates | 5 Comments

For almost two years, I have been planning a trip to one of the most deserted places on earth – deserted in the sense of “people have lived there and left”. The place is the city of Pryptiat near Chernobyl. And it is the most radioactively polluted spot on earth.

Google Maps: Chernobyl Reactor

“Chernobyl”, which is Ukrainian, means “Wormwood” in English. Wormwood is typically known for its bitter taste and it being one of the main ingredients of absinthe. It also bears a strange biblical references to a star which, in an apocalyptic vision of John the Evangelist, fell from the sky and made the waters undrinkably bitter.

“Project Wormwood” seemed a suitable name for this project. › Continue reading

Tags: abandonments, Chernobyl, Prypiat, urban exploration, urbex

Artwork by Marcus Matthias Keupp

Sunday, March 8th, 2009 | artists | No Comments

If you like abstract art, you should check out Marcus Matthias Keupp’s vectorized structures. Marcus combines geometrical elements into quiet while colorful renderings that take the viewer into a world where science meets beauty under neon light. Recommended!

His next exhibition is April 25 – May 17 in Giswil, Switzerland. A bigger one will be in December.

Visit: keupp-art.ch

Tags: abstract, art, artists, keupp, vector, vectorart