Sergey Maximishin:Rural Church, Aramus, Armenia

Sergey Maximishin’s portfolio, mostly from Russia, ranges from whimsical to bizarre, showing scenes of unusual everyday life. This is among the best photo works I’ve ever seen, simply stunning.

Sergy Maximishin Photography (via BoingBoing)

Having seen and commented so much of Dave’s work, I decided to dip my feet into abstract waters. I’d love to hear what you have to say about my first three pictures.

Exhbition homepage: “Industrieromantik” (until 14 September 2009)

Exhibition location: Ziegel Oh Lac (part of Rote Fabrik)

Be sure to check out Latuff’s other artwork on DeviantArt, very powerful (and Creative Commons licensed)!

"Ghosts of Prypiat" by Carlos Latuff

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Because of our group member’s different paces and interests, we were rarely at the same spot at the same time (which helped to keep people out of your pictures). At the Palace of Culture however, we all got together again. And while René and Laura were busy rising a new FC Pripyat from the ashes of the gym, and Beat was still looking for good spots to shoot, I got into a conversation with our guide who was standing in front of the van, waiting for us.

Theater

I asked Yuriy about the higher level of radiation I had measured on patches of moss. He offered to show me some, and led me around the Palace of Culture, where he first showed me a room full of Communist party member portraits. It was also the back entrance to a huge theater stage, which unfortunately was too dark to shoot. We then moved on to the Pripyat amusement park where the big ferris wheel, the bumper car and two other rides stood lonely on a large, flat field of asphalt. Yuriy showed me some radioactive moss while Beat, who had joined us, and I took some of the obvious shots around the area.

Half an hour later my phone was ringing. It was Laura, asking me where we were. Tanya had assumed that Yuriy had already driven us to the next location, and had led Laura and René west. I was worried, because the zone is not a place you want your friends to wander around without an expert on radiation. After telling Yuriy that the others where the others were waiting, he shook his head in disbelief: “I’ll be back in 10 minutes…”, he muttered and drove off, leaving Beat, myself, and the joyrides alone.

Ferris Wheel

The amusement park was an unsettling place. The ferris wheel loomed underneath a cloud-scattered sky and every few minutes gave off guttural creaking noises. The radiation levels were about 40 times as high as normal (4 uSv/h) – not extreme, but elevated, especially if you stood on the patches moss or got close to the bumper cars. Some of the trees looked strangely deformed, spreading sideways instead of skywards. The constantly beeping sound of the Geiger counter slowly got under my skin as I started to realize how constant and inevitable the radiation and all its associated risks around me were.  According to René’s translation of Tanya’s theory, there are two kinds of people in the zone: “radiophobes” and “radioenthusiasts”. And while Yuriy and Tanya both were obvious radioenthusiasts, I was starting to feel signs of an emerging radiophobia.

When the van came back, René, Laura and Tanya got out. Then the van drove off again. René explained to us that  they had walked west shooting pictures, waiting for us. After our phone call, they were picked up by a visibly worried Yuriy. And just after they had climbed in the van, a group of 5 big, unfriendly-looking guys were turning the corner – apparently looters on the lookout for valuables. René quoted Yuriy’s scolding: “Can you stab? Can you shoot? No? Then why the hell do you go there alone?”.

They were lucky. Apparently, the zone is a dangerous place for other reasons than just radiation.

Photo Album: Around the Amusement Park

Album: Around the Amusement Park

Video, covering journal entries #4 and 5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghhu7M7VUjY

Map of this Journal Entry

(Chernobyl Journal continues in part six)

Annie Bertram: "Winter Princess"

My wife and I just returned from a great exhibition opening in the H.R. Giger museum in Gruyère, Switzerland. Our friend (and wedding photographer) Annie Bertram is showing her photograph series “True Fairy Tales” (“Wahre Märchen”) there until August.

Annie is a well-known gothic portrait photographer. Her exhibition is a reflection upon classic fairy tales – popular ones such as Sleeping Beauty, and less known ones such as King Thrushbeard – and show protagonists of those fairy tales in a new light. It is also a companion exhibit to her illustrated modern fairy tale book of the same name.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the exhibition: It’s a beautiful collection of 40 photographs on canvas, shown in an unusual museum next to a beautiful medieval castle in the middle of Switzerland. The exhibition runs until mid August – don’t miss it!

• Annie Bertram
• H.R. Giger Museum

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