Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl
(Part 2 of those story is located here.)
I spent the day in Chernobyl. One of my Kiev game dev friends hooked me up with a private tour, so I decided to go for the day to check it out. Every woman in my life told me this was a bad idea. Every man said it sounded awesome.It was awesome, although I really usually fare better when I listen to the women. For the guys, here is a picture of me holding a Geiger counter at the main reactor.
Anyway, the day could not have been colder, but it fit with the milieu of the trip to Chernobyl. In case you don’t know or can’t remember, this is the infamous nuclear power plant that melted down in 1986; it was the worst nuclear plant disaster in the world.
I have taken a bunch of photos, but only had time to process a few of them. I’ll post more in coming weeks and months, but I have pieced these together that show a good sampling of the day.
After I made it through the 30KM security radiation zone, where Will was detained by the military for not having proper documentation (a longer story which ended with him sitting in a military bunker for four hours watching Colombo dubbed in Ukranian), I was handed over to a member of the military who took me on a personal tour of the area. We passed through the 10KM security radiation zone, and then we were well within the exclusion zone.
I paid one of the military guys and borrowed his geiger counter so I could keep track of the RADs as we moved around. More on that later.
First, we stopped in Pripyat, a fascinating place right out of the Day After. Pripyat was built as the ultimate Soviet communist panacea, a place for Chernobyl plant workers and their families to live, go to school, play, and live their lives in master-planned bliss.
Pripyat was immediately deserted after the accident - kids left schools with their books still on the desks, families rushed out without getting everything, just complete and instant desertion. While I was there, it was completely quiet, and it was extra surreal with the early 80’s styling of the Soviet buildings, windows ajar, stuff still sitting in all the windows.
First, from Pripyat, here was the shining star of the city, the fine hotel in its Russian splendor, now an empty, cold, and radiated husk.
Second is one of the large apartment buildings with a slowly rotting exterior. I could still hear shutters opening and closing in the wind.
Next, I went to the creepiest part of Pripyat, the playground and amusement park. This was recently completed just before the disaster. Bumper cars, swings, a ferris wheel, and other bits of abandoned toys now lay quiet and creaking in the snow. The second picture is another part of the playground, where the kids emerged from school for playtime.
We checked the Geiger counter because this area was supposed to still have a significant amount of caesium-137, which takes a good 300 years to dissipate to safe levels. It was around 0.054, so we decided to keep moving. Now we started heading for the main power plant complex. We stopped in something he called the RAD forest that had an old Chernobyl sign that was kitschy and interesting. 0.290 on the screen. He looked at me, “We should leave quickly.”
Finally, I ended the the tour at the Chernobyl power plant itself. It was nerve-wracking, so I took a few shots then moved along.
On the way out, I went through three different radiation checks. Below is one of the military guys that was holding a geiger counter gun that he ran along the car and a few other things. I went inside to a special decontamination center and entered a device that looked like stripped down telephone booth / nautilus machine. I placed my hands and feet on special sensors. It said I was clean in some cyrillic word that may or may not have said I was clean. I looked at the military guy that escorted me in there and he gave me one of those Russian frowns and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Eh, good enough”.
(Part 2 of those story is located here.)
(Part 2 of those story is located here.)
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February 2nd, 2007 16:09
Congrats on your journey into the Zone. Can’t wait to see the rest of your images from this adventure!
smp
February 2nd, 2007 16:26
Absolutely amazing photos in a scary, creepy, amazing way.
February 2nd, 2007 16:29
This is great Trey….just like being on a trip but with none of the danger! Take care!
February 2nd, 2007 16:47
Wow - I’m not sure whether to say “cool”, or to get angry with you! But I can tell that you were very excited for the tour. Poor Will, did he miss it all?
February 2nd, 2007 19:08
[…] Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl “I spent the day in Chernobyl. One of my Kiev game dev friends hooked me up with a private tour, so I decided to go for the day to check it out. Every woman in my life told me this was a bad idea. Every man said it sounded awesome.” Fascinating photos (tags: chernobyl radiation nuclear) […]
February 3rd, 2007 04:46
Wow, i’m fascinated for a long time by this kind of stuff (especially Cernobyl), and every time I see a story from someone who’s been there, it fires me up more to go too.. One day, soon, i’ll go there, and have my story
I have some pictures shot in deserted buildings - one of those series can be found here : http://noapte.blogspot.com/2006/07/session-9.html - but an entyre deserted city ..is some sort of a “Mecca”
One question, i should ask : it looks like you used a film camera, or ? (i’m thinking that digital cameras won’t make it through such radiation levels, near the reactor..)
Thank’s for a great story, and great pictures !
February 3rd, 2007 08:11
Fascinating story.Must have been very spooky, sortof, hair on the back of theneck standing up kinda stuff. So sad though, all those poor men, women and children who had their one and only life so badly affected or even, ended.
Great pics Trey, keep em coming. Don’t forget to pop to London sometime soon.
February 3rd, 2007 12:28
Thanks guys -
Yes I did use a digital camera. The radiation did not affect the camera any, thank goodness. For some reason, I was more worried about the camera than myself.
February 3rd, 2007 13:21
That’s a great story!! Fantastic images of a place most people will never see.
February 4th, 2007 08:59
You amaze me Trey. Thank you for sharing your latest adventure. Glad you and your wife have kids already!
February 4th, 2007 22:26
Trey—really good stuff. I too have wanted to go see Chernobyl, maybe I have a slight death wish of my own…pretty amazing….thanks so much for sharing your eerie experience.
February 5th, 2007 10:26
I’m jealous beyond words. I presume without appropriate connections a tour of the site is unheard of?
February 7th, 2007 15:39
Thanks all - You can get a tour if you just plan ahead. There are passports to be sent around and a few preparations to be made… but if they let me in, they will let anyone in!
February 8th, 2007 09:44
Great photos and story. I am a girl but I always wanted to go to the Zone (as they call it in Ukraine). I lived in Kiev for almost 5 years but never had a chance to do it. Or simply I didn’t know how to arrange it. Could you pls tell me how your friend managed to arrange the tour and what sort of documents are required for that. I envy you. COOL!
February 9th, 2007 01:31
Sure -just drop me an email and I will send you the details
February 10th, 2007 12:45
Very cool pictures. There is something so eery and fascinating about Chernobyl and you captured it.
I hope you don’t mind, I posted this to Digg!
http://www.digg.com/design/HDR_Images_Of_Chernobyl
February 10th, 2007 18:49
PRIPYAT.com banner on the 3rd photo, on a balcony. What is that? Who put it there? When?
February 10th, 2007 19:09
I hope you have frozen some sperm, cause those balls of yours are not going to work well anymore.
February 10th, 2007 19:21
[…] click read more to see pics.read more | digg story […]
February 10th, 2007 19:35
Way to get dugg again Trey. =)
February 10th, 2007 19:53
Creepy ..especially the graffiti (i rhymed)
February 10th, 2007 20:03
Check out Bush’s many mistakes here:
http://home.comcast.net/~plutarch/malfy-b.html
February 10th, 2007 20:04
See the most popular and fresh internet content at http://Muvy.org
February 10th, 2007 20:07
Wow, what a crappy over-use of HDR.
February 10th, 2007 20:11
This will all end with crying.
February 10th, 2007 20:48
@tratcliff… Dude,
Sometimes you got to start listening to the women in your life, most deff. I think you make some stupid discion to risk your health like that. I hope for you that you live long enough to tell your kids this story.
All the best form The Netherlands
February 10th, 2007 23:39
I think you mean Red Forest, also it’s somewhat disconcerting that they told you to turn away from it at a rating of .29. In the new movie Vice guide to travel, they’re told to turn away when they get a rating of 4.2!!
February 11th, 2007 00:23
I’m interested as to what units the meter you were using was displaying? Was it referring to energy levels (Curies) or body dose rate (Rem/hr)?
February 11th, 2007 01:48
[…] Weird, Photographs | no comments yet | permalink Written byPatrick Havens I spent the day in Chernobyl. One of my Kiev game dev friends hooked meup with a private tour, so I decided to go for the day to check it out. Every woman in my life told me this was a bad idea. Every man said it sounded awesome.It was awesome, although I really usually fair better when I listen to the women. For the guys, here is a picture of me holding a Geiger counter at the main reactor. [Keep Reading looking at Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl] […]
February 11th, 2007 02:32
I looked at the pictures. neat
February 11th, 2007 02:32
hi, ammanda
February 11th, 2007 02:33
oops spelt your name wrong sorry
February 11th, 2007 04:15
[…] Link, flickr.com [via digg.com] Tags: chernobyl, diggcom, fotos […]
February 11th, 2007 06:33
[…] I’m always blown away when I see pictures of that ghost town in Russia. Trey Ratcliff (Stuck in customs) went to the Ukraine and took some amazing shots of the city. I can still remember the time after the accident in 1986 when I was a child. […]
February 11th, 2007 06:47
[…] Stuck In Customs » Blog Archive » Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl Photos from Chernobyl (tags: photography russia blog nuclear) […]
February 11th, 2007 09:04
Great pictures!
I read ‘Wolves Eat Dogs’ by Martin Cruz Smith last year, and ended up poking around Chernobyl and its surroundings for a few hours with Google Earth (lat 51.269088° lon 30.217586°)
Very creepy.
February 11th, 2007 10:03
“fare better”
February 11th, 2007 11:57
hey. I’ve wanted to visit Russia for years, my friend and I even learned the alphabet (mainly for fun, and because it’s pretty cool), although we can’t fluently speak any.
I was curious if there is any way to get a tour like that without having a hook-up from a friend.
e-mail me back at-
shadowmaker14@gmail.com
February 11th, 2007 17:59
[…] Stuck In Customs » Blog Archive » Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl (tags: chernobyl photography nuclear architecture russia photos blog urban hdr) […]
February 11th, 2007 23:31
[…] I came across the Stuck in Customs blog when being directed there to see some of his photos utilizing hdr. I saw his recent books and recent games being displayed on the sidebar. After clicking on one of them I realized that he was using a flickr set to display these on his site. The display is being done with a flickr badge based on the set. I thought that this is a very creative way to create an image based widget. I consider this a sort of a widget mashup if you will and it makes you think of other creative ways to incorporate widgets. […]
February 12th, 2007 06:49
[…] Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl is a photo essay, taken recently, of the dangerous remains of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. It’s still dangerous, of course, and will be for a long time. […]
February 12th, 2007 12:44
[…] het complete verslag  […]
February 12th, 2007 16:23
[…] Mums, kaip depresuotai tautai, labai patinka visokie makabriÅ¡ki dalykai. ÄŒernobylis apskritai Lietuvoje yra kultinis objektas. TodÄ—l HDR fotoaparatu padarytos (HDR yra vos ne kino juostos kokybÄ—s analogas fotoaparatų pasaulyje) ÄŒernobylio nuotraukos turÄ—tų greitai atsidurti ant žmonių darbastalių. (Digg, img) […]
February 12th, 2007 23:20
I like the pictures a lot. I put a small link to your Chernobyl page on the front page of beinghad.com today. I’d like to feature some of your photos again sometime if you don’t mind.
Adam
February 13th, 2007 09:56
[…] This guy, Trey Ratcliff, recently returned from Chernobyl. Check out his pictures from the trip here. […]
February 13th, 2007 12:21
[…] Mas fotos acá. Otras más acá y acá. Via: Designers Talk […]
February 15th, 2007 17:25
Hi
You might find Elena Filatova’s site about Chernobyl interesting:
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/chapter1.html
Just for your info.
Kindest regards,
Koos Fernhout
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fernhout/sets
February 17th, 2007 05:53
[…] Some more great HDR Photos, this time by Trey Ratcliff. Some standouts for me are The icy pit to hell and Nuclear winter in Chernobyl. […]
February 17th, 2007 22:59
Well, on the plus side you’ll never need another nightlight.
February 21st, 2007 11:05
I was in Keiv in 2001 and when to the Chernobyl museum. A lady in the flat next to us took a trip to the zone…my wife had to care for her the next day she was so sick. I have pictures…before we owned a digital camera…which I could scan in of the museum in Keiv.
February 22nd, 2007 11:34
Are there any opportunities to reside (purchse a home) in this area. I am from Canada, and am interested in living in Ukraine. I speak the language, so that would be helpful. I am finding it hard to be able to economically move forward, so I wonder if my son and I were able to move there, if there are any future opportunities. (of course not in evacuated areas, but closer to the safe zones, where property prices may be less.
February 27th, 2007 20:50
xanax side effects…
news…
March 1st, 2007 13:39
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a fascinating place to visit.
I visited the area for two days in June 2006 with a former resident of Pripyat.
We got a tour of the Chernobyl Plant (including the Reactor 4 control room),
several of the abandoned villages, and Pripyat. I have posted a photo journal
of my trip at:
March 1st, 2007 13:40
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a fascinating place to visit.
I visited the area for two days in June 2006 with a former resident of Pripyat.
We got a tour of the Chernobyl Plant (including the Reactor 4 control room),
several of the abandoned villages, and Pripyat. I have posted a photo journal
of my trip at:
http://www.nikongear.com/Chernobyl/Chernobyl_1.htm
March 24th, 2007 13:31
I don’t know how I missed this when you first posted it, but I did. What an amazing, striking and chilling set of photographs. I have never seen anything quite like it.
March 24th, 2007 18:01
Hi.
Chilling, striking photography. It is an honor to view these photos, knowing the risk of visiting there. In 1992 I visited hospitals in Kiev that treated sick children from the Chernobyl area, a most heart wrenching experience.
Thank you!!
March 24th, 2007 18:38
[…] am currently writing Part 2 of my adventures in Chernobyl (Part 1 of the Chernobyl story is here). It’s kind of a long entry that I am writing this weekend, but I am taking my son camping so […]
March 25th, 2007 13:54
[…] (part 1 of the story is here) […]
March 31st, 2007 00:11
Nice humor and interesting world you have come upon. Probably many other safer places to visit and not risk getting radiation…but somebody has got to do it. I remember the meltdown,…I was in (west) germany at the time, and i recall the farmers had to destroy their crops because of fear of the wind dusting their crops with the fallout. Must say it’s nice to see finally somebody photographing and telling the story of such a BIG mistake. Thanks-СпаÑибо
April 4th, 2007 20:32
[…] http://stuckincustoms.com/?p=1062 […]
April 4th, 2007 22:53
[…] In the mean time, I’m stuck playing STALKER and looking at picture. […]
April 30th, 2007 18:49
“fare” not “fair”
April 30th, 2007 20:21
Whoops… my copy editor missed that foible
May 9th, 2007 01:31
Strike into the heart. I till feeling the hurt from seeing children die one by one in the hospital in that day.
Very nice pictures you got.
June 14th, 2007 16:06
I am a grade 11 student and currentley doing finals review an di look at these pictures and read this story and it isnt untill im done reading it do i realize how i have it im not dying or changed by radiation i didnt have to be evacuated leaving my friends im lucky and all of you should know that you are too and stop worrying about the little things because there are people that are worse off then you live today like you will die tommorrow enjoythe good life because its all yuov got
June 16th, 2007 04:09
Hey bro! Well Done! Visit my sites, please:
June 22nd, 2007 12:52
Hey,
your pictures look great, the story is great, too.
Although I can’t really belive that some of the pictures are real, they look like painting or digital art… but still awesome.
Thanks for sharing.
André
September 15th, 2007 04:20
you think you are smart ? IQ test
http://www.burzs.com/edit/arg.php?id=28594
September 21st, 2007 13:33
Hello dear man.
i am 16 years old and i live in holland. i am very excited about chernobyl and i really want to visit it’s plant and Pripyat,as you did. thanks for those big high detail awesome pictures. one of them is on my background now. i thank you for your wonderfull story. hopefully i will be going to chernobyl in about 2 years.
Greetings from holland,
John
September 22nd, 2007 05:06
[…] Winter in Chernobyl (some extraordinary pics) […]
October 5th, 2007 21:02
Very impressive,
Excellent story and pics….Very motivating,maybe its a death wish but I will make that journey myself to the “Exclusion zone” one of these days. Its one of the few places on earth that can use a catastrophy to there benefit.Hopefully more people will take the tour and boost the economy in the area. !
October 15th, 2007 09:23
[…] read more | digg story […]
November 8th, 2007 09:01
Great journal and photos. I have been fascinated by Chernobyl ever since the disaster occurred.
December 12th, 2007 13:24
I truly admire you for such a nerve to go there and experience all of it yourself. I was born in 6th of may, 1986 and my mother later told me that she was really worried about my father who almost got there for cleaning up after disaster, oh, there I should say that I am from Latvia which is really close to chernobyl. maybe that is reason why I feel interested in stories about chernobyl and enjoyed yours so much.
thanks for sharing experience. good luck
December 15th, 2007 13:54
[…] Booyah!! This guy takes amazing photos. Link above is to his Chernobyl set. […]
December 26th, 2007 08:51
[…] Check it out here. […]
January 1st, 2008 09:47
“We stopped in something he called the RAD forest that had an old Chernobyl sign that was kitschy and interesting. 0.290 on the screen. He looked at me, “We should leave quickly.â€
LOL, this is not RAD forest, this is red forest…
January 1st, 2008 14:25
Dear Tratcliff,
I’ve just finished reading the 2nd part of the story. I’m sorry, but there are some mistakes in it. It seems the town of Chernobyl was called as Slavutych in the story.
February 27th, 2008 08:52
I have worked in nuclear power for about 35 years and am familiar with the accident at Chernobyl. Your story and photos are very interesting.
Mike Goad
Dover, Arkansas
March 3rd, 2008 14:33
I think you mean Red Forest, also it’s somewhat disconcerting that they told you to turn away from it at a rating of .29. In the new movie Vice guide to travel, they’re told to turn away when they get a rating of 4.2!!
GOOD LUCK TO YOU
March 29th, 2008 20:23
I was privileged to spend one week in the contaminated zone where the settlers had moved back. This was for the 10th anniversary of the accident. I was with CBS, Tom Fenton and his camera crew. We all got some of the first copies of the 10th anniversary book that they published. We then visited the damaged reactor. We were supposed to spend max 10 minutes, we were there close to an hour. My hair is gray!! I have pics of the ferris wheel and stood by the apt. complex in the forsaken city. The meter was clicking about 2000 and more near the reactor. Good memories–gave out tons of supplies to the self settlers in the bad zone.
March 30th, 2008 05:52
[…] http://stuckincustoms.com/2007/02/02/nuclear-winter-in-chernobyl/ […]
March 31st, 2008 22:19
[…] was reading this captivating tale about a trip to Chernobyl when my twin linked me this horrible video on YouTube. In my mind, the two are now inextricably […]
May 8th, 2008 03:46
[…] … left schools with their books still on the desks, families rushed out without getting …http://stuckincustoms.com/2007/02/02/nuclear-winter-in-chernobyl/Chernobyl Children’s Project International: chernobyl and getting on …They’ve experienced […]
July 4th, 2008 16:59
[…] for. These were larger, better quality photos, without descriptions. Any guesses? How about Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl | Stuck In Customs Christ that place got much more spooky with better quality […]
July 20th, 2008 17:17
Wow, I’ve always wanted to go there. Nice pictures by the way :). So, do you recommend going here or anything? I would love to see it, specially the feriss wheel since I like Call Of Duty 4. I admit im a saddo that plays it all the time :S. If any of you have xbox live and want to add me im o P O D Y o. If that doesn’t work I’ll be Ls SniiPeZz. Well anyway nice one going through all the radiation!