I've just returned from my trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. I had planned to use my K-5 and K-mount lenses, but the K-5's bayonet mount suffered fatal damage in transit. Fortunately, I also brought my Olympus OM-10 with the 50 mm f/1.8 and two rolls of Ilford, and my Pentax Q with the 01 and the Sonnetar 25 mm f/1.1. I still got many of the shots I wanted, and working within these constraints was probably a healthy exercise for an amateur photographer like me.

Part I contains the Q shots. I hope to add a part II with the film shots soon. Edit: done. Let's start with a "pretty" picture; it's all downhill from here...


A rare glimpse of bright colour in the abandoned and derelict city of Pripyat.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/125 s, ISO 125

I was part of a diverse, thirty-strong group of explorers and adventurers, mostly British. We stayed in Slavutych and commuted into The Zone on the workers' train through southern Belarus and the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve, spending three whole days exploring different areas within The Zone.

Day one took us to the disused Duga-3 facility, an enormous radar array built to detect incoming ballistic missiles. Later, we visited a village still populated by a few Samosely. These are permanent, mostly elderly residents of The Zone; illegal, but tolerated.


The enormous structure towers into the mist.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/500 s, ISO 125


Another angle.
Sonnetar 25 mm @ f/~2.8, 1/200 s, ISO 125


And another.
Sonnetar 25 mm @ f/~2.8, 1/200 s, ISO 125


The possibilities are endless - I could easily have spent the whole day here.
Sonnetar 25 mm @ f/~2.8, 1/200 s, ISO 125


Detail from one of the semi-abandoned villages in The Zone.
Sonnetar 25 mm @ f/~2.8, 1/100 s, ISO 125

Day two began with a visit to an otter farm (edit: no it didn't). After the disaster, this was run as an experiment to measure the effects of radiation. Next up was the unfinished Reactor 5 of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. According to the old Soviet dosimeter I borrowed, this site had several radiation hotspots. Finally, we went into Pripyat for a quick look around.


Detail of broken glass door at the otter farm.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/200 s, ISO 125


The view from no. 5 reactor building.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/320 s, ISO 125


Collapsed crane.
01 @ f/2.5, 1/800 s, ISO 125


Dead dodgems in Pripyat.
01 @ f/1.9, 1/2000 s, ISO 125


The iconic ferris wheel, to have opened a week after the disaster.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/2000 s, ISO 125


Nature reclaims a gym.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/200 s, ISO 125


A tree grows through the rotten wood floor.
01 @ f/1.9, 1/400 s, ISO 125

We spent all of day three in Pripyat visiting many different locations, some of which I only shot on film.


Another gym. The floor was "interesting" to walk on, very spongy.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/20 s, ISO 125


The Q really struggled here.
01 @ f/2.5, 1/5 s, ISO 125


Detail from the hospital.
01 @ f/3.2, 1/10 s, ISO 125


A view from the port. Note the grounded boat in the distance.
01 @ f/2.8, 1/1250 s, ISO 125


01 @ f/1.9, 1/800 s, ISO 125


Ornament atop tall residential building, with the ill-fated Reactor 4 and the New Safe Confinement structure in the background.
01 @ f/4, 1/1000 s, ISO 125


The tall grey building is identical to the one I stood on.
01 @ f/4, 1/800 s, ISO 125


The open areas of Pripyat have largely been reclaimed by forest.
01 @ f/4, 1/640 s, ISO 125


Disaster tourists at work.
01 @ f/4, 1/640 s, ISO 125

On the evening of day three, we went to a restaurant outside Slavutych for a traditional - and delicious - Ukrainian dinner, complete with dangerously strong moonshine. I'll never like their kvass, which looks like piss, smells like smoke, and tastes worse than death, but that homebrew vodka was fantastic.


Vodka goes in...
Sonnetar 25 mm @ f/1.1, 1/5 s, ISO 500


...inhibitions go out...
Sonnetar 25 mm @ f/1.1, 1/5 s, ISO 250


...people have fun.
01 @ f/2.5, 1 s, ISO 125

On the day we left Slavutych, we visited the memorial to the disaster victims. Sergei, who was on duty at the time and narrowly escaped death, told us of some of the heroic deeds of the plant workers and firefighters who first responded. A sobering experience.

All in all, even with the loss of my favourite camera, this was a very successful and memorable trip.

Part II

Pentax K-5
☆ 3 April 2012 † 21 October 2014
RIP

[mattb123]

Nice photos of a fascinating place. Those film exposures look really good!

So how did your K-5 get damaged? Dropped or was it in checked luggage that got handled roughly?

[Jens Lyn IV]

There are no film exposures here - they haven't been developed yet.

I'm not sure what killed the K-5, but packing was a contributing factor. I had the DA* 300mm F4 mounted, with the rear of the camera resting on the unpadded bottom of the bag. Even a small drop or other impact would have exposed it to severe mechanical stress.

[mattb123]

Oops, I misread that. The shots are good regardless!

Sorry to hear about the K-5. Yes, I imagine the leverage of the 300 can put a lot of torque on the mount! I usually travel with my 40mm pancake on the body for this reason.

[Kerrowdown]

That's an amazing photo travelogue, I had no idea that you could visit these places, thanks for posting, I'll now go do some homework.

[slowpez]

One of the best travel photo series I have seen in a long while. Wonderful stories to go with them too. Well, well done.

[clackers]

Terrific opportunity you took - thanks for the improvised pics, Jens!

[Jean Poitiers]

Fantastic post and sorry to read about your K-5 ... TFS, J

[olegp]

That was a real disaster...
Houses in Pripyat are typical for many cities built in Soviet period. They are very similar to houses in the largest district of my city...

[flaviopetrone]

Thank you for sharing these amazing pictures!
Did you consider the idea of printing a photo book of the travel? I think it would be very interesting.

[UncleVanya]

What is going on with the third radar picture there is a weird blob looking thing in the bright area.

[Jens Lyn IV]

That's an out-of-focus leaf in the foreground. I considered cloning it out, but in the end I couldn't be bothered.

[UncleVanya]

That's an out-of-focus leaf in the foreground. I considered cloning it out, but in the end I couldn't be bothered.

Oh! It didn't detract it was just odd and confusing. The images are really awesome and I agree when you said that you could have spent more time just on that area and those radar systems.

[Jens Lyn IV]

I've finished part II. Film development and scanning dragged on, but they finally arrived in the mail this morning.