Chernobyl: 30 Years On

Images from inside the exclusion zone is still a haunting place to visit.

The exclusion zone is still in place around Chernobyl, where fires raged and massive quantities of radioactive particles were released into into the atmosphere when the reactors exploded in the early hours of 26th April 1986. The meltdown that occurred in Chernobyl was the worst nuclear disaster in history. Armed by guards with AK-47s and extending for 30 kilometres in all directions around the site, the exclusion zone is a formidable place.

Accompanied by two guides who are former employees of the site, Photographer Jerzy Wierzbicki visited the zone recently. I spoke to him about the experience.

Describing the site as a “ruined post-soviet world with a hint of a dreadful mood,” his artful images tell a story that words cannot. Abandoned in a mass exodus 30 years ago, the area surrounding the old Power Plant is still haunting. The town of Pripyat, where employees were housed, is described by Wierzbicki as a “ghost town”, and his images are certainly testament to that fact.

“You have to walk around with a dosimeter and constantly check the radiation level. In some places it’s still very high.”

“The one thing which distinguishes exclusion zone around Chernobyl from the rest of the eerie locations around the world is the fact that you have to walk around with a dosimeter and constantly check the radiation level,” he explains. “In some places it’s still very high.”

Growing up in East Germany, Wierzbicki lived in the shadow of the USSR for many years, although he is now based in Oman. He recalls his first camera, an Exa, manufactured in Dresden, Germany behind the same Iron Curtain which encircled Chernobyl until 1991.

His work as a photographer has taken him across the remnants of the Soviet Union and although many of the places he has photographed are stark reminders of that time, he manages to find silver linings in all of them.

“One positive experience in Chernobyl was to see how nature came back to the exclusion zone and has been developing well,” he tells me. “According to our guides, some species have appeared there after hundreds of years absence.”

In gear terms, Wierzbicki is a purist who still loves to shoot on film, although he does own digital cameras. “I have been using Nikon’s equipment for many years,” he explains. “For the Chernobyl project, I used a Nikon F5 along with AFD Nikkor 24/1.4 and two old AIS Nikkors such are 35/1.4 and 18/3.5. I also brought several rolls of Kodak Tri-X films.” As a film shooter, Wierzbicki appreciates completing his projects in what he calls ‘the traditional way.’

When I quizzed him about advice for making it in photojournalism, his advice was simple: “Just be honest with your work, and always try to do your best.”

Wierzbicki is currently pursuing a PhD in photography, and you can find more of his work on his website or on Facebook.