On this Sunday, I have a photo for you that I took inside one of the many abandoned schools within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. This specific school was in the city of Pripyat (the town right next to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant). We explored this school and took a ton of photos of it and frankly everything else we explored during our 4 days within the Zone.
Pripyat Overgrown
This is a photo looking down, via my drone, at the City of Pripyat, which sits next to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It has been abandoned since April 1986 following the nuclear disaster at this site. As you can see, mother nature is taking over. These buildings are high rise apartment buildings.
Chernobyl Surgical Suite
It’s hard to believe it has been two years since our Chernobyl trip. We planned to go back this October, but that isn’t going to happen. No shock there, since 2020 is messed up from top to bottom.
I took this photo in the Pripyat Hospital, which is a few miles from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Pripyat Cultural Center
This iconic Chernobyl building is the Cultural Center in the main square of downtown Pripyat. It has a couple swimming pools, boxing ring, gymnastic equipment, auditorium, exercise rooms, and a bunch of other things. Right behind this building is where the carnival was setup to start a festival that never happened. By the way, this structure was a great building to explore.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Pripyat Restaurant
I loved the stained-glass windows in this abandoned restaurant along the river in Pripyat, Ukraine. Before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, this must have been a great place to enjoy a meal.
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Somewhere Chernobyl
I honestly can’t remember where within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone I took this photo. I think it was inside a factory building, but I’m not sure. Regardless, after I finished processing this a couple of days ago, I knew I had to post it. I loved how simple and powerful this scene is within the photo. I liked the shadows, the single push cart in the room, etc….
To view a larger version, click HERE
Chernobyl Cultural Center Pool
Short post tonight….. I took this photo of the pool inside the Pripyat Cultural Center. Pripyat was a large city next to the Chernobyl Power Plant built to support the employees and their families. All of this is now within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. As I was exploring the Cultural Center, I happened upon it at the back of the building. I loved the reflections.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Chernobyl Ferris Wheel
One of the most popular spots to visit inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is the abandoned carnival. Unfortunately, the city of Pripyat was set to have a carnival/celebration for a few days, when the radioactive disaster struck. So the carnival rides (bumper cars, ferris wheel, and rides) got left behind like everything else since they became radioactive from the nuclear fallout.
This is one of the highlights for most visitors to Chernobyl. You can see we were at this spot early in the morning, thus the long shadows and we got to experience some great fall colors.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Pripyat Train Bridge
This is the bridge our train crossed going back and forth to Chernobyl every day. Towards the end of the week, we went to this spot to photograph the bridge with the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Number 4 and its new sarcophagus in the background. As you can tell, it was very overcast that afternoon…..
To view a larger version, click HERE
Pripyat River Crane
Today’s post is another photo from our Chernobyl trip. I took this photo along the Pripyat River of an abandoned river loading winch. As you can see, it is starting to fall into the river. We happened to be here early in the morning at a beautiful time.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Chernobyl Article
Here is another newspaper article about Blair and I traveling to Chernobyl to photograph the Exclusion Zone. This is from my childhood hometown paper. Click HERE to see the article.
Children's Summer Camp
This summer camp outside of Chernobyl had dozens of these little cabins with fun little murals painted on their sides. We spent a little time walking around exploring what must have been a great time back when it was operational. The camp sits on a hill overlooking the Pripyat River. This was probably a very happy place prior to the nuclear disaster.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Pripyat Apartment Building
I haven’t posted a Chernobyl photo recently, so here you go. This is one of the large apartment buildings in the city of Pripyat a few miles from the nuclear power plant. Typical Soviet utilitarian style construction. As you can tell, I was there in the fall while the leaves where changing colors and used by drone to capture this image.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Gas Mask
One of the things that surprised me about Pripyat Ukraine and the other areas around Chernobyl was all the gas masks laying around. They were in the schools, day care centers, businesses, homes, etc… And of course, gas mask won’t protect humans from radiation, so why are they there? The answer, according to our Polish and Ukrainian guides, the Russians thought the United States was going to bomb the area with chemical weapons at any time, so they issued and trained everyone on how to use the masks.
The entire area was never officially on any map at that time. They were trying to keep it a secret. The city of Pripyat was created to house the scientists, professionals and support staff (and their families) who worked at the nuclear power plant. As residents of Pripyat, if you wanted to travel outside the zone (to visit family, shop in Kiev, etc..), you needed advanced approval from the Soviets. All of this was to protect the Pripyat citizens from the United States and probably to prevent the professionals from defecting to the “West”. Regardless of your perspective on that part of world history, it is clear the Soviets worried about the U.S., thus the hundreds and hundreds of gas masks.
I took this photo inside a pre-school. These two masks were laying on the floor with lots of other junk. I loved how the late day sun was shining through the scene.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Chernobyl By Air
Here is a photo I took via my drone. From this perspective, you can see how mother nature has retaken the entire area except for the buildings. From street level, at times, you can hardly see the buildings due to all the trees.
The leaves were starting to change colors and you can see Nuclear Reactor #4 in the background (the dome objective that they call the New Safe Confinement). That was the reactor that exploded during the disaster. The tall buildings in the foreground area typical concrete Soviet designed and built apartment buildings, all of which were abandoned since April 1986.
To view a larger version, click HERE
P.S. I was interviewed by a newspaper about this trip. You can read that article HERE
Chernobyl Bumper Cars
In the city of Pripyat (just outside the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant), we explored parts of the city center during our visit. They were getting ready for a city festival that was scheduled to take place and then the nuclear accident happened. As you can imagine, the city got evacuated and the festival never took place. Over thirty years later the carnival rides are still there abandoned like everything else. Ferris wheel, bumper cars, and other rides just rusting away….
To view a larger version, click HERE
Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor #4
Wow!! Its been over a month since we left the Ukraine. I can’t believe it and I haven’t processed many photos from that trip yet. Heck, I’ve been trying to finish up photos from a 2016 Europe trip…. I can’t imagine how many years it will take me to process the tons of photos I took at Chernobyl. This is one of the few I’ve completed so far. Blair and I explored Nuclear Reactor #5, which never got completed. We found this view looking back at the melted down Reactor #4. As you can tell, they have the protective shield over it now.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Pripyat Gym
I couldn’t tell you which building this was in, we explored so many and I saw numerous gyms. But I can tell you this is in the town of Pripyat, just outside the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Wow, what an experience!!!
To view a larger version, click HERE
Don’t forget to check out my photo galleries. I update and add to them often.
Chernobyl Cooling Tower
I’ve just started to look at and edit a few photos from our trip to Ukraine to visit Chernobyl and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It’ll probably take me years at the pace I work and the current back log of photos I have to edit. Regardless, here is a photo I took inside the cooling tower, which is near nuclear reactor #4, #5 and #6. I loved this mural someone painted on the wall.
To view a larger version, click HERE
Don’t forget to check out my photo galleries. I update and add to them often.
