The Wall

I love the paint peeling off the wall, it's almost like snow falling on the bed. The lith approach is perfect for the shot.

@Vincent Brady Thanks Vincent! I have a lot more peeling paint walls. And rotting wood floors, And rusty metal everything. I think they'll do very well in lith.

FWIW, I shot everything in black and white while I was there, but when I go back I'm definitely going to bring some colour film to capture the subtle, yet amazing colours of the decay here.

Oh, the stories this place could tell. Were you easily able to go inside places like this? I still have your "Russian Woodpecker" postcard.

@mfohl Yes. I had a private guide. His family was from the zone (he was born after the disaster), his grandfather was a liquidator, and he worked in Chernobyl town for a while, where he had a lot of time to explore the zone before deciding to become a guide. He knew everyone and seemed to be well-liked, which meant that he knew when certain areas of town would be deserted or with minimal security presence (which would ignore him and his guests), since officially, no one is allowed into any building (despite all the photos that you see otherwise). Larger groups tend to stick to the swimming pool, community centres and a couple of schools, but we went everywhere, and more importantly, could stay as long as we liked. I had a tripod with me (covered the legs for protection) and he would let me take as much time as I needed. Even then, over 4 days (last day was in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant) he really showed me the standard tour. If I go back he's got a whole lot of other places to visit.

On day 1 of my visit there, my guide told me that he had photographers come back yearly for 1-2 weeks at a time. At first I couldn't understand how they could spend so much time there (you have to leave the zone every 4-5 days (and then re-enter) as a rule), but by my last day I could totally understand. There's just so much to see and photograph! Upended train cars, lots of old machinery, and of course all the buildings. And wildlife! The animals are thriving there. I also met some self-settlers (some lovely old babushkas) who have been living in the zone as soon as they could sneak back in after the evacuations. There used to be a thousand of them, now there's maybe a hundred left.

Wonderful, I can hear the silence.

Love this! Right up my alley! Looking forward to seeing more! Just curious as to why your shot this film at EI 640? Was it to get more contrast for lith printing?

Love the textures and colours, but Im not feeling any empathy and I feel I should. Really look forwards to more pictures, must be an amazing place.

@Andrew O'Neill According the Mr. Moersch, Delta 400's native speed in Finol is 640. It runs counter to every other film in that developer which makes them slower (for example, I have to shoot HP5+ at 250 if I plan to develop in Finol). I like that because it gives me a little speed boost in lower light situations where I can't use (or don't have) a tripod.

@mooseontheloose. Very interesting! Thank you!