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Infrared filters are known for creating weird, eerie, and haunting photos, no matter what you’re capturing. That is why taking a filter like that to an already creepy-looking place like the Chernobyl exclusion zone might make the scenery pictures you take look even more impressive. Photographer Vladimir Migutin did just that on his trip to the town in Ukraine that suffered the infamous nuclear plant disaster.

"It was a spontaneous decision," Vladimir told Bored Panda. "I was born in Belarus in 1986 (the same year that the Chernobyl disaster occurred), at the age of 5 my family left the Soviet Union. I have bright memories of my early childhood, and I wanted to visit some places in Minsk, to see how it changed since, and meet few friends that live there. Then the idea to visit Chernobyl came to my mind. I’ve searched the internet for groups that visit this place and have a valid entrance License. I had found an Instructor and a group from Belarus that planned a trip on an adjacent date.

"The only challenge that people have while planning such a trip is their superstition - that this place is really dangerous. After digging for some information on the internet it turned out that it’s not that dangerous at all. We didn’t visit forbidden places where the nuclear energy radiation levels are lethal. In fact, the average radiation level during this trip was pretty same as the radiation level on a 10,000-meter flight."

"It's pretty hard to describe the atmosphere I had during this trip and making this photo series, but it's as if I was in a “kind of” paradise - a feeling I can't recall since my last visit to Kokedera (Moss temple in Japan) two years ago. We always hear praises of the might of mother nature, how it renders useless men creations and bearing life above the ruins. Well, it's something that is always felt, but never on such a huge scale, and this place IS the place for these contrasts. 30 years after the fallout, while men are still away, the forests, the animals, the plants, it felt like everything is thriving, revived by mother nature. A bit pathos, but I really felt this way."

"For the UV and Infrared photography, I’ve opened my camera and removed the hot-mirror filter (the one which blocks the IR and UV wavelengths), thus turning it to a “Full-Spectrum” camera. Then I’ve ordered IR-Pass and UV-Pass filters to set in front of the lens."

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#1

Simon – A Human-Friendly Fox, Whom Often Approaches Groups In The Exclusion Zone, Asking For Food

Simon – A Human-Friendly Fox, Whom Often Approaches Groups In The Exclusion Zone, Asking For Food

Vladimir Migutin Report

#2

The Ghost Town Of Pripyat, Ukraine

The Ghost Town Of Pripyat, Ukraine

Vladimir Migutin Report

#3

Butterflies And Flowers In The Forest, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Butterflies And Flowers In The Forest, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Vladimir Migutin Report

#4

A Lake Within The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

A Lake Within The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Vladimir Migutin Report

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#5

The Iconic 26 Meters Tall Ferris Wheel In Pripyat’s Amusement Park

The Iconic 26 Meters Tall Ferris Wheel In Pripyat’s Amusement Park

Vladimir Migutin Report

#6

The Monumental Trail With The Evacuated Villages’ Names On Either Side

The Monumental Trail With The Evacuated Villages’ Names On Either Side

Vladimir Migutin Report

#8

The Rotting Grand Piano In The Concert Hall Of The Abandoned Town Of Pripyat

The Rotting Grand Piano In The Concert Hall Of The Abandoned Town Of Pripyat

Vladimir Migutin Report

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#9

Pripyat Sports Hall, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Pripyat Sports Hall, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Vladimir Migutin Report

#10

The Bucket (Machine Part) That Was Used To Clean The Roof Of The Failed Reactor After The Fallout, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

The Bucket (Machine Part) That Was Used To Clean The Roof Of The Failed Reactor After The Fallout, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Vladimir Migutin Report

#11

“Duga” Radar System, Used As Part Of The Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Early-Warning Network

“Duga” Radar System, Used As Part Of The Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Early-Warning Network

Vladimir Migutin Report

#12

The Azure Swimming Pool In Pripyat, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

The Azure Swimming Pool In Pripyat, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Vladimir Migutin Report

#13

Abandoned Farm In Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Abandoned Farm In Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Vladimir Migutin Report

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j_e_e_bakker avatar
Ed Bakker
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

if you like this, you should play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl - you'll be walking right in these scenes!

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#14

The Nuclear Power Plant Sarcophagus, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

The Nuclear Power Plant Sarcophagus, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Vladimir Migutin Report

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kal9001 avatar
Kevin Loftus
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not the sarcophagus, Its the new safe confinement (NSC) structure which houses the sarcophagus so the whole reactor building can be taken apart safely.

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#15

A Trolleybus In One Of Chernobyl’s Scrapyards

A Trolleybus In One Of Chernobyl’s Scrapyards

Vladimir Migutin Report

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j_e_e_bakker avatar
Ed Bakker
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

if you like this, you should play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl - you'll be walking right in these scenes!

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