There is no doubt that the faded, dissembled life of a town returned to nature is attractive. There are so many sites that explore ‘urbex’ photography and it is no wonder that Pripyat offers such poignancy.
Every student of photography would benefit from understanding the way to introduce atmosphere into their pictures and looking at David’s pictures would be a good place to start
The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 forced the evacuation of nearby Pripyat, home to 45,000 people. David McMillan has journeyed there 21 times since to record abandoned homes and buildings as they are reclaimed by nature
Railway station, village of Janov, October 1996 Janov was the nearest village to the reactor. It was considered so contaminated the entire village was razed, but the railway station remains, as do the trains that were there at the time of the accident
Portrait of Lenin, Kindergarten, October 1997 The character of Pripyat and the rest of the exclusion zone is still Soviet. The image of Lenin, whether three-dimensional or painted, is ubiquitous
Riverside cafe, Pripyat, October 2016 The cafe on the banks of the Pripyat river was one of the many amenities available to residents. The city was considered one of the finest places to live in the former Soviet Union
