Auction #89 - Two Good Deeds for the Price of One

Chris, our own clock_work9, made a trip recently to the scene of one of the world's greatest disasters. Its effects have been ongoing and almost unbelievably tragic.

Here in Chris' own words we offer our next auction.

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Reactor 4 of the Lenin Memorial nuclear power station at Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine exploded in the early hours of April 26th, 1986, heralding the arrival of the world's worst nuclear disaster - a disaster still affecting lives to this day.

The following are six photographs taken during a trip I made to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and the abandoned city of Pripyat in May, 2007. All the photos are 8x10 and can be printed with or without the black border. They'll be printed off professionally which will add a little to delivery times. I will pay postage costs.

I'm also delighted to be able to say that with Mac's approval, wholly half the proceeds of this auction will go to the Chernobyl Children's Project International. Mac has also very generously offered to match the amount raised for the charity.

Starting bids are $10 per image so, without further ado, let's raise some money for two good causes.

Chernobyl Square
A monument in the town of Chernobyl which honours key dates in the history of the USSR including the construction of the Chernobyl power plant.

Road To Chernobyl
A panoramic view of the Chernobyl reactor complex. Reactors 1 & 2 are visible to the right, inside of the black cubes lined with white. Reactors 3 & 4 are to the left, either side of the grey tower. Reactor 4 exploded on April 26th, 1986.

20 Years On
Unveiled on April 26th, 2006 - twenty years after the explosion - the monument honours all those affected by the disaster and reminds us of the need to handle nuclear power with care. Standing 100m from the enclosed shell of exploded reactor number 4 (visible behind) this is the closest civilians can get to the reactor.

Ferris in Pripyat
Standing in the centre of the now-abandoned city of Pripyat is the town's ferris wheel which, at the time of the disaster, was being prepared for the May Day celebrations. The town was evacuated and the wheel has not turned since.

Pripyat Dodgems
Near the ferris wheel stand more fairground attractions just as they were back in April, 1986.

Pripyat Apartments
One of dozens of apartment blocks in Pripyat abandoned in the days after the disaster. Emptied by looters long ago, the town that used to be home to 50,000 people stands empty and is slowly being reclaimed by the forest.

Y'all are great!

But you knew that.

It was hard to decide which pics to choose for this auction. There were many, many haunting images to choose from... I remember one particularly - in a school... but that may be another auction!

I have been accused of such before. Yes. Yes, I have.

Come on, folks! How often do you get a chance to do a good deed and get a cool pic in the process?

If you haven't visited the Chernobyl Children's Project International yet... please do.

Yeah! Don'tcha want Dawno AND Mac to have to dig DEEP for some serious coinage? Let's roll!

Bmwhtly said:

Having just read 'Roadside Picnic' and reading some about Chernobyl, I wish I could bid on them all. But I can't (checks rent due date). No, I can't.

But I do bid $10 each on Chernobyl Square and 20 Years on and thank Bob for the dollar/pound exchange rate.

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Dawno said:

Great auction! I won't bid on it because I'll match the winning bids with equal donations to AW and, if you'll get me the details, an equal amount to the charity.

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kristie911 said:

I'll put $10 on the Ferris wheel. Very haunting picture.

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We're coming up on the end of this one, folks... I've quoted the pertinent posts above and add that Mac has also offered to match the winning bid(s) with a personal donation to Chernobyl Children's Project International along with Dawno.

Here's the donation link for CCPI... and y'all know how to make your donations here. The link is in my sig.

As usual: Thanks to everyone... especially Chris for his haunting pics.

That's the ticket, Oh-Usually-Sparkly-One.

You can pm it. Or check your rep points and I'll be there, too.

I have a print of Chris' 'Wall Street'... in black and white, there seems to be more detail (I know... sounds goofy, but it's true.) The Stock Exchange has such sharpness... then he buildings to the left go up into the fog and you can't tell where they end. In color, I think the flag would steal the show. It's incredible.