Description
“Gerd Ludwig’s passionate commitment to making insightful, powerful photographs of a historic nuclear disaster makes The Long Shadow of Chernobyl a must read for each and everyone of us.“ Chris Johns, Editor-in-Chief National Geographic Magazine
A multiple award-winning book
• Art Directors Club 94th Annual Awards, Silver Cube, USA, 2015
• PDN Photo District News, Photo Annual, Winner, USA, 2015
• FEP European Book Prize, Winner, Frankreich, 2015
• Deutscher Fotobuchpreis, Nominiert 2015
• POYI Award, Best Photography Book, International Winner, USA, 2014
• IPA International Photography Award, Honorable Mention, USA, 2014
• One Eyeland Awards, Silver, Indien, 2014
Captivating images of National-Geographic-photographer Gerd Ludwig’s nine visits to Chernobyl in 20 years tell us tragic stories of the life of the victims, the Exclusion Zone and the abandoned city of Pripyat. Ludwig ventures deeper into the belly of the beast than any other photographer, repeatedly documenting the destroyed reactor #4, which disappeared 2017 under a New Safe Confinement. Bordering the site of the worst nuclear desaster to date, the abandoned city of Pripyat might face a similar destiny as authorities decide what to do with it. “As engaged photographers“, says Ludwig, „we often report about human tragedies in the face of disaster, and take our cameras to uncharted areas with the understanding that our explorations are not without personal risk. We do this out of a deep commitment to important stories told on behalf of otherwise voiceless victims.“ An essay by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of state of the Soviet Union, accompanies Gerd Ludwig’s emotional visual narrative. In 1990 Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This book is an important body of documentary work in view of the ongoing nuclear desaster in Fukushima 25 years later.
