The Duga radar was accompanied, for most of its length, by a structure that extended along a long and straight corridor, which without the presence of artificial lighting remains very dark. The rooms in this corridor once housed a super computer for data collection. In some parts of the structure it is possible to see something thanks to the windows of some adjacent rooms. As if that wasn’t not enough, during the years of reclamation of the place, materials of all kinds have been removed, often illegally, so it is easy to find yourself in front of deep holes that perhaps once housed equipment of different types. Carrying a flashlight is essential. Near the central corridor, in an adjacent building, I found this meeting room you see in the picture. From the remains of the room, I was able to imagine how it could have been almost fifty years ago, so I decided to immortalise it in a photo. A photo that has given me a lot of satisfaction since many people asked me for a print. In Chernobyl I saw many people taking many photos handheld. Personally I do not recommend it: the risk is to have to maintain an average ISO over 6400 per photo. Although many modern machines today can handle such a high ISO value, for clean files and perfect printing I do recommend using a tripod. The X1D is a medium format camera and its main quality is the beauty of the file. It would not make sense to make it work at very high ISOs. Bring a tripod with you. I brought the lightest one I could find, a Gitzo mountaineer series 3. Since the tripod has a bad habit of being placed on the ground, and this is a problem in Chernobyl since it could collect radioactive dust, I recommend covering the legs with a sheet strong enough plastic and tie it with tape or rubber bands, so that it is easy to change or remove.
