A Walk in the Zone (or a long introduction to analog photography).

A Walk in the Zone

I was 16 or 17 years old and went to visit my best friend in his house. He was playing some game - first person shooter with elements of horror. Deadly environment, hostile mutants, arsenal of weapons ranging from hunting rifles to those shooting beams of energy and absolutely unforgettable atmosphere. That game was S.T.A.L.K.E.R. "Shadow of Chernobyl".

^{screenshot from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. "Shadow of Chernobyl"}
To be honest, we played a few hours and I really liked it, but few days after I had forgotten about the game. Not entirely, however. Little did I know that I was lost to the Zone the moment I had entered it.

Cinematic Influence

About one year later, we together watched the film "Stalker", made in 1979, directed by legendary Andrei Tarkovsky. It has seemingly nothing in common with the game. It was dull and boring, my friend had fallen asleep in the middle of the film, but I was mesmerised. That film changed me. I understood it and felt understood.

^{a frame from "Stalker" by Andrei Tarkovsky}
By many "Stalker" is called a masterpiece. But it is as praised as it is criticised. Mostly, for its legendary sluggishness. Tarkovsky himself replied to critics that it needs “to be slower and duller at the start so that the viewers who walked into the wrong cinema have time to leave before the main action starts.” From the questions about faith and Christian allegories to discrepancy between apparent and subconscious desires, this slow-paced artistic film is bursting with tropes and interpretations. For me, however, the most important matter was that about Stalker and how has he perceived the Zone.

^{a frame from "Stalker" by Andrei Tarkovsky}

The Zone is what connects the games, the film and their literary prototype, "Roadside Picnic" written by Strugatsky brothers. It's extremely alien and hostile environment, "a very complex maze of traps", but it can be also unquestionably beautiful, which is shown primarily in the film. One of three protagonists of the film, Stalker, feels in the Zone at home. Outside world for him is a bleak nightmare; a prison. Upon entering the Zone, he says: "so beautiful, not a single soul here".

Around that time, me and my friend started going hiking in the forests at night. Initially we were driven by our fear and disdain for that fear. We wandered deeper into the woods and for longer periods of time to subjugate that fear. Soon we were well adjusted, but galvanising atmosphere of these hikes kept us going. We had also visited abandoned factory settled on the edge of the forest in my hometown. Amidst the large hall overgrown with moss, listening to the splash of dripping water and gentle cracking of window frames I felt this particular mixture of serenity and vigilance, much like when I watched "Stalker" for the first time. I've found my Zone.

^{Zenit 12xp / Carl Zeiss Pancolar 50 1.8 / Kodak ColorPlus 200}

Picnic on the Roadside

To get some closure I had to reach for the beginning of whole Stalker/Zone trope. "Roadside Picnic" is a book written by famous duo of brothers: Arkadij and Boris Strugatsky. Earth was visited by aliens. No one has seen them and they abruptly left, but what remained were six anomalous areas - "Zones" in which earthly laws of physics do not apply. Every "Zone" is extremely alien and deadly environment, but also full of treasures - artefacts. Coming in various shapes and forms, these alien remnants have unique properties - some are useful, providing for example unlimited energy, others are but a curiosity. Considering these properties, artefacts present great value to scientists and private collectors. This is where Stalkers come into play. These individuals are mercenaries who enter the Zone illegally to either guide thrill-seeking tourists or to gather artefacts which may be later on sold for large sums of money.

^{concept art by Alexey Andreyev for never made "ZONA" TV series}

Why have aliens visited the Earth? Nobody knows. However one scientist speculates that their visit was nothing but "a picnic on the roadside". What they have left behind, for them was just some trash. Humankind is so much behind them in terms of progress that their junk for us is nothing short of a treasure. They paid as much attention to humanity as we pay to ants and other insects.

A few years after I had first contact with the series, I had played the game of my own. First, third game in the series, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. "Call of Prypiat". Then first, "Shadow of Chernobyl". I have never played the middle child that is "Clear Sky". S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is an obscure series, compared for example to other post-apocalyptic series that is Fallout, but it has loyal fanbase and active modding community. GSC Game World created simple FPS with unforgettable atmosphere. The Zone in these games is a bit different than the Zone from book and film. Its origin is not extraterrestrial but entirely human; a result of Chernobyl disaster and later, scientific experiments. It's widely populated by mutants and various factions of stalkers, compared to empty landscapes of the book and its adaptation.

^{screenshot from Misery mod for "Call of Prypiat"}

Today, these games are quite old. First part, "Shadow of Chernobyl" came out in 2007, last in 2009. However, modding community keeps the game up to date. First mod I played was "Misery". This hardcore modification with elaborate survival mechanics was what I wanted S.T.A.L.K.E.R to look like. Environment was really deadly. Mutants - always a threat. Encountering stalker squads was risky because you couldn't always know if they are friends or enemies. With incredible ambient soundtrack, going out at night was truly an eerie experience. I got sucked in for a few months of playing.

Going Analog

Influence of the "Stalker" series was probably one of the main reasons why I got into urban exploration and survival/bushcraft. I also wanted to somehow commemorate amazing atmosphere and aesthetics of the "Zone". Roughness of analog photography, distinct grain and vintage look seemed to be the best choice. I could do it the easy way and simulate the grain and colour palette using Film Simulation like I used to. It didn't felt right. Or fun. I took out what I had available - an old Zenit 12xp and started shooting...

^{Zenit 12xp / Beroflex 28 2.8 / Fujifilm C200}

Outcomes of these photo-shoots are varying. I started shooting analog photography with an old Zenit 12xp with broken light-meter. I was simply guessing shutter speed and aperture. Now I have bought Praktica LTL3 which is slightly better camera, but its light seals need replacement. My first roll of film was dedicated fully to photographing abandoned factory in my hometown. With time, I started using Zenit as my everyday camera and taking all kinds of photos. I'm testing different 35 mm films, at the moment I have two favourites: Kodak ColorPlus 200 which gives photos yellow-ish retro look, similar to "Misery" mod for "Call of Prypiat". More saturated films, like Kodak Ultramax 400 are closer to beautiful frames from "Stalker" film, yet I feel I'm not even close to the look of Tarkovsky's masterpiece.

^{Zenit 12xp / Pentacon Auto 50 1.8 / Kodak ColorPlus 200}

My goal, however is not to emulate look of the games or the film, but to find some middle way. I hope I will get better with time and work out my own style of photography. To judge how it went I will have to wait a few years. After all, projects like this are best to be evaluated in retrospection.

^{Zenit 12xp / Pentacon Auto 50 1.8 / Kodak Ultramax 400}

I am publishing my "photos of the Zone" on instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/walkinthezone/. I'll post some of them also on my steemit in the future.

all photos are mine unless stated otherwise

sources:

https://newrepublic.com/article/143045/stalker-film-need-now
https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4739-stalker-meaning-and-making
https://www.deviantart.com/alexandreev/gallery

mentioned works:

Tarkovsky's Stalker
Shadow of Chernobyl
Clear Sky
Call of Prypiat
http://themiserymod.com/
Roadside Picnic

by @postcardsfromlbn