Drone video shows nuclear exclusion zone around Chernobyl as a mini wonderland

The desolate area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has inspired many video makers and drone pilots to create post-apocalyptic images. Over the years, several such videos have been featured. Drone pilot Yerg Daiber recently visited the region. He made a drone video of the area but with the tilt-shift effect.

Drone video with tilt-shift effect

Tilt-shift is an image processing method that leads to the well-known miniaturization effect. By selectively blurring in combination with speeding up a shot, you get the impression that you are looking at a recording of some kind of mini wonderland. The effect works especially well in combination with drone footage, which is what the YouTube account Little Big World is all about.

Last year, Yerg Daiber traveled to Chernobyl a few months before the war in Ukraine broke out. He took his drone with him to record the abandoned city of Prypyat and the radioactive forests surrounding the nuclear power plant, which in 1986 was the scene of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. The resulting tilt-shift drone video can be seen below.

Here’s what Yerg had to say in the description:

I was visiting Ukraine by the end of last summer and did a two days trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

And just as if the events around this place would not be tragic enough, a few months later, it was occupied by Russian troops. I still can not wrap my head around that. Supposedly Russian soldiers were even digging trenches in the Red Forest, which is among the most contaminated area, and our dosimeters were freaking out as we passed by there…

However, you could only enter the area with an organized tour, but despite the “Disaster-Disneyland-Character” of the entire thing, this trip was an amazing experience. On our tour were only people from Ukraine and Russia, and I was the only guy from the west. There was also a lovely Russian/Ukrainian couple, and I can’t imagine what they must be going through now.

At least for now, Chernobyl is back under Ukrainian control, but the fighting continues elsewhere.
It’s heartbreaking to think about all the lovely people there and the suffering that they have to endure.

Yerg uses a DJI Mini 2 and DJI Mavic 2 Pro for his aerial shots.

Photos courtesy of Yerg Daiber.