Stunning, enduring pictures reveal Kazakhstan’s abandoned nuclear testing grounds

These photos, all shortlisted for the 2024 Sony World Photography Awards, get to the heart of human vulnerability and the fragility of nature.

Eddo Hartmann was selected as a finalist in the Landscape category for his series. sacrifice zoneA remote area in Kazakhstan that was the main Soviet nuclear testing site from 1949 to 1989.

The image above shows a dosimeter measuring radiation levels at Lake Shagan in Kazakhstan. The area remains highly contaminated from around 450 nuclear tests conducted there. The featured photo (above) shows the remains of an observation tower at Russia's Opitnoye Pole, another area used for Soviet nuclear tests.

Hartmann photographed these landscapes using infrared light, whose red tint was reminiscent of radioactive contamination that is invisible to the naked eye. “Local scientists are using infrared technology to monitor the current status of contaminated sites,” he says. “Chlorophyll found in green plants reflects significant amounts of infrared radiation. The different shades of reflection provide valuable insight into the overall environmental health of a given area.”

In the Albanian village of Zales, a girl climbs onto an old oil tank (pictured above). This image, taken by Jonas Kakó, was shortlisted in the Environment category. The photo below was taken by wildlife and nature finalist Jasper Dost of an elephant charging through Livingstone, Zambia.

The winner of the competition will be announced on April 18th, before the exhibition opens at Somerset House, London, from April 19th to May 6th.