“They love you so much, but they will never understand how important it is for you.”: A conversation with Daria Maiornykova

Maiornykova holding her camera in downtown Toronto in July 2022 the year she arrived from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion. Photo courtesy of Daria Maiornykova.

“Photography for me leads back to a conversation with my mom.” says Daria Maiornykova, as she smiles over the Zoom screen. Maiornykova is a Ukrainian photographer who traces the origins of her passion to looking at her moms pregnancy and wedding photos and being left with the feeling of wanting more.

Maiornykova arrived in Toronto after fleeing from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion in 2022. One of the few things she brought to her new country had a life changing impact: her camera. Within her first week in Canada, rather than focusing on getting a bank account or sorting her documents, she messaged a photography group: “Hey, I came here with only my backpack, but I have my camera in my backpack and I would love to do something.”

Before the invasion she was living in Kyiv, had just bought new camera gear, and was enjoying life in a country, “that has everything.” Suddenly it all changed when Russia invaded and, at first, she didn’t believe it was even happening.

Over two years later she has her own photography business, many friends and a life in Toronto she is very thankful for. Despite her success, she experiences many difficulties with the immigration process and feels the pain that comes with being separated from your home and loved ones. For now she witnesses Kyiv and Ukraine over a screen or through friends on their cell phone. Sometimes when she calls her friends they’re interrupted by drones flying overhead, sirens or cut off electricity. She explains the different life experiences are stark.

Currently she's in Toronto on an extended work permit where her photography business is going well. She often goes by her work name ‘Daria Summers.’ The name came from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was watching the show during a Toronto winter, so things were “a little bit sad,” and the name was lighter and matched the natural, warm and airy photos she takes, which similarly match her radiant disposition, which is revealed throughout the interview below.

Q&A:

Rowan Flood: Can you speak about your journey to Canada? When and why did you come?

Daria Maiornykova: I was living in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, but I am originally from a city in the south called Kherson. I was doing photography for weddings, and just doing everything that I do. We heard the news: ‘Russia is about to attack Ukraine,’ but you can’t comprehend that something terrible will happen. We were so positive, even though I was kind of feeling scared. However, I was talking to my mom, and she is such a wise woman, and she said, ‘I think Putin is going to attack Ukraine.’ My mom was alone in Poland and asked me to visit her because she was anxious about the war. I didn’t want to go. I’d been to Poland many times and didn’t want to spend money, but my mom pleaded with me, so I went. I had only jeans, my camera, and my passport. After a couple of days, I was going to return, but my mom begged me to stay a bit longer. And then we woke up to the news that Russia was attacking Ukraine. When you wake up from that news, you don’t believe it, it blows your mind.

I stayed with my mom for a couple more weeks, and I lost everything basically. I only had my camera and my one backpack. I didn’t have a job, and my mum couldn’t provide for me. Initially, I wanted to go to the United States. I could speak English, so I thought about where to go. Then I saw that Canada was like, ‘Hey, we wanna do something really fast.’ They could let me in and give me a work permit, so I applied right away. I didn’t have time to research but I went to Toronto.

I met lots of good people, and I am so so so thankful, but if I had planned my immigration, I wouldn’t have gone to Toronto. It's impossible for me to get my Permanent Residence. They first gave me a three-year work permit, and then it got extended so I have another three years. When I came to Toronto, I had friends, but I was also depressed. My hometown was bombed a lot.

Rowan Flood: Now that you are here, do you have a vision of what your future will look like?

Daria Maiornykova: I'm working right now on a program that I've found called humanitarian program (an application for permanent residence from within Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds). The program is very complicated has a large amount of rejections. In this program, it's not enough to have work in your country. It's very compassion based. You need to explain how you've become attached to the community.

I collected support letters from Canadians yet it's hard because the letters take time and I need like, 15. That took me like six months. People who’ve never gone through immigration will never understand how rushed you are, how important it is. They love you so much, but they will never understand how important it is for you. So it took me so much time and that's only one of the things I need to do to even have a chance.

I'm going to have to prove my business and prove what I bring to the table, to this country. So it’s a very complicated program but I work with a good lawyer, she knows what she's doing. So, hopefully!

Rowan Flood: This process seems so exhausting.

Daria Maiornykova: Recently, I just had a breakdown in the night. I was crying because I couldn't handle it. You’re constantly thinking about it.

I am so happy that I could actually build a business where I work for myself. I cannot imagine how hard it is for people coming here not speaking the language. I cannot imagine what they go through. As lucky as I am, I struggle and I cry in the night because I built this life, and one day I could just be kicked out. The war in my country is not enough to give me safety. Emotionally, it's really hard.

Rowan Flood: How has photography and building a business in Toronto impacted your life in Canada?

Daria Maiornykova: Oh, my God. I think it's the best thing that happened to me. I didn't expect to become a full time photographer when I came at all.

I just messaged the photography community, and was very honest and vulnerable. I told them ‘Hey, I came here just with my backpack, but I have my camera in my backpack and I would love to do something. I told them it would mean a lot to me because I could do something that I love. A lot of people reached out to me from the Ukrainian community, and it helped me so much. I got to see the city, because I was traveling to different areas and I got a bit more confident. After that, step by step, I was raising my prices and I was promoting myself and doing everything I could to find new clients. Now I'm a full time photographer.

Maiornykova in her favorite coffee shop Rooms, 915 DuPont in Toronto on Oct., 3, 2024. Photo courtesy of Daria Maiornykova.

Rowan Flood: On your photography website you have a quote by Aaron Siskind : “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” Can you speak about why you chose to highlight this?

Daria Maiornykova: Photography for me leads back to a conversation with my mom. I loved to look at photos of my mom when I was younger. I looked at pictures of her being pregnant and of her wedding. I realized that there were not as many photos as I wanted and my mom would explain the past with words, but I really wanted to see it. I thought to myself, Man, I think photography is so important. Photography has so much value. I love to do weddings and I love to connect with people, because I can capture something memorable.

I take photos everywhere. I love capturing everything and being annoying about it. With my work I try to keep it timeless. I want to keep have natural colors, because I want my clients to be able to look back and remember.

It's important to make it artsy, make it beautiful but also make it natural. I want my clients to look back and think, Oh, this is how I used to look, or, this is the belly that I had.

I have some clients, a couple that I photographed for their wedding last winter, and now they’re doing Christmas photos with their baby. I can witness and see how everything changed and I think that's beautiful. That's the beauty of photography,  it's captured forever.

Kyiv in winter just before Russia invaded Ukraine forcing Maiornykova to leave her life behind. Taken on Feb.,13, 2022. Photo courtesy of Daria Maiornykova.

Now that you’ve been in Canada a few years, you’ve started your business and built a life. How do you balance maintaining a relationship and connection with people in Ukraine and keeping up with your life here?

Daria Maiornykova: My mom and sister live in England now.

But staying in touch with people in Ukraine is hard for many reasons. One reason is you experience a very different life. I don't experience sirens. I don't run from bombs. I don't run out of electricity. When it's cold, I don't freeze.

I try to stay in touch with my friends that I have there. I'm empathetic to what's going on. I had a call with my friend when there were drones flying above her apartment, and she was in the bathroom, and just talking to me. So I am trying to be there because I love them.

I'm trying to stay in touch, but also, not show off my safety.

Rowan Flood: Do you feel guilt?

Daria Maiornykova: I would say guilt is a big thing. I experienced that so much in the first couple months of the war.

My city was occupied quickly and terrible things happened. One of my closest friend whose like a brother to me ended up being there during that time. He was basically locked up. There was no government, basically people, they did what they wanted to do. And I felt so much guilt because I was safe.

He and I spoke on the phone during that time. He told me Daria, I'm so happy. You're safe. I'm so happy. And hearing him being happy for me, it completely cut off my guilt.

I think it's important to live your life as well. Your life cannot be war. Even when you live in Ukraine, I talk with my friends about this. If your life is all about war, you will not survive.

That's why they wear fashionable clothes. They go and they get their expensive lattes because if they're gonna think about news all the time, it's gonna destroy you and you will not survive it.

Rowan Flood: Can you tell me about some of your favourite things about Ukraine or Kyiv?

Daria Maiornykova: Ukraine has everything. It has mountains, it has sea, it has everything.

I love the culture. We have a big culture. We have enjoyable food, fashion, and dance. There is a dance called Hopak. Sometimes, if I go to European festivals or things like that, I see people dancing Hopak. I love the language because it's very sweet. The way we explain stuff, and how we put the meaning into words is very sweet. In general, people have a good sense of humor. I love that. Ukrainians are very brave, and they fight for what they believe in. We love freedom. I think it's a big part of being Ukrainian. We love freedom so much.

And of course, I would say we have a big culture of coffee and you will receive the best service. We always exceed your expectations. Like right now, before talking to you, I was editing a photo shoot that I had.  Usually I promise around 80 photos per hour, which is already a lot. Yet, I ended up selecting 150 photos for them and I'm going to give them for free.

I'm crazy and I love what I do but I want him to be happy. I know the more photos I give to choose from the more he will be happy with. It's a very Ukrainian thing.

Maiornykova captures the moments in Kyiv soon before she leaves it behind for years on Feb., 13, 2022. Photo courtesy of Daria Maiornykova.