Powerful Ukraine and Chernobyl Photography / by Peter Levitan

I am going to turn you on to greatness.

Graeme Williams’ YouTube channel just reviewed the work of Maxim Dondyuk, a brilliant Ukrainian photographer.

Graeme is a new friend (and advisor). More importantly, he has the best photography-related “art and documentary photography” review channel on YouTube, where he… in his words:

“The conversations focus on topics related to different aspects of photography, including: art, documentary and photojournalism. The discussions explore the personal experiences of photographers and artists and how they approach their chosen subjects.”

You can see the Maxim shout-out review here: “Maxim Dondyuk - An artistic vision within a warring nation.”

Intellectual…

I was intellectually wowed by Graeme’s review and deep discussion about Maxim’s vision. Maxim is a mind-blowing photographer. He covered the Ukrainian Maidan Revolution, also called the Ukrainian Revolution, and the early days of the Ukrainian war. This from an insider’s perspective (not as a fly-in -and-out conflict photographer). He lived the conflict as a citizen.

Maxim’s subsequent work, this time during the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, is wildly personal and unique.

Maxim delivers dramatic, humanistic, unexpected and incredibly well-crafted photographs. Maxim is a master of his subjects, owns a compassionate perspective, a unique vision, dramatic composition, and understanding of the power of light itself. Please look at the work.

Me Emotional?…

On the emotional side, I was thrilled that Graeme coincidentally wrote about Maxim a few months after I had interviewed Maxim (he was then living in Kyoto) for the online photography magazine. PetaPixel. My Maxim interview is one of a series of photographer interviews I have published.

To get to the Point – Go right now to Graeme’s piece – 13 minutes to be way wowed and inspired.

“Maxim Dondyuk - An artistic vision within a warring nation.”

My interview is here - https://petapixel.com/2025/06/18/ukrainian-photographer-maxim-dondyuk-on-covering-the-russo-ukrainian-war/  

Yes, there is more. Here is a LensCulture take on Maxim - https://www.lensculture.com/articles/maxim-dondyuk-ukraine-culture-of-the-confrontation

Maxim Donduk