Catharsis
Catharsis (from the Greek κάθαρσις) is the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions. It was originally used metaphorically by Aristotle in the Poetics, to compare the effects of tragedy on the mind of a spectator to the effect of a cathartic on the body, i.e., the purification and cleansing of emotions, particularly those of pity and fear.
The photo was captured in mid-January 2019, during peak flow at Chantara waterfalls in Troodos Mountains, Cyprus. The extraordinary wet season that we are experiencing this year brought back to life all the ephemeral rivers, but also revealed the dead bodies of seven poor women murdered by a serial killer between 2016 and 2018, that were then dumped at an abandoned mineshaft and nearby mine lakes. It’s the first time that such a crime is recorded in Cyprus and shocked the society. What this event has to do with the photo? Well, the suspect is literally “one of us” – a keen photographer and also a member of the Flickr community that no one would have thought of committing such horrible actions. Catharsis is the only word that I could think of as a remedy to these tragic events.
Technical details for those interested: Single shot captured with Nikon D750 and Nikon 14-24 mm f/2.8. Framed at 18 mm and exposed for 1s at f/8 and ISO 100, using a Lee 6-stop ND filter. Special thanks to my good friend Ole Henrik Skjelstad for his valuable editing suggestions.
Catharsis
Catharsis (from the Greek κάθαρσις) is the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions. It was originally used metaphorically by Aristotle in the Poetics, to compare the effects of tragedy on the mind of a spectator to the effect of a cathartic on the body, i.e., the purification and cleansing of emotions, particularly those of pity and fear.
The photo was captured in mid-January 2019, during peak flow at Chantara waterfalls in Troodos Mountains, Cyprus. The extraordinary wet season that we are experiencing this year brought back to life all the ephemeral rivers, but also revealed the dead bodies of seven poor women murdered by a serial killer between 2016 and 2018, that were then dumped at an abandoned mineshaft and nearby mine lakes. It’s the first time that such a crime is recorded in Cyprus and shocked the society. What this event has to do with the photo? Well, the suspect is literally “one of us” – a keen photographer and also a member of the Flickr community that no one would have thought of committing such horrible actions. Catharsis is the only word that I could think of as a remedy to these tragic events.
Technical details for those interested: Single shot captured with Nikon D750 and Nikon 14-24 mm f/2.8. Framed at 18 mm and exposed for 1s at f/8 and ISO 100, using a Lee 6-stop ND filter. Special thanks to my good friend Ole Henrik Skjelstad for his valuable editing suggestions.