Nicola Petrides, Lungs (PEOPLE & PORTRAIT 2025)

When we lose someone, whether to death, illness or the ending of a relationship, the feeling can be so insurmountable because we don’t just lose a person, we lose a part of ourselves. In this capture we can see each person’s lung capacity of air, their lifeline underwater, leaving their body, which could also symbolise their relationship leaving the space between them. This capture was shot on a single breath in Dahab, Egypt, a world famous, highly spiritual and beautiful freediving destination. After seeing various blackout accidents during the CMAS Freediving World Championships in Kalamata, Greece, and their visual impact as safety divers rescue competitors who have purged their lungs before reaching the surface, the parallels of life force and inter-human connection represented by a lung full of air inspired the visual story of this piece.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.