Exhibiting at The Smile Within, showing on the joint stand (H94) of the BDA Benevolent Fund and Bridge2aid at The British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show (NEC Birmingham) on 15th & 16th May during Mental Health Awareness Week.

For Catherine Holmes, underwater photography offers something increasingly precious amid the pressures of modern dentistry: calmness.

A general dental surgeon with more than 40 years in practice, Catherine has spent decades balancing the responsibilities of running her own family dental practice with raising three children. Alongside this demanding career, creativity has quietly remained a constant thread; first through watercolour painting and, more recently, through internationally acclaimed underwater photography.

For Catherine, diving beneath the surface is not simply about capturing beautiful images. It is a way to restore balance, reconnect with calm, and step outside the emotional demands that dentistry can carry.

“The underwater world gives me an escape and peace from busy surgery life, a place of beauty and calm, and restores me for life in dentistry.”

Finding Calm Beneath the Surface

Although her work takes her to some of the world’s most breathtaking marine environments, Catherine describes underwater photography as far more than travel or leisure.

Photography expeditions are physically demanding and technically intense. Days often begin before sunrise, followed by long dives, hours of editing, equipment maintenance and group critiques late into the evening. Yet the discipline and concentration required provide an important contrast to clinical life.

“It’s different to my role as a dentist in that it allows me to completely focus on something else. I come back feeling renewed and refreshed, ready to start work again.”

Over time, photography has also helped Catherine reshape how she sees herself beyond her professional identity.

“For a long time, I was simply ‘a dentist’, but now I’m a dentist and a photographer.”

The recognition her work has received internationally has reinforced that growing confidence. Catherine’s photography has been recognised in major global competitions including Underwater Photographer of the Year, Ocean Photographer of the Year, the Siena Awards, and the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, where she became the first woman and first England-based photographer representing the UK to win the underwater category in 2023 for her image Nighttime Squadron, featuring mobula rays.

Her work was also recently featured in the March edition of Woman & Home magazine as part of its Passion Projects series, highlighting her work as an underwater photographer and scuba diver.

Creativity, Precision and Dentistry

For Catherine, the connection between art and dentistry feels natural. Both require patience, precision, technical skill and close attention to detail.

“The challenges, skill, artistry and precise approach required for underwater photography often overlap with the technical needs of dentistry.”

Alongside photography, Catherine and her husband also paint together using watercolours, particularly during visits to Italy, where they married. Painting offers another opportunity to slow down and observe carefully.

“When you paint, you really appreciate the view and the subjects within it.”

That painterly quality continues to shape Catherine’s photography. Her underwater images are rich in colour, light and atmosphere, often appearing more like paintings than traditional wildlife photography.

“It’s similar to painting because when you paint you are looking for a subject with nice light, colour and pleasing composition, and so my photographs similarly are generally very painterly.”

Wellbeing Through Creativity

Throughout her career, Catherine has become increasingly aware of the emotional weight dentistry can place on professionals.

“As dentists, you can’t help but take on the stress from patients who are in pain and frightened, and that can take its toll if you don’t have tools in place to help you manage.”

Photography and painting have become essential tools in supporting her own wellbeing, creating space away from responsibility, pressure and routine. Her artwork is also displayed throughout her dental practice, where it often becomes a conversation starter with nervous patients and an opportunity to share moments of curiosity and wonder.

“Not everyone gets the opportunity to see some of the wildlife I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph, but it allows me to talk about conservation too, which I’m passionate about.”

Featured Artwork: Never Smile at a Crocodile
Minimum bid: £2000

Captured in Cuba’s Jardines de la Reinas marine protected area, this striking portrait depicts an American crocodile moving through mangrove waters within one of the Caribbean’s richest ecosystems.

• Dimensions- Framed Print 75cmx50cm (in frame 94cmx70cm including border)
  Fine art Giclee Print 285gsm, Epson UltraChrome PRO ink on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl Paper

Featured Artwork: Hidden Jewel
Minimum bid: £2000

Photographed in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, this image reveals the tiny Bargibanti pygmy seahorse hidden amongst coral polyps. The work reflects Catherine’s fascination with delicate underwater ecosystems and the growing threat posed by habitat destruction.

• Dimensions- Framed Print 75cmx50cm (in frame 94cmx70cm including border)
• Fine art Giclee Print 285gsm, Epson UltraChrome PRO ink on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl Paper.

Featured Artwork: Calm Beneath a Stormy Sky
Minimum bid: £2000

Taken in Grand Cayman, this atmospheric photograph contrasts dramatic magenta storm clouds above with calm turquoise waters below, where a stingray glides peacefully beneath the surface.

• Dimensions- Framed Print 75cmx50cm (in frame 94cmx70cm including border)
• Fine art Giclee Print 285gsm, Epson UltraChrome PRO ink on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl Paper.

Any of these three original artwork pieces would sit beautifully within both clinical and personal spaces, offering calm and reassurance.

100% of proceeds from artwork sales will be donated directly to the charities. The artist will receive no financial profit from sales.

Conservation and Connection

A strong sense of conservation runs throughout Catherine’s work. Through her imagery, she hopes to inspire greater appreciation and protection of the fragile underwater world for future generations.

Her photography and articles have been widely published in underwater magazines internationally, helping bring rarely seen marine environments to wider audiences.

Catherine first became aware of the BDA Benevolent Fund through the local BDA branch and LDC meetings in Essex and fundraising events supporting the charity’s work within the dental community.

Although Catherine will not be attending The Smile Within exhibition in person, her work invites visitors into a world of colour, serenity and reflection beneath the surface.

More about Catherine

Recent feature: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVQ1u7BDQ1n/

Website: www.catherineholmesunderwaterphotography.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherineholmes.photography/

Award-winning image Nighttime Squadron: https://www.gdtfoto.de/seiten/gdt-european-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-results-2023.html

Meet the other Artists

Below is a selection of other featured artists. Click on the links to see their artwork submissions, each deeply connected to mindfulness and mental wellbeing.

Join us at The Smile Within art exhibition in May and make a difference, one pledge, one piece of art, one smile at a time.

We look forward to seeing you there.

An online bidding site is now live. You can bid on artwork online, as well as at the event.

Online bidding ends at 3:45 pm on 16 May. The winning bidder can collect their artwork on Saturday, 16 May, from the stand after 4pm. If you (or a trusted friend) are unable to take your piece with you, we’re happy to arrange delivery. Please note that postage and packaging costs will be added and confirmed after purchase.