Tuesday, September 19, 2023

UWP: CATHERINE HOLMES

 





































Catherine Holmes
Catherine Holmes is an underwater photographer, dentist and watercolour artist who through her imagery hopes to inspire people to nurture and protect our fragile underwater world for future generations to enjoy. 
Catherine spent her early life in Australia close to the sea. 
She now lives in England, working as a Dental Surgeon, and travelling widely across the globe, venturing underwater to capture images wherever she goes. 
Her work features images from Indonesia, Red Sea, Galapagos, Maldives and the Caribbean. In her work with watercolours she would describe herself as a colourist, which shines through in her photographic work. She strives to portray images that capture the vibrant colours and light underwater in overall painterly compositions. 
As a member of the British Society of Underwater Photographers, Catherine has won awards in many international competitions, including the Underwater Photographer of the Year, Ocean Art, Ocean Geographic and the World Shootout. 
Her first place in the Conservation Category in the International Ocean Art competition – with an image showing the efforts to rebuild reefs in Barbados – Catherine was invited to be an Honorary Member in CORALL, the Barbados Coral Restoration project. Catherine’s imagery and articles have been widely published in Underwater magazines. 
She states: “I am always at my happiest underwater, a place of beauty, calm and silence – perhaps I was always meant to be a mermaid.”









Friday, September 15, 2023

UWP: KIM BRIERS

 






























Award winning photographer Kim Briers hails from Belgium and specializes in landscape and underwater photography. The last few years underwater macro photography has become his biggest passion again. Now based in Phuket, Thailand, he spent the last two decades capturing the awe-inspiring essence of our planet, both above and below the water's surface. 

Kim has worn many hats throughout the world as a divemaster, diving instructor, underwater photography teacher, marine biology researcher and dive center manager. He particularly treasures his work alongside marine biologists serving biodiversity and climate research organizations on uninhabited islands in Central America. 

He spent several years traversing the Red Sea of Egypt and Jordan and later to Eastern Africa where he devoted his efforts toward educational marine conservation projects in Mozambique, Kenya and Zanzibar. Afterwards, Kim moved to Asia and has called Phuket, Thailand home for over twelve years. Since 2022 Kim is active as brand ambassador for Marelux and influencer for Minigear, Skywoods, OrcaTorch and Fotocore. 

Lately, you can find Kim beneath the surface diving and photographing images of dazzling water creatures while residing on liveaboards to the Similan Islands and in the Deep South of Thailand or on his many travels and future workshops across Southeast Asia. 

“Often it’s all about patience…You’re in a beautiful place, excited to make photos but the weather conditions just stay bad for days that you almost give up and feel disappointed … but all of a sudden there’s that mind blowing moment of light, only for less then a minute, but you captured it and you know straight away you were in that magical moment, a moment never to forget. Also in underwater photography it’s all about patience and observing the animal and it’s environment, the kick of having eye contact with an only 3mm sized hairy shrimp… Photography is a beautiful never ending addiction.”

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kimbriers39

Instagram: kimbriers_underwater