Close-up Photographer of the Year was founded in 2018 by husband-and-wife duo Tracy and Dan Calder. The annual competition’s aim is to reveal the hidden wonders of the world through close-up, macro and micro photography and is open to all. As well as the main annual contest, there is a themed CUPOTY Challenge that takes place every November and a popular newsletter that Tracy writes on photography and creativity.
The results of the sixth Close-up Photographer of the Year are in! I'm in awe of the incredible imagery, ranging from an ultra-high resolution focus stack to a microscopic work of art. An expert jury of 25 photographers, scientists, journalists and editors spent over 20 hours on video calls, scrutinizing over 11,000 entries from 61 countries to find the 11 winners, listed here.
Top honors, including the prestigious title of Close-up Photographer of the Year, were awarded to Svetlana Ivanenko, with her dramatic picture of two battling male stag beetles in an oak forest (see main image).
Svetlana says: “For a brief period in summer, stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) engage in fierce battles for mating rights. These elusive creatures inhabit oak forests, making them difficult to find. I traveled 700km to witness this beautiful event and I want to share it with everyone.”
I for one love the use of backlighting to silhouette these distinctive creatures, locked in battle. Svetlana will be awarded a £2,500 (approx $3,000) cash prize, a universal license for Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher apps, and the Close-up Photographer of the Year trophy. Her work will also be displayed globally in the CUPOTY’s online gallery and this year’s competition’s ebook.
All category winners receive £250 cash (approx $300) and a universal license for the three aforementioned Affinity apps. The 'Intimate Landscape' winner will also receive a subscription to FRAMES photography magazine and community, while the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in Studio Art will receive Retouch4me Dust, Color Match, and Portrait Volumes plug-ins.
Read on to find out more about the remaining 10 winners and marvel at their creations...
14-year-old Spanish photographer Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco was crowned Young Close-up Photographer of the Year 6 with his vivid picture of a European Bee-eater in mid-flight with an insect in its beak.
Andrés says: "I captured this image in late spring in southern Spain. Having previously observed bee-eaters with binoculars, I knew exactly where they would fly after hunting insects. This allowed me to strategically place a hide so that I could get a low point of view to blur the foreground and background flowers in the picture. I spent several weekend mornings in the hide, watching each bird catch 15-20 insects per hour, which provided ample opportunities for me to capture some attractive images. Using a high shutter speed, I was able to freeze the bird in flight, clearly showing the insect in its beak."
Capturing birds in flight is no mean feat, but to capture a particularly speedy bee-eater against such a beautiful and vivid background is an incredible achievement. Andrés will receive a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN MACRO | Art lens worth $769 / £700, a universal license for the three Affinity apps, and the Young CUPOTY trophy.
British photographer Barry Webb won a category for the fourth year in a row! His astonishing picture of a 15mm-tall ear-pick fungus on a pine cone scooped the Fungi & Slime Moulds category. I love the clean background and backlighting providing a detailed view of the fungus' underside.
Irish photographer Aran Gibbs won the hotly contested Invertebrate Portrait category by displaying true macro mastery with his 50-image focus stack of a bark spider taken on a night trek in the Malaysian jungle. As you'd expect from a focus stack, this image is bristling with detail
Gabriel Jensen from the USA won the Underwater category with his comical image of a doctorfish that would go on to improbably escape from the jaws of a lizardfish in Kona, Hawaii.
Gabriel says: "This image now sits on my desk at work, serving as a reminder that even on tough days, everything's going to be A-OK."
The first CUPOTY category winner from China is Yong Miao, with a beautiful picture of a damselfly in front of a waterfall in Tianmushan Nature Reserve. I think this delicate blend of landscape, long-exposure, and insect imagery really makes this image stand out. A beautiful concept that’s been executed to perfection.
Santiago J. Monroy García from Colombia won the Animals category with an image taken with a camera trap of the only bear species native to South America: the Andean bear. Santiago says: "This individual, known as "Nariz de Calavera" (Skull Nose), is one of the largest bears living near Bogotá, Colombia, at the Ecopalacio Nature Reserve, about 30km east of the city."
Retired biology teacher Jean-Philippe Delobelle photographed the intricate tunnels of bark beetle larvae beneath the bark of a spruce tree in his native French Alps to win the Intimate Landscape category. Jean-Philippe says: "Emanating from the egg-laying site of the female, the tunnels widen as the larvae grow – a symbol of life for the larva, and death for the tree."
Dutch photographer Rob Blanken used a microscope to help photograph a crystallised mixture of amino acids resembling an impressive, fantastical landscape. I'm in awe of this epic example of Photomicrography – you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a painting!
Pierluigi Rizzo is the inaugural winner of the Arachnids category. His picture, taken in Pollino National Park, Calabria, Italy, shows a female Mediterranean black widow feeding on its prey.
Pierluigi explains: "In the first photo, I shot the spider's abdomen to emphasize the spider's characteristic red spots. In the second photo, I wanted to capture the moment of feeding so I placed a flash with a blue gel behind the spider to obtain its silhouette. The two photos were merged in-camera."
After a foggy night in his Dutch garden, Piet Haaksma photographed these dew-covered mosses that would go on to win the Plants category. The ethereal quality of this plant close-up, achieved via the super-shallow depth of field and soft lighting, really makes it stand out.
CUPOTY co-founder, Tracy Calder, remarks on this year’s contest: "Every year I’m fortunate enough to spend time with scientists, editors, naturalists, journalists, and photographers while judging CUPOTY, and every year I’m blown away by the caliber of entries. Close-up photography is a celebration of curiosity, and this year’s Top 100 is a true testament to the artistry of everyone involved as well as an invitation to look, marvel at, and honor the world around us.’
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If you're interested in close-up photography, take a look at the best macro lenses and the best mirrorless cameras. For more jaw-dropping competition-winning images, see the Budapest International Foto Awards winners.
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