Breathtaking image of Andean bear in highland rainforest among winners in close-up photo competition
Breathtaking image of Andean bear in highland rainforest among winners in close-up photo competition
From parasitic fungi and curious seadragons to rainbow birds and forest bears, here are some of the winning images from this year's Close-up Photographer of the Year competition.
The top prize, chosen from more than 11,000 entries from 61 countries, was awarded to Svetlana Ivanenko for her dramatic image of two male stag beetles battling in an oak forest in Russia.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Spanish photographer Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco was crowned Young Close-up Photographer with his gorgeous picture of a European bee-eater in Spain.
The competition included 11 categories, each celebrating the hidden wonders of the natural world through close-up, macro and micro photography. Here, we take a closer look at the first, second and third place images for each category.
Close-up Photographer of the Year winners
Two stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) battle for dominance; Voronezh region, Russia. | Category: Insects | Place: 1st | Credit: Svetlana Ivanenko, cupoty.comA female Mediterranean black widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) feeds on her prey; Pollino National Park, Calabria, Italy | Category: Arachnids | Place: 1st | Credit: Pierluigi Rizzo, cupoty.comA scorpion glows under UV light on the sand; Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India | Category: Arachnids | Place: 2nd | Credit: Avilash Ghosh, cupoty.comA female broad-headed bark spider (Caerostris sumatrana) with a tiny male perched on her abdomen; Phuket, Thailand | Category: Arachnids | Place: 3rd | Credit: Artur Tomaszek, cupoty.comA damselfly (Archineura incarnata) rests on a rock amidst a flowing waterfall; Tianmushan Nature Reserve, Zhejiang Province, China | Category: Butterflies & Dragonflies | Place: 1st | Credit: Yong Miao, cupoty.comA winter moth flies in a Hungarian forest at twilight; Hungry | Category: Butterflies & Dragonflies | Place: 2nd | Credit: Ferenc Kocsis, cupoty.comA December moth (Poecilocampa populi) lands on Candlesnuff fungus; Börzsöny Hill, Hungary | Category: Butterflies & Dragonflies | Place: 3rd | Credit: Imre Potyó, cupoty.comAn Andean bear stands amidst the dense foliage of a highland rainforest; Ecopalacio Nature Reserve, La Calera, Colombia, about 30km from Bogotá, Colombia/Santiago | Category: Animals | Place: 1st | Credit: J. Monroy García, cupoty.comLesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros) return to an abandoned iron ore mine; Börzsöny Hill, Hungary | Category: Animals | Place: 2nd | Credit: Imre Potyó, cupoty.comA pine marten in the forest, triggered by a motion-activated camera; Kiskőrös, Szücsi-forest, Hungary | Category: Animals | Place: 3rd | Credit: Csaba Daróczi, cupoty.comA 15mm tall ear-pick fungus growing on a pine cone; New Forest, UK | Category: Fungi & Slime Moulds | Place: 1st | Credit: Barry Webb, cupoty.comPuffball mushrooms release spores in a chestnut forest; Covas, Spain | Category: Fungi & Slime Moulds | Place: 2nd | Credit: José Luis Gigirey González, cupoty.comA mushroom covered in sand; Holywell Bay Beach, Cornwall, UK | Category: Fungi & Slime Moulds | Place: 3rd | Credit: Jamie Spensley, cupoty.comDanube mayflies (Ephoron virgo) swarm above the Danube; Danube, Hungary | Category: Insects| Place: 2nd | Credit: Imre Potyó, cupoty.comA leaf hopper rests on a bracket fungus amidst a swirl of spores; Goa, India | Category: Insects | Place: 3rd | Credit: Avilash Ghosh, cupoty.comA Caerostris spider rests on a stick in the Malaysian jungle; near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Category: Invertebrate Portrait | Place: 1st | Credit: Aran Gibbs, cupoty.comA lobster moth caterpillar (Stauropus fagi) on a tree branch in a garden; Spain | Category: Invertebrate Portrait | Place: 2nd | Credit: José Manuel Lois Rial, cupoty.comA lynx spider on a yellow flower in a garden; Austria | Category: Invertebrate Portrait | Place: 3rd | Credit: Manfred Auer, cupoty.comThe etched tunnels of bark beetle larvae (Ips typographus) beneath the bark of a spruce tree; Le Monal in the French Alps | Category: Intimate Landscape | Place: 1st | Credit: Jean-Philippe Delobelle, cupoty.comDead Jack Pine branches cross-cross vibrant huckleberry plants; Jackpine-Crowberry Barrens, Nova Scotia, Canada | Category: Intimate Landscape | Place: 2nd | Credit: Andrew Mielzynski, cupoty.comA white fir tree surrounded by three giant sequoias in Sequoia National Park, captured in the snow and fog; Sequoia National Park, California, USA | Category: Intimate Landscape | Place: 3rd | Credit: Sigfrido Zimmermann, cupoty.comGarden moss covered in dew drops; Sneek, Netherlands | Category: Plants | Place: 1st | Credit: Piet Haaksma, cupoty.comWild orchids, Spiranthes spiralis, photographed in a gentle spiral, symbolising nature’s renewal in an urban environment; Toulouse, France. | Category: Plants | Place: 2nd | Credit: Sébastien Blomme, cupoty.comA giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) frond in the water; Channel Islands National Park, Santa Barbara Island, USA | Category: Plants | Place: 3rd | Credit: Sigfrido Zimmermann, cupoty.comA doctorfish struggles in the jaws of a lizardfish; Kona, Hawaii. | Category: Underwater | Place: Winner | Credit: Gabriel Jensen, cupoty.comA leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) swims with a school of rough bullseye fish (Pempheris klunzingeri); Rapid Bay, South Australia | Category: Underwater | Place: 2nd | Credit: Jenny Stock, cupoty.comA reef goby guards its eggs on a blue tunicate; Lembeh Strait, Indonesia | Category: Underwater | Place: 3rd | Credit: Saeed Rashid, cupoty.comA European bee-eater in mid-flight with an insect in its beak; Southern Spain | Category: Young | Place: 1st | Credit: Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco, cupoty.comA robber fly (Asilidae sp.) feeds on a flesh fly (Sarcophagidae sp.); Brandenburg, Germany | Category: Young | Place: 2nd | Credit: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, cupoty.comA globular springtail (Dicyrtomina ornata) infected by the fungus Pandora batallata, captured with extreme macro detail; Berlin, Germany | Category: Young | Place: 3rd | Credit: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, cupoty.comCrystals of amino acids (beta-alanine and L-glutamine) under a microscope; Veenwouden, the Netherlands | Category: Studio Art | Place: 1st | Credit: Rob Blanken, cupoty.comOil drops on water; Los Angeles, USA | Category: Studio Art | Place: 2nd | Credit: Matt Vacca, cupoty.comA copper plate oxidised and distressed by household materials, captured digitally through a flatbed scanner; Newcastle upon Tyne, UK | Category: Studio Art | Place: 3rd | Credit: Paul Kenny, cupoty.com
The sixth Close-up Photographer of the Year, in association with Affinity Photo, was judged by an expert jury of 25 photographers, scientists, journalists and editors.
Main image: God in the shadows, Santiago J. Monroy García, cupoty.com
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