Life in the Verticals, Winner, One Color Frame Challenge
Alena Shevtsova, Russia, Close-up Photographer of the Year
The winners and finalists in these Close-Up Photographer Of The Year contests are a reminder that something beautiful can be found by simply slowing down and looking closely at the small ordinary offers of nature.
Alongside the main annual competition, the CUPOTY organization runs themed competitions designed to provide regular opportunities for photographers to showcase their close-up, macro and micro images, including Something Beautiful, One Color Frame, Water, Two Of A Kind and Minimal.
Launched in 2018, the Close-up Photographer of the Year competition supported by Affinity Photo reveals the hidden wonders of the world through close-up, macro and micro photography. It’s open to anyone and runs from May to July.
The photo above by photographer Alena Shevtsova entitled “Life in the Verticals,” of grasshoppers trying to disguise themselves on the blades of grass, was the winner of the One Color Frame challenge.
Linda Repasky of the U.S. is the winner of the Something Beautiful Challenge, with her image “Abstract Puddle Reflection” (below) that was taken with an iPhone and finds beauty in an ordinary puddle.
By looking closely at the pavement she has revealed textures, colors and details that many of us would simply walk past.
Tracy Calder, co-founder of CUPOTY, highlighted the image’s success in finding beauty in the mundane: “You don’t need exotic locations or specialist equipment to capture something beautiful.”
Close-Up Photographer: Something Beautiful Challenge
Puddle Reflection, Winner, Something Beautiful challenge
Linda Repasky, U.S, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“In late autumn, after the leaves have fallen from the trees, the landscape shuts down and heads toward slumber,” Linda Repasky explains. “But in this tiny puddle, the reflection of a bare tree comes alive with soft colors amid a scattering of acorns and pebbles. Puddles, so ordinary and humble, and so easily overlooked, are a source of endless beauty and magic.”
At The Hub, 2nd Place, Something Beautiful Challenge
Michael Friel, Ireland, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“These tiny spiders appear for a short time during autumn,” says Michael Friel. “When the forecast promises a sunny day, I visit an ornamental tree nursery in Jinju, South Korea, in search for horizontal webs strung across upper branches. As the sun rises, rainbow refractions appear along the web strands. The spider poses proudly, never moving.”
Slime Moulds and Reflections, Third Place, Something Beautiful Challenge
Kamilla Szava-Oberndorfer, Austria, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“During a walk in the woods near Vienna, Austria,” Kamilla Szava-Oberndorfer recalls, “I found a group of Physarum fungi on a dead branch, lying on the woodland floor. On closer inspection, I spotted water droplets on some of the fruiting bodies. Due to their size (1–2mm) it was a challenge to find one with an interesting reflection.”
Tulip Gift in Ice, Finalist, Something Beautiful Challenge
Kathleen Clemons, U.S., Close-up Photographer of the Year
“A friend of mine had surprised me with a bouquet of tulips,” says Kathleen Clemons. “As the flowers aged and the petals unfurled, I decided to freeze some of them—they lose their color during this process. I arranged the tulips in a shallow baking pan with a small amount of water to anchor them and added more water when that base layer had frozen, leaving some petals above the water line. I love the contrasting textures.”
Deluge, Finalist, Something Beautiful Challenge
Noelle Bennet, New Zealand, Close-up Photographer of the Year
Noelle Bennet loves loves the form of achillea flowers. “In this case,” she says, “I took a flower that was in full bloom and submerged it in a container of cold water. I placed the container and flower inside a foldable light studio and dripped evaporated milk into the container above the flower. I like the drama this technique adds to such a pretty, but somewhat overlooked, flower.”
Miracle, Finalist, Something Beautiful Challenge
Yann Raulet, France. – Close-up Photographer of the Year
“In my floating hide on the Lirou–a small river in the south of France near Montpellier–I patiently waited for a kingfisher to land in front of my lens,” Yann Raulet said. “Sadly, it didn’t happen. To pass the time, I started photographing ripples in the water. Suddenly, a common pond skater joined the dance. For it, walking on water wasn’t a miracle, but for me the scene was pure magic.’”
Squid on the Run, Finalist, Something Beautiful Challenge
Alessandro Grasso, Italy, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“I was on a night dive in the Red Sea at Marsa Alam, Egypt, when I suddenly noticed a squid right in front of me,” said Alessandro Grasso. “As I approached, it sped away, only giving me the chance to take two shots.”
Green Meshweaver Finalist, Something Beautiful Challenge
Ryan Dale, UK, Close-up Photographer of the Year
Ryan Dale saw a few Green Meshweaver spiders on ivy leaves while gardening and felt compelled to grab his camera: “Its tiny size meant that each gust of wind ruined the shot, so I sat patiently until the air was still to achieve the picture I had in mind.”
Close-Up Photographer: In The Water Challenge
The Ice Skater, Third Place, Water Challenge
Sebastien Blomme, France, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“For a long time, I had wanted to capture the graceful ballet of damselflies flying over the Garonne (the river that winds near my home),” Sebastien Blomme said. “It’s enchanting to observe hundreds of these creatures circling, skilfully capturing midges and other insects in mid-flight every summer. One day, I settled in the water at a spot where I had noticed a damselfly regularly returned to rest and waited, hoping to capture the moment when its wings would be spread in all their glory. After a hundred attempts, I finally got it.”
Milking Bonnets, Finalist, Water Challenge
Tony North, UK , Close-up Photographer of the Year
Tony North was delighted to find this “clump of mushrooms with an almost perfect shape in Marbury Country Park, U.K. I lit the scene from behind to fill the bonnets with light and illuminate the droplets I created with a fine mist spray.”
Long Over Dew, Finalist, Water Challenge
Pete Burford, U.K., Close-up Photographer of the Year
Another damselfly is immortalized when Pete Burford snaps it at Mousecroft pool in Shrewsbury. “I photographed this damselfly covered in dew during the early morning hours, at around 3 a.m., in May. Given that insects are cold-blooded and need warmth to move, they typically rest at night. The sudden drop in temperature causes dew to cling to them. This moment is ideal for portraits as they cannot move or fly. As they warm up with the rising sun in the morning, they wipe away the moisture and fly off.”
Periscope, Finalist, Water Challenge
Marco Maggesi, Italy, Close-up Photographer of the Year
Marco Maggesi spotted this “beautiful” snake as it hunted for pray in a pond and snapped in soft light on a cloudy day.
One Color Frame Close-Up Photographer
Nigella Flower in Evening Light, 2nd Place, One Colour Frame Challenge
Molly Hollman, U.K., Close-up Photographer of the Year
“I was shooting flowers in my garden during the summer and, as I was photographing this particular Love in a Mist Nigella flower, my son wearing a blue T-shirt walked past in the background,” Molly Hollman explained. “The evening light was very soft and the flower almost seemed to glow.”
Hello World!, Finalist, One Colour Frame Challenge
Alex Pansier, Netherlands, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“Autumn is my favourite season in The Netherlands,” Alex Pansier said. “The rich, warm tones of this leaf appealed to me and the sight of this happy red ant peering through the gap made me smile. The image was taken in a dark forest.”
Discretion, Finalist, One Colour Frame challenge
Lydie Bréda, France, Close-up Photographer of the Year
Lydie Bréda spotted this dragonfly on a lakeside blade of grass: “I wanted to take a shot from the front so that only the eyes could be seen, but it was a little windy so keeping them both in focus was a challenge. It took several attempts before I was finally happy with the result.”
Intimate Touch, Finalist, One Colour Frame Challenge
Ann Newman, U.S., Close-up Photographer of the Year
“As I pulled organic hen eggs from a carton, noticing how each was individualistic in size and shape with unique tan tones, I started sorting them to find a complementary pair,” said Ann Newman. “ To support my wobbly models, I cut the bottom out of two cups of the carton and for the backdrop I found a piece of decorative paper with a similar hue. When I showed this image to my 91-year-old mother the ‘nude’ look made her raise her eyebrows.”
Dance With Me, Finalist, One Colour Frame Challenge
Ryan Ostrea, Australia, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“I was working in the backyard one afternoon when I noticed this wild flower growing nearby,” said Ryan Ostrea. “It caught my attention because it reminded me of a person dancing with their arms extended.”
Winter Wonderland, Finalist, One Colour Frame Challenge
Bianca Blonk, Netherlands, Close-up Photographer of the Year
“This picture was taken in the Scottish mountains on a very cold snowy day,” said Bianca Blonk. “During winter, mountain hares have a white coat and are less active than in the summer to reserve energy. This image was made just before the hare started cleaning himself.”
See all the CUPOTY Challenge ‘Something Beautiful’ winners and finalists here.
The Close-Up Photographer Of The Year main competition will open for entries in May and close in July.
MORE FROM FORBES
