This year’s winner Close Up Photographer of the Year has just been announced. The overall winner is a stunning image of two stag beetles, captured by Subetrana Ivanenko, and appropriately titled “Titan’s collision.”
Each year, stag beetles engage in intense battles for mating rights, and this image perfectly captures the dramatic clash between two males in a mesmerizing setting.
Andres Lewis Dominges Blanco from Spain secured the young close-up photographer award with a vibrant photo of a European Hachikui with insects on its beak.
Other notable mentions include a breathtaking image of the Andesquema emerging from the rainforest, captured by a camera trap.
Insect section winner
Two Lucanus Cervus beetles competing for dominance in the Russian Voronezh region. Photo credit: Svetrana Ivanenko/Cupoty
Butterfly and dragonflies winner
Attombo (Archineura Incarnata) resting on a rock near a flowing waterfall at Tenshiyama Nature Reserve in Zhejiang Province. Photo credit: Yong Miao/Cupoty
Invertebrates Portrait Division – 3rd place
A lynx spider blending in yellow flowers in an Austrian garden (Ooya Manko). Photo credit: Manfred Auer
Underwater section runner-up
Leafy sea dragon swimming with a rough bullseye fish (Pempheris Klunzinger) in Rapid Bay, South Australia. Photo credit: Jenny Stock/Cupotey
Young photographer division winner
European Hachikui flying with insects on its beak. Captured in southern Spain in spring 2023. Photo credit: Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco/Cupoty
Animal category winner
Andeskuma standing amidst dense foliage in the tropical rainforest of Eco Palacio Nature Protection Area, La Chorrera, Colombia. Photo credit: Santiago J. Monroy Garcia/Cupoty
Fungi division winner
Ear-pick mushrooms growing in pine cones, about 15mm tall. Photographed in New Forest, UK. Photo credit: Barry Webb/Cupotey
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Plant category winner
Moss covered in dewdrops in a garden in the Netherlands. Photo credit: Piet Haaksma/Cupotey
Young photographer category – 3rd place
Detailed macro shot of a spherical tobimushi infected with Pandora Batalata fungus. Photographed in Berlin, Germany. Photo credit: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas/Cupoty
Animal section – 3rd place
Pine marten captured by a motion-activated camera in the forests of Kiskunság, Hungary. Photo credit: Csaba Daróczi/Cupote.com
Intimate landscape category winner
Etched tunnel of the Ips typographus larva under bark in Le Monar, French Alps. Photo credit: Jean-Philippe Delobelle/Cupoty
Invertebrate animal portrait category winner
Caerostris spider resting on a stick in a Malaysian jungle. Photo taken in Semenyih near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo credit: Alain Gibbs
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Botanical runner-up
Spiranthes spiralis wild orchid captured in a spiral shape symbolizing natural regeneration. Photo taken in Toulouse, France. Photo credit: Sébastien Blomme/Cupoty
Underwater category – 3rd place
Coral reef goby protecting eggs on a blue sac in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia. Photo credit: Said Rashid/Cupoty
Spider category winner
Female LaTrodectus tredecimguttatus consuming prey in Abruzzo National Park, Italy. Photo credit: Pierluigi Rizzo/Cupoty
Studio Art Division winner
Microscopic observation of crystals of amino acids beta alanine and L-glutamine. Photo credit: Rob Blanken/Cupoty
Animal category runner-up
Pair of Rhinolphus hipposideros bats returning to abandoned iron ore mine. Photo taken in Börzsöny hills, Hungary. Photo credit: Imre Potyo/Cupoty
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Underwater category winner
Struggling Acanthurus chirurgus fish caught in lizard’s jaws. Photo taken in Kona, Hawaii, USA. Photo credit: Gabriel Jensen/Cupoty
Young photographer sector – 3rd place
Detailed macro shot of Muscidae sp. fly feeding on Sarcophagidae sp. fly. Photo taken in Brandenburg, Germany. Photo credit: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas/Cupoty
Bacterial section runner-up
Group of dandelions emitting spores in Kuribayashi, Spain. Photo credit: Jose Luis Gigirey Gonzalez/Cupoty
