Six Stunning Close-Up Photos from the Close-Up Photographer of the Year

In the deep waters surrounding Romblon Island in the Philippines, a small translucent moray eel larva spins its body into the shape of a heart. Photographer Liang Hu took this magical photo 28 meters below the water's surface during a night dive.Pictured are some of our latest winners Close-up Photographer of the Year competition.

“I was so lucky to be able to capture this moment on camera,” Fu said in a statement. “The eel stayed at that depth for less than 10 seconds before swimming down and disappearing into the darkness.”

Another winning image shows a gorgeous ice cap resting on a miniature slime mold (Didymium Squamrosum) grows on the forest floor at Hodgemoor, Buckinghamshire, England. Barry Webb's shot won the top prize in the fungi and slime mold category of the competition.

When I looked up at the sky, I saw a nuthatch (Citta Europaea) is flying among the trees in the Hungarian forest. These small, short-tailed birds are found throughout Europe and can be identified by their long blue bills, black eye stripes, and bluish-gray upper body. To take this photo, photographer Csaba Darozzi placed her GoPro camera inside a hollow tree stump and placed a sunflower nearby to lure wildlife.

Peter Grob's vivid photo shows the grasshopper, named for its extraordinary predation skills, about to lunge at an unlucky leafhopper. Mr. Grob, who works in airport security, came across the scene of a violent crime when he visited Penang Island in Malaysia.

The dazzling, colorful eggs of a female fairy shrimp can be seen in this close-up photo taken by German biologist René Krekels. This marine creature can be found in seasonal wetlands and highly saline lakes around the world, from the world's hottest deserts to the frigid climates of Antarctica. Fairy shrimp take 18 days to mature from hatching and have a lifespan of only a few months.

Gerhard Vlczek captured a fluorescent cross-section of European beach glass (Ammophila arenaria) through a microscope. The bright orange-red tubes are vascular bundles that transport food and water through the grass and encase the green tissue. In this shot, Vlcek sliced ​​

Source: www.newscientist.com