Stunning Close-Up Photography: Top 5 Award-Winning Images from the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Awards

Award-Winning Image: Fractal Forest by Ross Gudgeon

Photo Credits: Ross Gudgeon/CUPOTY

Discover the beauty of nature through unique perspectives captured by top photographers. Check out the Close-up Photographer of the Year contest, showcasing stunning images revealing nature’s hidden wonders.

In the main image above, explore the delicate pink branches of Cauliflower Soft Coral. This stunning underwater photograph by Ross Gudgeon won the underwater category of the contest. Captured in Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait, Gudgeon positioned a small camera within a structure to create this enchanting shot. He carefully threaded through the branches of soft coral to avoid causing any damage.

Artur Tomaszek’s Award-Winning Photograph: “Dinner”

Photo Credits: Artur Tomaszek/CUPOTY

In this thrilling capture, a lynx spider is poised to attack unsuspecting termites. Taken by Artur Tomaszek, winner of the arachnid category, this dramatic image was shot during a downpour at a Hong Kong hot spring, where swarming termites provided an opportune moment for this shot. Tomaszek mentioned the challenge of photographing as thousands of termites were drawn to his camera flash.

Valeria Zvereva’s Winning Photograph: “Mushrooms in Nude Style”

Photo Credits: Valeria Zvereva/CUPOTY

The mesmerizing image captures light filtering through the intricate underside of a layered mushroom cap in Moscow, Russia, taken by Valeria Zvereva, the winner in the fungi and slime mold category.

Below, find a tranquil scene where decaying lotus leaves rest atop dark water, forming a delicate lace-like pattern interwoven with vibrant green ferns. Minghui Yuan, who won the top spot in the plant category for this photo, expressed that discovering the fern amongst the skeleton leaves felt like a representation of rebirth and hope.

Minghui Yuan’s Award-Winning Photograph: “Rebirth from Destruction”

Photo Credits: Minghui Yuan/CUPOTY

In this captivating portrait, Laurent Hessemans captured the big eyes of a charming scale moth in Tinamaste, Costa Rica. He received accolades in the invertebrate portrait category. Hessemans mentioned, “These exceptionally photogenic moths, especially the males with their large eyes and pronounced antennae, give a melancholic essence to their portraits.”

Laurent Hesemans’ Photograph: “Good Boy” (Invertebrate Category Winner)

Photo Credits: Laurent Hesemans/CUPOTY

Topics:

This rewritten version optimizes the content for search engines by including relevant keywords such as “nature photography,” “science news,” and “Close-up Photographer of the Year,” while maintaining the original HTML structure.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Winners of the 2024 Underwater Photographer of the Year Awards: 17 Captivating Images from Below the Surface

Alex Dawson’s stunning photo of a freediver examining a whale carcass has won this year’s award. Underwater Photographer of the Year.

“Whale Bones was photographed in the most extreme conditions,” explains jury chair and renowned photographer Alex Mustard. “A breath-holding diver descends below the Greenland ice sheet to witness a carcass. This composition invites us to think about the impact we have on the great creatures on this planet. Since the advent of humans, wild animals were reduced by his 85%.

“Currently, only 4 percent of mammals are wild animals, and the remaining 96 percent are humans and livestock. We need to change the way we do things to find a balance with nature.”

Portuguese photographer Nuno Sa has been named the Save Our Seas Foundation’s 2024 Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year. His photo, dubbed “Saving Goliath,” depicts a beachgoer’s futile efforts to save a stranded sperm whale off the coast of Portugal.

Underwater Photographer of the Year is an annual competition that celebrates the best underwater photography since 1965.

Today’s competition attracts entries from all over the world, with 13 categories testing photographers in themes such as macro, wide-angle, action photography, and shipwreck photography, as well as four categories specifically for photographs taken in British waters.

Below are the winners of this year’s contest and our favorite ranked images.

Winner – Macro Category

Pot-bellied seahorse (ventral hippocampus) Pictured surrounded by bright green corals with interesting patterns. Photographed on Bear Island, Australia. Photo credit: Talia Grace/UPY2024

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

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

young moray eel

Fu Liang/cupoty.com

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.”

Slime mold with an ice crown

Barry Webb | Cupoty.com

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.

Nuthatch flying between trees

Csaba Darozzi | Cupoty.com

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.

A flycatcher catches a leafhopper

Peter Grob | Cupoty.com

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.

fairy shrimp eggs

René Krekels/cupoty.com

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.

Cross section of European beachgrass leaves

Gerhard Vlcek/cupoty.com

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