The Close Up Photographer Of The Year competition has unveiled its shortlist of amazing photos showcasing nature’s close-up, macro and micro photography.

With 25 judges assessing 11,681 photographs of the best of nature’s hidden wonders, the finalists list provides the base from which the Top 100 pictures will be selected in January, 2025.

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From a curious baby manatee timidly posing for the camera to small mites walking across the head of a dragon lizard and a cardinal fish carrying eggs in its mouth while hiding among the spines of a sea urchin, the Close Up Photographer Of The Year images are a window into the wonders of our natural world.

The contest include 11 categories: Animals, Insects, Butterflies and Dragonflies, Arachnids, Invertebrate Portrait, Underwater, Intimate Landscape, Plants, Fungi, Studio Art and Young.

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The publication of the shortlist takes photographers one step closer to the €3,000 cash top prize and trophy. Each category winner will win €300.

Close-up Photographer of the Year, founded in 2018 by photographers Tracy and Dan Calder, is the largest competition in the world dedicated to close-up, macro and micro photography. CUPOTY’s aim is to reveal the hidden wonders of the world.

Animals In Close-Up

Baby Manatee “poses” for a close-up: each winter, West Indian manatees gather in the freshwater springs of central Florida to escape colder waters.

They provide divers with a unique opportunity to connect with these gentle giants. “I captured this intimate portrait while free-diving early one morning, when the springs were quiet and nearly empty,” Remuna Beca explains.

“Aiming to create a close, personal perspective without disturbing their peaceful environment, I observed a mother and her calf from a respectful distance. Eventually, this curious young manatee approached me, swimming by repeatedly until it came close to my camera. At that moment, our eyes met— a gentle, unforgettable encounter filled with mutual curiosity and wonder.”

Satin Bowerbirds are native to Australia. Males, like the one in the picture, construct specialized stick structures called bowers, decorating them with blue and sometimes yellow objects. These items can be natural, but in urban settings they are often plastic. Females visit these bowers and choose mates based on their inspections.

The bowerbird in the photo appears to be holding a treat, likely intended for a visiting female.

“I was fortunate to find this male Satin Bowerbird building his bower in a secluded spot on the University of Wollongong campus in New South Wales, Australia,” Keith Horton says. “Half-hidden among the shrubbery, I watched and photographed the bird over a few days. This image is my favorite from the series. The campus’s busy environment has made the bowerbirds accustomed to being around humans.”

Louis Guillot stumbled on this emerald tree boa during a night walk in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.

“There were many mosquitoes in this area which were both biting me and the snake,” he remembers. “Between November, 2023, and July, 2024, I spent eight months in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest of Madre de Dios, volunteering for tourist lodges and conservation NGOs while capturing photographs of incredible wildlife.

“After a nine-hour trek in the jungle outside the Tambopata National Reserve, to watch the sunset, I was returning to camp and saw a vivid green flash so intense it looked artificial. Positioned just 1.5 meters above the ground, the snake presented an excellent photographic opportunity I had to seize despite my fatigue.

“Despite enduring over 150 mosquito bites in 40 minutes, the discomfort was worth it. The resulting photo features the boa with its tongue out, surrounded by mosquitoes, creating a special and unique image.”

This black stork was photographed in the Pusztaszer Landscape Protection Area in Hungary.

A tadpole swimming ‘alone on the road’.

“The pond in Germany was teeming with tadpoles,” says Tibor Litauszki. “Although the water was mostly covered in algae, clear spots revealed them particularly where reeds hung into the water. I composed the shot with a telephoto lens so it would look like a highway for the tadpole.”

Small mites walk across the head of a Kloss’ forest dragon lizard. The photo was taken in February, 2024, in the mountains south of Lake Danau Ranau in Sumatra, Indonesia.

“After several hours of trekking into the Sumatran forest we waited until nightfall to look for reptiles and amphibians,” says Aloys Pichard. “Some were active in the dark, others were resting on branches like this lizard.”

Animals Underwater

“Having captured many shots of a ribbon eel, I aimed for something more artistic,” Pietro Cremone explains. “The presence of colored tube worms just beneath the eel’s neck created a very pleasing background.”

Basket stars like to position themselves on the reef so they can reach higher into the water column for easier feeding. Their varied perching choices and arm positions create dramatic opportunities to capture their stunning patterns against the vibrant hues of their surroundings, making them Ofek Liepaz’s favorite underwater photography subject.

“In False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, basket stars are typically seen clinging to fans, with their feet tightly wrapped around them and their intricate tendrils stretching out to grab food,” he says. “Witnessing a basket star using its arms to grasp a sponge was unusual and resulted in a unique photograph unlike any other basket star image I have captured.”

László Földi noticed this small cardinal fish while diving in the waters of Malapascua Island, Philippines, a destination famous for its macro wildlife.

“It was only a few centimetres long, with its mouth full of eggs, seeking refuge among the spines of a sea urchin,” he recalls. “Capturing the image was challenging due to the moving sea urchin and its spines, but it beautifully illustrates the relationship between these creatures.”

Summer brings calm seas to South Florida, where a dedicated community of shore-diving photographers heads out to survey the world’s third largest coral reef for interesting wildlife.

In this case, the lizardfish grapples with a challengingly-large doctorfish, its eyes perhaps larger than its mouth.

The comically calm doctorfish steals the limelight, displaying a remarkable defense mechanism, with splayed pectoral and dorsal spines. As the lizardfish struggled for a few minutes, the doctorfish was eventually able to escape.

“I now have this image on my desk at work to remind myself that even on the tough days, ‘everything’s going to be A-OK’,” notes Gabriel Jensen.

Portraits Of Insects

“This is a stacked image of a live damselfly I encountered during an early morning macro outing this summer in Gaithersburg, Maryland,” Benjamin Sales says.

“Early morning is an excellent time to photograph damselflies. I placed a blue background card behind it to create a unique, cooler feel for the overall image.”

The beetle, grasped by the stink bug, was still struggling and fluttering to escape as Justin Chan snapped this photo in Hong Kong.

“I waited for a moment of stillness to take the shots,” he recalls. “As a naturalist, my primary goal is to document the fascinating lives of arthropods, learn about them, and share my discoveries.”

During last year’s drought in Texas, Jose Madrigal noticed hundreds of bees repairing to a common watering hole: “To capture this scene more compellingly, I experimented with angles and found that shooting at water level created a great reflection of the bees.”

Plants, Fungi and Landscapes

A beautiful patch of Pulsatilla glows in a limestone area on the edge of some woods. The setting sun cast its rays over the seed heads in the background, creating this striking effect.

As a marine biologist working in Southern California, Sigfrido Zimmerman scuba dives in kelp forests. This image was made at Santa Barbara Island in Channel Islands National Park.

“I singled out this particular giant kelp frond that was ever so slightly submerged underwater,” he says. “My goal was to evoke a calm flow throughout the image to help show the elegance of giant kelp.”

In the photograph, the giant kelp’s gas-filled bladders, blades, and stipe are quite visible. The bladders act as floats, helping the kelp stay upright in the water column. The blades or leaf-like structures are where photosynthesis occurs. The stipe holds everything together.

In ideal conditions, giant kelp can grow at a rate of up to two feet per day. When it reaches the surface, it continues growing and forms a canopy on the surface of the water. This image represents only a small portion of the canopy in this particular kelp forest.

“I love autumn and winter, and with the colors still vibrant, I found this tree bursting with hues—its leaves frozen in time, showcasing a diverse range of reds, oranges, and greens against the stark white of the frost-covered grass,” Paul Cronin notes. “To me, this is the reward for perseverance and the essence of being out with a camera. Nature is truly beautiful.”

The Jackpine-Crowberry Barrens, nearly unique to the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, were affected by the “Spryfield Fire” in 2009. Many Jack Pines were burned, leaving their skeletons amidst low-growing Broom Crowberry and huckleberry plants. In the fall, the huckleberry plants turn a vibrant red.

“The monochromatic tone of the dead wood against the vibrant huckleberry leaves made this my favorite shot of the day,” says Andrew Mielzynski. “It served as a reminder to stay open to unexpected scenes and not fixate on preconceived ideas or goals.’

Thomas Vanderheyden discovered this small clump of mushrooms in the Forest of Halatte, Oise, France, and took the photo among the undergrowth, with the light from the sun in the background.

While this image captures a family of mushrooms, it was inspired by Kira Armstrong’s love of dahlias. “In 2022, my flower photography sparked a desire to grow my own dahlias. The first year was challenged by drought, and in 2023, an unusually wet and humid summer limited the dahlia production. “However, this created a magical world of mushrooms in my backyard.

This cluster of mushrooms seemed as if they were posing for a family portrait.

All the Shortlisted Photos Of Close-Up Photographer Of The Year can be enjoyed here

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