The best photography makes you slow down and notice something that might otherwise go overlooked — and the finalists for the eighth edition of Close-Up Photographer of the Year do just that.
The shortlisted images were just revealed out of a record 15,388 submissions across 11 categories. The above shot, titled “Golden dust,” is one of the contenders in the animals category and features a Eurasian hoopoe taking a dust bath outside of Aurangabad, India. The dust helps remove excess oil from the bird’s feathers so they don’t stick together, but according to photographer Sarthak Agrawal, the swirling particles also make a good shot “especially difficult” (and thus especially impressive).
“This year’s shortlist is a fabulous showcase of imagination, technical expertise, and natural curiosity,” competition co-founder Tracy Calder said in a press release shared with Nice News.
The top 100 pics and the winning photographers will be announced in January, but submissions aren’t closed just yet. The competition holds an adjacent challenge that follows a specific theme, and this year’s is “Close to Home.” Hopeful shutterbugs of any age and skill level have until Nov. 30 to enter and Dec. 7 to upload their pics to the website.
“Proving you don’t have to travel far to find something extraordinary,” the website states about the theme choice, which was voted on by the public. “We’re looking for close-up, macro, and micro photographs taken in a home and its immediate surroundings: the home’s rooms, outbuildings (such as sheds, garages, and greenhouses), garden, balcony, doorstep, or the street directly outside. This may be your own home or the home of family or friends.”
Scroll to view a selection of the shortlisted images.
Studio Art: “Rose Thorns” by Donald Bolak
“Fairly high level of magnification for a macro shot of a single rose thorn. The larger thorn is about 3/8 inch high. This is one of the things I enjoy most about macro — discovering sights unseen and unimagined. In this case a slightly surreal and alien landscape where rose thorns can be mountain peaks.”
Young: “A Little Punky” by Oliver Lacey
“I photographed this male Green Jumping Spider (Mopsus mormon) with its characteristic (and rather impressive) mohawk hairstyle in my suburban backyard in Brisbane, Australia.”
Invertebrate Portrait: “Isopod portrait” by Adam Ferry
“I found this woodlouse resting underneath a piece of bark in a local woodland in Surrey, England. As it was fairly cold the woodlouse remained perfectly still allowing me to capture this focus stack of 80 photos. I love the high level of detail I could due to the increased magnification as the portrait filled most of the frame.”
Underwater: “Rockpool Sanctuary” by Lisa Skelton
“Young elephant seal pups or ‘weaners’ gather around natural rock pools on the Falkland Islands, using the protected waters to practice swimming and diving until they are ready to venture out to sea.”
Intimate Landscape: “Where Worlds Collide” by Johannes Kowalewski
“High above the Baltic Sea, an ancient beech forest glows in autumn colorrs atop the dramatic white chalk cliffs of Jasmund National Park on the island of Rügen, Germany.”
Animals: “Nosepick” by Steffen Foerster
“A blackish cinclodes or tussock-bird (Cinclodes antarcticus) picks at the nose of a resting southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) on Sea Lion Island, in the Falkland Islands.”
Insects: “Spoonwing” by Lucien Harris
“I followed this spoonwing for over 10 minutes as it clumsily flew along the border of an overgrown field in the Peloponnese region of Greece, waiting for the perfect backdrop to compose a photo of this beautiful creature.”
Underwater: “Fish Out of Context” by Marco Domenicucci
“A shoal of goldfish swim in an urban pond inside a metropolitan business district. Two worlds divided by a thin waterline: glass and concrete above and an aquatic ecosystem below.”
Young: “Fight for the Perfect Fishing Spot” by Sasha Jumanca
“I managed to photograph these two blue kingfishers in December while they were defending their fishing territory in Schlosspark Nymphenburger, Munich. They faced each other directly and even tried to push one another under the water, showing how they compete for the best spots. This kind of behavior is quite rare, as kingfishers usually defend their territory by calling or chasing each other, rather than through physical contact.”
Intimate Landscape: “Untitled 14” by Lukas Furlan
“I was already fascinated by this scene, but rotating the image later revealed an entirely different world, almost like looking through a portal. It’s a reminder of the magic of experimentation and unexpected discoveries in photography.”
Animals: “Suspended” by Joao Pontes
“In Portugal, there is no reptile quite as remarkable as the chameleon. Every year, towards the end of summer, the Algarve fills with juvenile chameleons. Naturally discreet, they become more active as the sun climbs higher in the sky, setting off to explore the world around them. Here, at the edge of the ocean, they inhabit the coastal dunes. At their scale, the slender stems of sea pinks become towering lianas, suspended pathways through this sandy jungle. To capture this image, I used a fisheye lens, aiming for a composition that would reveal not only the chameleon itself, but also the perhaps unexpected habitat it calls home.”
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