18 Stunning Finalists From Close-Up Photographer of the Year
Every year, toward the end of summer, the Algarve in Portugal is inundated with juvenile chameleons. They become more active as the Sun climbs higher in the sky, setting off to explore the world around them.
The finalists for this year’s Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY) have been announced — a competition showcasing the very best of close-up, macro and micro photography.
A record 15,388 images were entered into this year’s competition. Everything from acrobatic chameleons and nose-picking birds to opportunistic ants and spawning salmon was put before a panel of expert judges.
This leafcutter bee was holding on for dear life on a sweet pea flower after rainfall. Taken in Shropshire, UK.
A blackish cinclodes or tussock bird picks at the nose of a resting southern elephant seal on Sea Lion Island, in the Falkland Islands. The tussock bird’s diet consists of invertebrates, but they are also known to feed on blood, nasal mucus, and damaged tissue of elephant seals. The seals do what they can to discourage the birds from feeding on their wounds.
A jewel-toned wasp (likely a spider wasp) subdues a spider. Instead of killing it, the wasp paralyzed it with its sting, transported it to its nest, laid an egg on it, and the emerging larva was able to feast on fresh food.
A male blue-eyed Darner hovers briefly in front of a red-winged blackbird perched on top of a cattail, as he obsessively searches for a female to mate with.
High above the Baltic Sea, an ancient beech forest glows in autumn colours atop the dramatic white chalk cliffs of Jasmund National Park on the island of Rügen, Germany.
This portrait of a woodlouse that the photographer found underneath a piece of bark in Surrey, England, is made up of a focus stack of 80 photos.
Spanning 11 galleries, the shortlist celebrates the hidden wonders of the world, with categories covering everything from Animals, Arachnids and Insects to Intimate Landscape, Studio Art and Underwater.
“Close-up photography has a wonderful way of revealing details and perspectives that often go unnoticed,” says competition co-founder Tracy Calder. “This year’s shortlist is a fabulous showcase of imagination, technical expertise and natural curiosity.”
The overall winner of CUPOTY 8 will be announced in January 2027.
