Winners of the 2025 Close-Up Photographer of the Year
© Laurent Hesemans / CUPOTY
Good Boy. 1st Place, Invertebrate Portrait. A close view of a moth in Tinamaste, Costa Rica. Hesemans: “A favourite quarry of many macro photographers, it is always a lovely opportunity to spend time with members of the Bombycid family. Incredibly photogenic, the large eyes and antenna positions of these moths, especially the males, always lend their portraits a somewhat melancholy feeling. They are a lesson in beautiful subtlety and a reminder to always give even the simplest arthropods and small creatures a second, closer look.”
© Luis Arpa / CUPOTY
Featherhome. 3rd Place, Underwater. A crinoid shrimp, photographed in Tulamben, Bali. Arpa: “I’ve always been fascinated by the smallest creatures of the reef, those that most divers overlook. For a long time, I wanted to photograph these tiny critters from their own perspective, to show what their miniature world might look like if you were right there with them. In Tulamben, Bali, while exploring feather stars, I came across this crinoid shrimp. Perfectly camouflaged in both color and pattern, it clung tightly to its host, spending most of its time motionless, relying on the feather star for protection and food drifting in the current.”
© Bence Máté / CUPOTY
Fatal Jump. Finalist, Animals. A marsh frog leaps into the air just as a barn swallow flies past to drink from a garden pond in Kiskunság National Park, Hungary. Máté: “Human activities have drastically reduced the number of barn swallows. In addition to the creation of chemical-free, arthropod-rich habitats, the installation of artificial nests can play a major role in increasing the population. Thanks to these nests placed on the terraces of my farm, the population has increased from zero to 19 pairs in five years, more than half of which have bred twice. In one small garden pond, I spent a month photographing swallows drinking without landing, their beaks scratching the water. During this time, once, a marsh frog leapt into the air just as the swallow flew past.”
© Ross Gudgeon / CUPOTY
Fractal Forest. Overall Winner and 1st Place, Underwater. The inside of a cauliflower soft coral in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia. Gudgeon: “Named for its characteristic cauliflower-like appearance, this coral has numerous small, rounded, bump-like polyps that give it a puffy texture.”
© Manfred Auer / CUPOTY
Weevil. Finalist, Invertebrate Portrait. A weevil with its head tucked in, in the Amazon rainforest at Yarina Eco Lodge, Ecuador. Auer: “While walking behind a small hut in the rainforest at Yarina Eco Lodge, I was searching for subjects when I spotted this remarkable weevil. Its head was tucked in so seamlessly and was fully covered in tiny scales. For the background, I picked a small flower from the surrounding area to add some colour to the composition.”
© André Abbenhaus / CUPOTY
So What? Finalist, Animals. Alpine choughs in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland. Abbenhaus: “Despite icy winds and swirling snow, Alpine choughs searched for food at 2,268 meters on the Gemmi Pass in the Swiss Alps. They braved the elements with remarkable ease, riding the strong updrafts and returning to the snow-covered rocks between flights. One of them landed right in front of my camera, curious and unfazed by the cold. Snow, wind and sub-zero temperatures made photographing a challenge, yet it was precisely these conditions that gave the image its intensity: a fleeting moment of closeness between human and bird in the heart of a winter mountain storm.”
© Raghuram Annadana / CUPOTY
Blending In. Finalist, Arachnids. A lichen huntsman spider blends perfectly into a tree trunk covered in moss and lichen in Agumbe, India. Annadana: “During a trip to the Western Ghats, one of India's richest biodiversity hotspots, I came across countless fascinating macro species. Among them was this lichen huntsman spider, perfectly blending into a moss and lichen covered tree trunk. I used a wide-angle lens to reveal its remarkable camouflage and slowed the shutter to capture the soft blue bokeh of light filtering through the forest canopy.”
© Andre Johnson / CUPOTY
Kraken. Finalist, Underwater. A juvenile sharpear enope squid photographed in the open ocean off West Palm Beach, Florida. Johnson: “This image was captured during a blackwater night dive, where divers drift in the Gulf Stream to witness the nightly migration of planktonic, larval, and juvenile stage marine life. For this photo, the most challenging part was holding my position in the strong current while keeping the camera steady in complete darkness. The squid’s translucent body shimmered with iridescent speckles as it hovered and posed, just long enough to take the shot, a rather unusual behavior since most dart away quickly.”
© Jameson Hawkins-Kimmel / CUPOTY
Emerald Glow. 3rd Place, Young. A Cuban tree frog in the photographer’s backyard in Florida. Hawkins-Kimmel: “During the heat of the day, I uncovered this Cuban tree frog hiding in the leaf of a banana tree in my backyard. The frog was very calm and allowed me to slip a flashlight under the leaf to create this effect. My 100mm lens ensured that I didn't need to get too close, so as not to stress out the frog.”
© Simon Biddie / CUPOTY
Ghost of the Reef. Finalist, Underwater. A ghost goby on coral in Marsa Alam, Egypt. Biddie: “Small reef fish like this ghost goby are unassuming and often unseen, yet they contribute to 70% of fish biomass, making them critical to reef food chains. These ‘cryptobenthic’ fish evade predators by hiding in crevices or using camouflage. Growing to about 2cm long, ghost gobies are perfectly adapted for concealment amongst coral.”
© Raghuram Annadana / CUPOTY
Parasitic Play. Finalist, Insects. Banana skipper eggs being parasitized by a wasp in Bengaluru, India. Annadana: “While on a macro walk earlier this year, I spotted the familiar sight of banana skipper eggs neatly laid on a banana leaf. But as I peered closer through the lens, the scene turned unexpectedly dramatic. A tiny parasitic wasp was busy at work, slipping its own eggs inside those of the butterfly. Each butterfly egg is only about 1.8mm, and the wasp is even smaller.”
© Rithved Girish / CUPOTY
Guardians of the Hive. 1st Place, Young. A stingless-bee nest in Mezhathur, Kerala, India. Girish: “During my summer holiday in Kerala, India, I encountered a nest of stingless bees, likely from the Tetragonula family. Fascinated by the tiny wonders of nature, I make it a point to explore and learn more about the natural world whenever I visit India. These small yet remarkable bees had carefully built their home using wax, resin, and mud, creating a unique tube-shaped entrance to safeguard their colony. The guard bees at the entrance remained alert, ensuring the safety of their hive from potential threats.”
© Dmitrii Melgunov / CUPOTY
Dragonfly Alphabet Calligraphy. 3rd Place, Butterflies & Dragonflies. A beautiful demoiselle damselfly takes off from a reed in the surroundings of Gatchina, Russia. Melgunov: “Beautiful demoiselles are one of my favorite subjects. In this case, I managed to capture a shot of one taking off from a bent reed against the bright sky reflected in water. This angle allowed me to get a minimal, graphic image that I further enhanced by converting to black & white and increasing the contrast. The composition formed by the reeds resembled the letter ‘A,’ as if drawn by the damselfly in the fine calligraphic stroke of its airy flight.”
© Bence Máté / CUPOTY
Spider Web. 3rd Place, Animals. A Eurasian beaver approaches a spider’s web in Kiskunság National Park, Hungary. Máté: “Years ago, I managed to intervene at the last minute to stop the water department from clear-cutting trees along a 2km stretch of canal. Since then, we’ve worked together. I monitor and notify them of any trees obstructing water traffic, while they avoid unnecessary clear-cutting, preserving a thriving habitat. Beavers returned to this area in 2015, nearly two centuries after they were wiped out across most of Europe. Thanks to conservation efforts, their numbers have surged since the early 2000s, making them one of the few species to successfully reclaim their native range.”
© Amit Eshel / CUPOTY
Inside the Pack. 2nd Place, Animals. Arctic wolves on the sea ice in a frozen fjord on Ellesmere Island, Canada. Eshel: “Lying on the sea ice of a frozen fjord, I experienced a moment of pure magic when a pack of Arctic wolves approached me out of sheer curiosity. They came so close I could feel their breath, yet I never sensed aggression, only wonder. These wolves, unlike others, have never been hunted or threatened by humans. In the remote wilderness of northern Ellesmere Island, they have no reason to fear us. I had dreamed of this encounter for years.”
© Yuejian Zhao / CUPOTY
Blooming Butterflies. Finalist, Butterflies & Dragonflies. Eros blue butterflies rest together in Tianjun County, Qinghai province, China. Zhao: “It was a summer morning, and I was planning to photograph other wildlife when I happened to see these Eros blue butterflies. At first, I genuinely thought they were a patch of blue flowers, but as I got closer, I realized they weren't flowers at all, but butterflies resting. I was stunned by their beauty.”
© Bernard Van Elegem / CUPOTY
Bug Invasion on a Sunny Day. Finalist, Insects. Colorado potato beetles ravage a potato field in Afsnee, Belgium. Van Elegem: “I’ve been working for several years on a series about beetles and wanted to illustrate the power of beetle invasion and its devastating effect on crops. I found a field in Afsnee where most of the potatoes had been harvested and numerous adult Colorado potato beetles were still present, feeding on the scarce remains of foliage and unharvested potatoes.”
© Nadja Baumgartner / CUPOTY
Frozen. Finalist, Invertebrate Portrait. A globular springtail frozen onto a layer of ice on a small pond in Zurich, Switzerland. Baumgartner: “In January, when temperatures dropped very low, many ponds here in Switzerland froze over. I was hoping to find springtails on the ice as they always look so striking against it. I spotted this globular springtail that wasn't moving and took a few photos before realising it was actually frozen solid. I completed the stack and then breathed on it gently to free it. After warming up and cleaning itself off, it moved away from the ice.”
© Lubin Godin / CUPOTY
In the Crowd. Finalist, Young. A group of flamingos in Camargue, France. Godin: “It was the courtship season for flamingos. They were constantly lowering and raising their heads. I had this photo in mind and wanted one flamingo to be sharp in the middle of other blurred flamingos. So I concentrated on one particular flamingo and followed it with my eyes, only pressing the shutter button when it was surrounded by several other flamingo heads.”
© Fabio Sartori / CUPOTY
Flying Amongst the Down. Finalist, Insects. A ladybug flies away from hare’s tail grass in a meadow near Valpiana, Grosseto, Italy. Sartori: “I’d been looking for a shot like this for some time, and to get it, I took advantage of a feature on my camera called Pro Capture, which allows you to recover frames from before you fully press the shutter button. Thanks to this feature, I obtained a sequence of shots that included this one.”
Be sure to visit the CUPOTY website to see the full list of honored images.