CUPOTY 5 Category Winners

Read more about the 11 category winning pictures of Close-up Photographer of the Year 5 (2023).

Close-up Photographer of the Year 5 (2023)
Animals Winner
Csaba Daróczi

Photographer: Csaba Daróczi
Title: The Bird of the Forest
Nationality: Hungarian
Occupation: Photographer

Csaba:
‘In the winter of 2023, I took a lot of photos in a nearby forest. Almost every week I found a new topic that I perfected over several days. That's how I found this place surrounded by trees. I discovered a hollowed out tree stump, measuring around half a metre in diameter, and put my Gopro 11 camera inside it. The results were amazing. After a few days, however, I figured out that an animal would improve the composition. I placed a sunflower near the hole, which the mice and the birds found.’

Technical information:
Gopro 11
2.5/15 mm Lens
f/2.5, 1/5400sec, ISO 800
Remote controller
Basic adjustments in Lightroom

Website: www.daroczicsaba.hu
Instagram: @daroczics

Young Close-up Photographer of the Year 5 (2023)
Carlos Pérez Naval

Photographer: Carlos Pérez Naval
Title: Small Wonders
Nationality: Spanish
Age: 17

Carlos:
‘In the wall of some houses in Calamocha – the village in Spain where I live – it’s possible to find pyrolusites. These magnesium minerals create stunning formations, which look just like petrified trees, but they are so small that they’re tricky to spot. One day, I was lucky enough to find a Moorish gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) very close to the pyrolusite’s wall, so I tried to make the most of the encounter. I wanted to capture a gecko in the ‘petrified forest’ for a long time, but they only recently appeared in my village (probably carried in fruit baskets from hotter areas). Due to climate change they can now survive here..’

Technical information:
Nikon D500
Nikon 105mm f/2.8
f/18, 1/4sec, ISO 1250
Tripod
Basic adjustments in Lightroom

Instagram: @carlospereznaval

Insects Winner
René Krekels

Photographer: René Krekels
Title: Wood Ants Firing Acid Secretion
Nationality: Dutch
Occupation: Biologist

René:
‘I had been studying the lifestyle of wood ants in the Netherlands for work when I noticed the defending ants of a very large ant’s nest seemed eager to scare me off by spraying acid towards me. Luckily it wasn’t that destructive, and it provided me with a great opportunity to photograph them defending the nest.’

Technical information:
Canon R5
Canon EF 100mm f2.8 Macro IS USM
f/9, 1/125sec, ISO 320
Tripod and flashlights
Basic adjustments in Lightroom

Website: www.renekrekels.nl
Facebook: rene.krekels

Butterflies & Dragonflies Winner
Csaba Daróczi

Photographer: Csaba Daróczi
Title: The Wedding Guest
Nationality: Hungarian
Occupation: Photographer

Csaba:
‘I was photographing a wedding in a forest clearing in the beautiful surroundings of Uzsa, Hungary. The hall lights attracted a lot of insects to rest on the windows. At one point, I saw some guests taking pictures with their phones next to one of the red lights. As I moved closer, I noticed an oak peacock moth (Antheraea yamamai) had taken up residence on the window. I waited until everyone had finished their pictures, and then it was my turn.’

Technical information:
Nikon Z6
Nikon AF-S 24mm f/1.4G ED
f/1.4, 1/320sec, ISO 3200
Basic adjustments in Lightroom

Website: www.daroczicsaba.hu
Instagram: @daroczics

Invertebrate Portrait Winner
Tibor Molnar

Photographer: Tibor Molnar
Title: Jumping Stick
Nationality: American
Occupation: IT Manager

Tibor:
‘When we travelled to Ecuador, I knew there would be an opportunity to see jumping sticks in the Amazon region. When we found the first of several creatures, I was beyond excited. I had imagined this shot in my mind for a long time and it was incredible to actually have this opportunity to make it happen. The best way to describe these invertebrates is part walking stick part grasshopper! When they jump, they are not particularly graceful, and they tend to tumble around completely off-balance.’

Technical information:
Olympus OM-D-E-M1 Mk II
M. Zuiko 60mm f 2.8 Macro
f/5.6, 1/50sec, ISO 100
Godox v350o flash and Cygnustech Diffuser.
Seven frames stacked in Helicon Focus. Topaz DeNoise.

Instagram: @thetibormolnar

Underwater Winner
Simon Theuma

Photographer: Simon Theuma
Title: Dreamtime
Nationality: Australian
Occupation: Education Trainer

Simon:
‘Like an intricate tapestry of the marine ecosystem, this image captures the relationship between a commensal shrimp and a mosaic sea star. Dreamtime Aboriginal art reminds us of the delicate balance that exists in the grand tapestry of our natural world – this ancient wisdom serves as an important reminder to preserve what we have. To capture this image, I needed to use a snooted strobe, which was set at an acute angle to the subject. This set up accentuated the depth and beautiful texture of the two organisms. Additionally, I enhanced magnification by using a +15 wet lens dioptre.’

Technical information:
Nikon D850
Nikon 85mm f2.8G
f/14, 1/200sec, ISO 64
Sea & Sea Housing, YS-250 Pro Strobes, INON UCL67 +15 Wet Dioptre, Snoot.
Basic adjustments in Lightroom.

Website: www.simontheuma.com.au
Instagram: @simontheumaphotography
Facebook: Simon Theuma

Intimate Landscape Winner
Csaba Daróczi

Photographer: Csaba Daróczi
Title: Undertow
Nationality: Hungarian
Occupation: Photographer

Csaba:
‘In the first days of May, I always return to a small canal near Izsák, Hungary, where the water violet (Hottonia palustris) blooms in huge numbers. Unfortunately, flowering was delayed this year and only the leaves were still underwater. I was about to go home when I saw a tree had fallen over the canal and under its reflection the plants were clearly visible. I found it a very exciting subject and played with it for a while.’

Technical information:
Nikon Z6
Nikon AF-S 4/16-35 ED
f/9, 1/320sec, ISO 1250
Basic adjustments in Lightroom

Website: www.daroczicsaba.hu
Instagram: @daroczics

Plants Winner
Ria Bloemendaal

Photographer: Ria Bloemendaal
Title: Reflexion
Nationality: Dutch
Occupation: Retired remedial educationalist

Ria:
‘At Trompenburg Botanical Garden in Rotterdam, I saw this beautiful reflection in the water and it immediately inspired me to make an 'impressionist painting.’

Technical information:
Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L ISII USM
f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100
Tripod
Basic adjustments in Lightroom, cropped and flipped.

Website: www.riabloemendaal.nl
Instagram: @riabloemendaal33
Facebook: ria.bloemendaal

Fungi & Slime Moulds Winner
Barry Webb

Photographer: Barry webb
Title: The Ice Crown
Nationality: British
Occupation: Gardener / Photographer

Barry:
‘I found this one-millimetre-tall slime mould (Didymium squamulosum) in leaf litter carpeting a woodland floor in Buckinghamshire. It was a cold January day, and the frost had formed a crown shape on top of the fruiting body. I had to be very careful not to breathe on it. During a previous attempt with another slime mould, my breath had melted the ice when I inadvertently got too close.’

Technical information:
Olympus OM-D-E-M1 Mk II
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro
f/4, 1/2sec, ISO 200
Tripod, cable release, three extension tubes, Raynox 250.
74 images stacked in Zerene Stacker; basic adjustments in Lightroom and Photoshop; Topaz DeNoise.

Website: www.barrywebbimages.co.uk
Instagram: @barrywebbimages

Human Made Winner
Elizabeth Kazda

Photographer: Elizabeth Kazda
Title: Asymmetrical Threads
Nationality: American
Occupation: Artist

Elizabeth:
‘I enjoy pushing the limits of my camera's capabilities and experimenting with new techniques to capture ordinary objects. My collection of art supplies includes numerous spools of coloured thread from previous projects. I wanted to photograph this thread in a unique way and came up with the idea of wrapping coloured strands around an open picture frame. I placed the frame on a motorised rotating platform and set my camera to multiple-exposure mode. I captured 64 photos of the thread at 64 equidistant positions as I rotated the platform. Since I didn’t complete a 360° rotation, the design is asymmetrical. This is a meticulous process that requires patience. For this image, I used an in-camera multiple exposure of 64 frames to output a single Raw file.’

Technical information:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-85 mm
f/4.5, 1/5sec, ISO 64
Tripod, geared tripod head, remote shutter release, ring light.
Basic adjustments in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Website: elizabethkazda.myportfolio.com
Instagram: @elizabethkazda
Facebook: beth.kazda

Micro Winner
Gerhard Vlcek

Photographer: Gerhard Vlcek
Title: Beach Grass
Nationality: Austrian
Occupation: Senior project manager

Gerhard:
‘This image shows a 30μm cross-section of beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) stained with Auramin O and Safranin and viewed under fluorescence blue excitation. The grass came from a friend’s garden in Vienna. For the best results I had to slice the sample as thinly as possible. First, I fixed some stems in warm liquid polyethylene glycol. As it cools down, it turns solid, and the embedded stems were placed in a microtome and sliced with a sharp blade. Staining and preparing the sample was very tricky. I had to use the tiniest brush to manipulate the less than 1mm parts in different staining and chemical solutions before positioning the stems on the slide. After that, taking the photograph was the easy part!’

Technical information:
Nikon Z6 II
Olympus BH-2 microscope
Olympus SPlan Apo 10/0.40 microscope objective
1/3sec, ISO 100
Panorama stitching in Lightroom; basic adjustments in Photoshop.

Website: www.foto-vision.at
Instagram: @gerhardvlcek
Facebook: FotoVisionat