Close-Up Photographer of the Year Celebrates Minuscule Marvels and Delicate Details

 

The shortlist for this year’s Close-Up Photographer of the Year competition has arrived. After deliberating for a total of 20 hours on Zoom, 22 judges evaluated a record-breaking 12,557 photographs and consolidated its most promising contenders. Capturing the diversity of wildlife and nature landscapes across 11 unique categories, each photo highlights stunning close-up, micro, and macro perspectives.

CUPOTY’s Top 100 photos are yet to be selected from this collection in January 2026. Find the entire shortlist on the contest’s website, and in the meantime, follow Instagram for updates. Can’t get enough of these extreme close-ups? Immerse yourself in images from past cycles of the contest.

Guillaume Correa-Pimpao, “Guided by the Whistles.”

Glenys Steegh, “Xanthocnemis zealandica”

Dvir Barkay, “In Mother’s Arms”

Jason McCombe, “Lichen Mantis”

Jan Pokluda, “The Beauty of Natural Cycles”

Douglas Gimesy, “Splash.”

Frensis Kuijer, “Flowered”

Minghui Yuan, “Home on the Leaves”