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.

a photo by Guillaume Correa-Pimpao of a green frog sitting on a leaf — Guillaume Correa-Pimpao, “Guided by the Whistles.”

a photo by Dvir Barkay of two wet sloths holding each other close, one a mother and the other her child — Dvir Barkay, “In Mother’s Arms”

a close up photo by Jason McCombe of a Lichen Mantis — Jason McCombe, “Lichen Mantis”

a photo by Jan Pokluda of a dead blue insect being devoured by a mass of ants — Jan Pokluda, “The Beauty of Natural Cycles”

A Grey-headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) makes a high-speed belly-dip in a pool of water. — Douglas Gimesy, “Splash.”

a photo by Frensis Kuijer of a small groundsquirrel next to a dandelion puffball — Frensis Kuijer, “Flowered”

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