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1/23
Near his house
In
Hungary
, photographer
Csaba Daróczi
discovered a hollow tree stump about half a meter wide.
He managed to take the photo from inside the tree using a GoPro camera.
To attract the
nuthatch
, he placed a sunflower near the opening - with success.
The shot made him this year's winner of the Close-up Photographer of the Year competition.
Photo: Csaba Darócz / CUPOTY
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2/23
The competition is dedicated to micro and macro photography in eleven categories in order to show “the hidden wonders of nature”.
This fight between two bearded toad-headed dragons
, recorded by
Victor Tyakht
in the Kalmyk semi-desert in
Russia
, took second place in the animal category
.
He observed the agamas in the dune for months, and he was particularly fascinated by the territorial battles: “A whole ritual is staged that begins with various tail movements, followed by a demonstration of intimidating poses and a preparatory war dance, before culminating in a brutal fight , where the little lizards look like wrestlers on a sports mat.«
Photo: Victor Tyakht / CUPOTY
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3/23
Photographer
David Joseph
almost missed this photo of a
sac spider
in a curled blade of grass in
Nigeria
.
The spider had noticed him because his equipment had touched nearby grass.
"In the three to five seconds I had with her, my heart was pounding because I would have been so upset if I had missed the snapshot."
Photo: David Joseph / CUPOTY
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4/23
Arne Bivrin
captured
the encounter between a
gray heron
and a
small catfish
in
Hungary
.
Most photographers want to show birds in their entirety, says Bivrin, but he especially appreciates the detailed shots.
Photo: Arne Bivrin / CUPOTY
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5/23
Only at second glance do you realize that there are
tadpoles
gnawing on a dead young bird that
drowned in a pond in
Spain .
For photographer
Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahumada,
the photo is a metaphor: "It shows the harsh reality of nature, how the death of one person can mean life for another."
Photo: Juan J. Gonzalez Ahumada / CUPOTY
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6/23
Is there still room?
Two
common frogs
are mating, a
common toad
wants to join in.
Nathan Benstead
captured this scene
at a lake near Kent,
Great Britain
.
Photo: Nathan Benstead / CUPOTY
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7/23
Anyone who eats can also be eaten.
This is what happened to a
giant crab spider
that was attacked by a larger giant crab spider while eating its prey.
This is shown in the photo by
Peter Grob
, which he took
on a trip to
Malaysia .
Photo: Peter Grob / CUPOTY
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8/23
The photographer
Vida Istvan Tamas
was also fascinated by a pairing of toads, this time two
green toads
in
Hungary
.
Tamas said he particularly liked the color contrasts between the animals and the surface.
Photo: Vida Istvan Tamas / CUPOTY
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9/23
An
African elephant
enjoys a meal of water lilies on the Chobe River in
Botswana
, photographed by
William Steel
.
Every year, when floodwaters reach the river, the water turns into a field of water lilies.
Last year the effect was particularly impressive, says Steel.
He suspects this to be a combination of early, staggered floods and large amounts of water.
Photo: William Steel / CUPOTY
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10/23
Another water lily, but from a completely different perspective:
Small pools of water formed on the back of the leaf of a giant water lily in a botanical garden in
China .
They in turn took advantage of the
water spider
- and
Yuan Minghui
, who took this photo.
Photo: Yuan Minghui / CUPOTY
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11/23
The early sunlight in which this
dragonfly
dried its wings from the morning dew gives the photo its special atmosphere.
It was recorded by
Wim Vooijs
in the
Netherlands
.
Photo: Wim Vooijs / CUPOTY
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12/23
Here too, light plays a special role; photographer
Paula de Vreeze
even gave the image of frost on a mushroom in the
Netherlands
the name “Winter’s Tale”.
And thus made it to the finalist in the “Mushrooms and Slime Molds” category.
Photo: Paula de Vreeze / CUPOTY
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13/23
No, these aren't foam bubbles on a pond, they're a close-up of a
front door
, a finalist in the "Man-Made" category.
British photographer
Chris Mills
set out to take a photo every day of the year.
Because he suffers from agoraphobia (fear of crowds), he sometimes finds it difficult to go outside.
That's why he devoted himself to objects in his home, like the glass in his front door.
Photo: Chris Mills / CUPOTY
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14/23
Wood ants
defend their colony by spraying acid.
The target of the attack was photographer
René Krekels
in the
Netherlands
- he was unharmed and received first place in the "Insects" category.
Photo: René Krekels / CUPOTY
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15/23
In the first days of May, photographer
Csaba Daróczi
is always drawn to a small canal near Izsák,
Hungary
.
Countless water feathers
bloom there at this time
.
When he was there last May, he discovered that the flowering was late.
But he also liked the plant under water and brought him first place in the “Intimate Landscape” category.
Photo: Csaba Daróczi / CUPOTY
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16/23
Photographer Csaba Daróczi
called this image
“algae pizza
,” taken in a dried-out puddle in a floodplain on the Danube in
Hungary
.
Photo: Csaba Daróczi / CUPOTY
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17/23
This wrinkly natural spectacle occurs when thin
pahoehoe lava
hardens.
It was taken by photographer
Sonja Jordan
on the Canary Islands,
Spain
.
Photo: Sonja Jordan / CUPOTY
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18/23
Easy to miss: the nymph of a
leafhopper
sucks fluid from the leaf.
If no one bothers her, she will stay in this position for hours or days.
Photographer
Peter
Grob
caught her on a macro photo tour in
Malaysia
.
Photo: Peter Grob / CUPOTY
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19/23
Two
Lamproderma
, a genus of slime mold, look like aliens
in this photomicrograph from the
USA
by photographer
Alison K. Pollack .
Micro is the term for tiny subjects that need to be enlarged, while macro is the close-up of larger subjects.
Photo: Alison K. Pollack / CUPOTY
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20/23
For this photo,
the photographer
Gerhard Vicek placed
beach grass
in
Austria
under the microscope and colored it.
»Staining and preparing the sample was very tricky.
After that, taking photos was the easy part,” says Vicek.
The effort earned him first place in the “Micro” category.
Photo: Gerhard Vlcek / CUPOTY
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21/23
Pink was everywhere last year thanks to the huge success of the Barbie movie.
Photographer
Chris Gug
also found it underwater
near
Indonesia .
The golden damselfish
stands out particularly against the rich color of the corals
.
Photo: Chris Gug / CUPOTY
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22/23
The
gill-footed shrimp
is called “Fairy Shrimp” in English.
This close-up shot by photographer
René Krekels
makes it clear why.
The brightly colored animal has a special splash of color: the purple dots in the picture are eggs.
Photo: René Krekels / CUPOTY
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23/23
Offspring: A
Barbary macaque
in
Morocco
holds its young tightly in its arms.
The 14-year-old photographer
Arthur Cech
made it to the finalist in the “Young” category.
Photo: Arthur Cech / CUPOTY