Stag Beetles Fighting, Bee-Eaters Flying, And A Camera Trap Bear: Marvel At The Winners Of Close-Up Photographer Of The Year

The sixth Close-up Photographer of the Year competition has come to a close in spectacular style with the winners announced in all 11 categories, as well as the overall champion. From more than 11,000 entries, the team whittled it down to the very best to award prizes in everything from Fungi & Slime Molds to Arachnids and even Studio Art. Let’s take a close-up look (see what we did there) at the winners.

The overall winner of Close-up Photographer of the Year 6 was awarded to Svetlana Ivanenko for her image, titled Clash of the Titans, of two male stag beetles battling. She scooped the £2,500 (approx. US$3,000) cash prize and trophy. Of her winning photograph, Ivanenko said “For a brief period in summer, stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) engage in fierce battles for mating rights. These elusive creatures inhabit oak forests, making them difficult to find. I travelled 700km [435 miles] to witness this beautiful event and I want to share it with everyone.”

The Young Close-up Photographer of the Year 6 was awarded to Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco for his stunning and bright image of a bee-eater above some wildflowers with an insect in its beak, titled Spring. He said “I captured this image in late spring in southern Spain. Having previously observed bee-eaters with binoculars, I knew exactly where they would fly after hunting insects.”

The first place in the Animals category was won by Santiago J. Monroy García from Colombia, for an image titled God in the Shadows of an Andean bear taken with a camera trap. 

Pierluigi Rizzo won first prize for Queen of Hearts, an image of a female Mediterranean black widow in the Arachnids category – this is the first time the category has featured in the competition. 

“Every year I’m fortunate enough to spend time with scientists, editors, naturalists, journalists and photographers while judging CUPOTY, and every year I’m blown away by the calibre of entries. Close-up photography is a celebration of curiosity, and this year’s Top 100 is a true testament to the artistry of everyone involved as well as an invitation to look, marvel at and honour the world around us,” said CUPOTY co-founder Tracy Calder in a statement sent to IFLScience. 

Inside the top ten of the Insects category includes Joris Vegter’s image of four snuggling gold-tailed Melitta bees asleep inside a flower. 

Sigfrido Zimmermann’s image of a white fir tree surrounded by giant sequoias took third in the Intimate Landscape category 

The Top 100 images and winners can be seen here. The seventh Close-up Photographer of the Year will open in May 2025.

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