Close-up Photographer of the Year ends 31 May 2023

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Deadline: 31 May 2023. The fifth Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY), in association with Affinity Photo 2, is now open for entries!

The competition reveals the hidden wonder of the world through close-up, macro and micro photography.

There are 11 categories: Animals, Insects, Butterflies & Dragonflies, Invertebrate Portrait, Underwater, Plants, Fungi & Slime Moulds, Intimate Landscape, Human Made, Micro (for images made with a microscope) and Young (for under 18s).

It is open to anyone of any age from any country using a camera, mobile phone or microscope to make images.

The photographer who takes the best picture, decided by our expert jury, wins the £2,500 cash grand prize, trophy and Close-up Photographer of the Year title.

The Young Close-up Photographer of the Year (for under 18s) wins a SIGMA 105mm F2.8 DG DN MACRO Art lens worth £700 and trophy.

It’s not all about the winning though. Our celebrated shortlist galleries bring together hundreds of photographers to gauge the current state-of-play in close-up photography. The unique vision, creative approach and individual experience of each photographer collected in the gallery will help viewers see the world anew.

The Top 100 images will appear in the winner’s gallery as a permanent exhibition at www.cupoty.com. These images will be seen by millions of people around the world through newspapers, magazines, websites and social media.

Pictures from last year’s contest were published in The Guardian, Der Spiegel, The Daily Telegraph, Amateur Photographer, NaturFoto, Outdoor Photography, Roots NL, Nautilus and National Geographic Kids among others and featured on over 70 websites.

The jury is made-up of world-class photographers and editors: Karine Aigner, Nigel Atherton, Sue Bishop, Tracy Calder, Jaime Culebras, Matt Doogue, Guy Edwardes, Wim van Egmond, Angel Fitor, Steven Friedman, Viktoria Haack, Ross Hoddinott, Brendan ‘Cygnus’ James, David Maitland, Scott Portelli, Sadie Quarrier, Bart Somers, Georgina Steytler, Rachael Talibart, Robert Thompson and Keith Wilson.

The Early Bird deadline is May 31st, 2023. Enter by then and save 10%. The final deadline for entries is July 9th, 2023. It only takes 2 minutes to enter and you have until July 16th to send in your pictures.

We can’t wait to share your wonder!

Prizes:

Overall winner
• £2,500
• Universal License for all three Affinity apps (Photo, Designer + Publisher) for macOS, Windows & iPadOS
• NiSi macro focusing rail NM-200S + macro 77mm close up lens
• Trophy
• Digital certificate and badge

Category winners
• £250
• Universal License for all three Affinity apps (Photo, Designer + Publisher) for macOS, Windows & iPadOS
• NiSi macro focusing rail NM-180 (for the Plants winner)
• Digital certificate and badge

Young CUPOTY winner
• SIGMA 105mm F2.8 DG DN MACRO | Art lens worth £700
• Universal License for all three Affinity apps (Photo, Designer + Publisher) for macOS, Windows & iPadOS
• Trophy
• Digital certificate and badge

Photo Contest Website: http://cupoty.com/