Organizers of the Close-Up Photographer of the Year contest set up a challenge outside their normal competition, and this year’s theme was “Minimal,” aiming to “celebrate images with a minimalist style.” The winners of the challenge were just announced; Ferenc Kocsis’ image of Danube mayflies in flight took the top prize. Organizers have once again been kind enough to share some of the winners and shortlisted images with us below.
Winners of the 2023 Close-Up Photographer of the Year Challenge: Minimal
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Goose Bumps. Third Place. Gerrits: "In Varanger, Norway, a mountain hare (Lepus timidus) sits quietly in a snowstorm very close to midnight. It was a rough winter evening in the very far north of Norway. I was sitting down, and my goodness I was cold, chilled to the bone, waiting for signs of life. Thankfully, I got lucky. This hare seemed to have some form of piloerection (the equivalent of human goosebumps), which made its hair stand on end." #
© Stefan Gerrits / cupoty.com -
Spider. Finalist. Swart: "A spider had spun its web right in front of our attic window, allowing me to photograph it against the sky. Due to overexposing by one f-stop, it appeared almost plastic and transparent." #
© Gabi Swart / cupoty.com -
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In Her Wedding Dress. Overall Winner. Kocsis: "This female Danube mayfly, swollen with egg clusters, flies over the Danube River in Hungary and lays its eggs close to where it was born. The larvae that live in the riverbed hatch in April, and in the last stage of their development, in August, they fly for the last dance of their one-year life." #
© Ferenc Kocsis / cupoty.com -
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Stand By. Finalist. Mácsai: "I was walking with fellow students of my photography class in the forests of Normafa, Budapest, looking for interesting macro subjects. It was autumn and the forest was full of cyclosa spiders. I had to be very careful not to harm its web." #
© Krisztina Mácsai / cupoty.com -
Outer Space. Finalist. Pansier: "This is not Earth from outer space but the swirling body of an elephant seal. A few years ago, I went on a photo tour to Antarctica with a stopover in South Georgia. The beaches were teeming with fur seals and elephant seals. This particular one was so relaxed I managed to photograph it quietly with some nice backlight in low key—my favorite style." #
© Alex Pansier / cupoty.com -
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