ByCecilia Rodriguez,
Senior Contributor.
Discovering the hidden beauty of nature up close, the Close Up Photography 2025 competition (CUPOTY) celebrates the most extraordinary details of our planet — from a bat’s high-speed belly-dip into a pond to the delicate structure of a spider’s web. This year’s shortlisted selection features the best close-up, micro and macro photos chosen from 11,681 entries across 11 categories.
Now in its seventh year, CUPOTY has grown into the world’s leading competition dedicated entirely to macro, micro, and close-up photography. Founded in 2018 by photojournalists Tracy and Dan Calder, the contest encourages photographers to slow down, observe the small wonders around them and forge deeper connections with nature.
Revealing the details most people overlook, the shortlist, according to the organizers, “provides the ultimate showcase of close-up photography, from which the Top 100 pictures and winners will be announced in January, 2025.”
