Spectacular Winning Photos From The Close-up Photographer Of The Year 2023

Close-up Photographer of the Year: The Bird of the Forest by Csaba Daróczi

Hungarian photographer Csaba Daróczi has declared himself the 2023 Close-up Photographer of the Year. The captivating moment of a Eurasian nuthatch in mid-flight above a hollowed-out tree stump is captured in his winning entry.

In addition to a universal license for the Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher applications, Daróczi will get a £2,500 cash reward (about $3,100) in celebration of his grand prize achievement. In addition, he will get a trophy, a NiSi macro close-up lens, and a NiSi macro focusing rail (NM-200S) from Affinity Photo, the competition sponsor.

With around 12,000 entries from photographers in nearly 70 nations, the competition attracted a sizable audience. The top three photos from each of the 11 different categories—which include a special category for photographers under the age of 17—are presented below, with Daróczi’s outstanding shot taking home the coveted top spot in the Animals category.

More: Close-up Photographer Of The Year, Instagram

Animals – 2nd Place: Dune Wrestling by Victor Tyakht

Animals – 3rd Place: Natural Architecture by David Joseph

Butterflies & Dragonflies – Winner: The Wedding Guest by Csaba Daróczi

Butterflies & Dragonflies – 2nd Place: Letting Go by Steve Russell

Butterflies & Dragonflies – 3rd Place: Sunrise Beauty by Wim Vooijs

Fungi & Slime Moulds – Winner: The Ice Crown by Barry Webb

Fungi & Slime Moulds – 2nd Place: Autumn Emergence by Jay Birmingham

Fungi & Slime Moulds – 3rd Place: Fungi and Fairy Dust by Sophia Spurgin

Human Made – Winner: Asymmetrical Threads by Elizabeth Kazda

Human Made – 2nd Place: Colour Study 51 by Paul Gravett

Human Made – 3rd Place: Ferro Field by Jack Margerison

Insects – Winner: Wood Ants Firing Acid Secretion by René Krekels

Insects – 2nd Place: Mosquito Egg Raft by Barry Webb

Insects – 3rd Place: Circular Trenching Behavior by a Leaf Beetle by Liang Fu

Intimate Landscape – Winner: Undertow by Csaba Daróczi

Intimate Landscape – 2nd Place: Ice Fossiel by Piet Haaksma

Intimate Landscape – 3rd Place: The Sorcerors Apprentice by Jack Krohn

Invertebrate Portrait – Winner: Jumping Stick by Tibor Molnar

Invertebrate Portrait – 2nd Place: Orange Isopod by Manfred Auer

Invertebrate Portrait – 3rd Place: Dancing Sands, Violin Crab by Lior Berman

Micro – Winner: Beach Grass by Gerhard Vlcek

Micro – 2nd Place: Amoeba by Håkan Kvarnström

Micro – 3rd Place: Twisted Dandelion by Harald Cederlund

Plants – Winner: Reflexion by Ria Bloemendaal

Plants – 2nd Place: Tears in my Eyes by Wim Vooijs

Plants – 3rd Place: Golden Agave by Beth DeBor

Underwater – Winner: Dreamtime by Simon Theuma

Underwater – 2nd Place: Heart of the Sea by Liang Fu

Underwater – 3rd Place: Pinkaboo by Chris Gug

Young Photographer Of The Year – Winner: Small Wanders by Carlos Pérez Naval

Young Photographer Of The Year – 2nd Place: Comatricha Nigra by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas

Young Photographer Of The Year – 3rd Place: Dicyrtomina Ornata by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas