Winners Of The Close-Up Photographer Of The Year Awards Give Their Unique Perspective On the World

For the second year, the Close-up Photographer of the Year competition has spotlighted the small world that often passes under our noses, unobserved. Through micro, macro, and close-up photography, these photographers settle into the details and expose new aspects of our planet. This year's contest has had more entries than ever, with over 6,500 images submitted from photographers in 52 different countries.

"Little Winter Wonderland" by Alexander Mett (Germany). Finalist, Plants & Fungi. "This picture of a small group of mushrooms with icy caps was taken on a very cold winter's day, just one day before the end of the year on a 2.5 hour macro tour. I found the mushrooms in a wooded area near my home at Herbstein, Germany. For this picture I lay flat on the ice cold and hard floor to take the series of pictures as calmly as possible. For this focus stack I made over 130 handheld pictures."