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.

"Cheshire Gecko" by Bernhard Schubert (Austria). Finalist, Animals. "The impudent expression of this cat gecko (Aeluroscalabotes felinus) reminded me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. In fact, this creature gets its name from the way it curls up its tail to cover itself while asleep, similar to a cat. I found this individual during a night walk through the Kubah National Park on the island of Borneo (Malaysia). I carefully placed an external flash under the leaf and the gecko so that some parts of its head were illuminated. Adjusting the flash even slightly resulted in a completely different picture."