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Photography

Zoom in on the winners of the 2019 Macro Art photography awards

By Rich Haridy
July 26, 2019
Zoom in on the winners of the 2019 Macro Art photography awards
2nd Place, Big Nose. Myjava, Trenčín, Slovakia. "This tiny snout beetle is actually a ‘true’ weevil of the family Curculionidae. I located it at about 6am in the morning in Myjava when I shot in manual mode to gain three separate images. My intention was to focus stack them to improve depth of field and sharpness"
2nd Place, Big Nose. Myjava, Trenčín, Slovakia. "This tiny snout beetle is actually a ‘true’ weevil of the family Curculionidae. I located it at about 6am in the morning in Myjava when I shot in manual mode to gain three separate images. My intention was to focus stack them to improve depth of field and sharpness"
View 17 Images
Highly Commended, Cockchafer. Criccieth, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom. "Head study of Melolontha melolontha (cockchafer beetle); relatively large and belonging to the scarab family. The name cockchafer means 'big beetle' in Old English."
1/17
Highly Commended, Cockchafer. Criccieth, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom. "Head study of Melolontha melolontha (cockchafer beetle); relatively large and belonging to the scarab family. The name cockchafer means 'big beetle' in Old English."
Commended, Red Dot. Bierbeek, Belgium. "A group of skeleton Physalis, only one of them had a fruit remaining. As they are almost monochrome, it looked to me like a pencil drawing, with the extra accent of the red fruit. The photo was taken on a lightpad with some white sand."
2/17
Commended, Red Dot. Bierbeek, Belgium. "A group of skeleton Physalis, only one of them had a fruit remaining. As they are almost monochrome, it looked to me like a pencil drawing, with the extra accent of the red fruit. The photo was taken on a lightpad with some white sand."
Commended, Woven. Nicosia, Cyprus. "The details of a swallowtail butterfly’s wings in macro looked like a woven tapestry or even the close-up RGB pixels from a monitor."
3/17
Commended, Woven. Nicosia, Cyprus. "The details of a swallowtail butterfly’s wings in macro looked like a woven tapestry or even the close-up RGB pixels from a monitor."
Highly Commended, Sunset Serenity. Pazin, Croatia. "A twin-spot fritillary butterfly (Brenthis hecate) in the fading light of a Croatian sunset."
4/17
Highly Commended, Sunset Serenity. Pazin, Croatia. "A twin-spot fritillary butterfly (Brenthis hecate) in the fading light of a Croatian sunset."
Finalist, Glamourpillar. Grosseto, Italy. "A caterpillar of a swallowtail butterfly in the early morning. This photo is a part of a series where I've put insects like butterflies, caterpillars and mantids on a glamorous stage using accessories giving a special bokeh. All achieved in-camera without digital manipulation."
5/17
Finalist, Glamourpillar. Grosseto, Italy. "A caterpillar of a swallowtail butterfly in the early morning. This photo is a part of a series where I've put insects like butterflies, caterpillars and mantids on a glamorous stage using accessories giving a special bokeh. All achieved in-camera without digital manipulation."
Commended, Cape Daisy. Shropshire, England, United Kingdom. "Compact stamens contrast against the soft pink petals of this Osteospermum (cape daisy)."
6/17
Commended, Cape Daisy. Shropshire, England, United Kingdom. "Compact stamens contrast against the soft pink petals of this Osteospermum (cape daisy)."
1st Place, Panta Rhei. Bremen, Germany. "Everything flows, the wonderful Anemone flowers from my garden are apparently in motion - they constantly change their shape and structure."
7/17
1st Place, Panta Rhei. Bremen, Germany. "Everything flows, the wonderful Anemone flowers from my garden are apparently in motion - they constantly change their shape and structure."
Finalist, Lotus Lamps. Indoor Studio, Denmark. "An intimate portrait of two lotus seedheads (Nelumbo sp.), they fascinated me intensely with their special shape and form. The seeds are used in Asian cuisine and traditional medicine."
8/17
Finalist, Lotus Lamps. Indoor Studio, Denmark. "An intimate portrait of two lotus seedheads (Nelumbo sp.), they fascinated me intensely with their special shape and form. The seeds are used in Asian cuisine and traditional medicine."
Finalist, Blue Eyes, Green Eyes. East Lake, Wuhan City, China. "A blue-eyed dragonfly rests on a small lotus head. The lotus leaf in front obscures the chaotic environment below. I took a low position and shot with a large aperture. Both the blue eyes of the dragonfly and the ‘eyes’ of the lotus are united in their gaze."
9/17
Finalist, Blue Eyes, Green Eyes. East Lake, Wuhan City, China. "A blue-eyed dragonfly rests on a small lotus head. The lotus leaf in front obscures the chaotic environment below. I took a low position and shot with a large aperture. Both the blue eyes of the dragonfly and the ‘eyes’ of the lotus are united in their gaze."
Commended, Wedding Vows. New Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. "The engagement of Veronica sp. captured in a ceremonial moment."
10/17
Commended, Wedding Vows. New Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. "The engagement of Veronica sp. captured in a ceremonial moment."
Finalist, Cold Morning Tips. Goričan, Croatia. "On a cold, early morning in March, a pair of Anthocharis cardamines (orange-tip) butterflies await the sun’s rays. Upon closer inspection frost covered grass is revealed, which disappeared just as the sun came up."
11/17
Finalist, Cold Morning Tips. Goričan, Croatia. "On a cold, early morning in March, a pair of Anthocharis cardamines (orange-tip) butterflies await the sun’s rays. Upon closer inspection frost covered grass is revealed, which disappeared just as the sun came up."
3rd Place, Vitrail. Goričan, Croatia. "This Orthetrum coerulescens (Keeled skimmer) female dragonfly was at rest by a pond. I was amazed by the beautiful, detailed wings of this dragonfly, especially with the translucent part of the wings as they glowed like panels of stained glass."
12/17
3rd Place, Vitrail. Goričan, Croatia. "This Orthetrum coerulescens (Keeled skimmer) female dragonfly was at rest by a pond. I was amazed by the beautiful, detailed wings of this dragonfly, especially with the translucent part of the wings as they glowed like panels of stained glass."
2nd Place, Big Nose. Myjava, Trenčín, Slovakia. "This tiny snout beetle is actually a ‘true’ weevil of the family Curculionidae. I located it at about 6am in the morning in Myjava when I shot in manual mode to gain three separate images. My intention was to focus stack them to improve depth of field and sharpness"
13/17
2nd Place, Big Nose. Myjava, Trenčín, Slovakia. "This tiny snout beetle is actually a ‘true’ weevil of the family Curculionidae. I located it at about 6am in the morning in Myjava when I shot in manual mode to gain three separate images. My intention was to focus stack them to improve depth of field and sharpness"
Highly Commended, Shower Fly. Myjava, Trenčín, Slovakia. "At about 5am in the morning in Myjava, I spotted this common housefly (Musca domestica). I wanted to gain maximum sharpness and clarity of every water drop, so I shot three separate images – with the intention to focus stack them."
14/17
Highly Commended, Shower Fly. Myjava, Trenčín, Slovakia. "At about 5am in the morning in Myjava, I spotted this common housefly (Musca domestica). I wanted to gain maximum sharpness and clarity of every water drop, so I shot three separate images – with the intention to focus stack them."
Highly Commended, Deutzia & Clematis. Portstewart, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. "Polarised light microscopy photograph of Deutzia stellate leaf hairs and a cross-section of a Clematis stem."
15/17
Highly Commended, Deutzia & Clematis. Portstewart, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. "Polarised light microscopy photograph of Deutzia stellate leaf hairs and a cross-section of a Clematis stem."
Commended, Ficus. Portstewart, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. "Thin longitudinal section of the developing fruit of a Ficus (fig) plant. Image coloured in Photoshop and displayed in reverse contrast."
16/17
Commended, Ficus. Portstewart, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. "Thin longitudinal section of the developing fruit of a Ficus (fig) plant. Image coloured in Photoshop and displayed in reverse contrast."
Highly Commended, The Banded Demoiselles. Reddish Vale Country Park, Stockport, England, United Kingdom. "Male and female banded demoiselle dragonflies on a sorrel plant. The contrasting blue and greens of the two sexes makes a wonderful colour harmony, matched by the symmetry of their poses."
17/17
Highly Commended, The Banded Demoiselles. Reddish Vale Country Park, Stockport, England, United Kingdom. "Male and female banded demoiselle dragonflies on a sorrel plant. The contrasting blue and greens of the two sexes makes a wonderful colour harmony, matched by the symmetry of their poses."
View gallery - 17 images

German photographer Lizzy Petereit has won this year's Macro Art Photo Project with a lovely close-up of an Anemone flower (inline below). Other celebrated images in the impressive competition include an extraordinary snap of a tiny snout-nosed beetle (above), and surreal cross-section of a developing fig fruit.

The Macro Art Photo Project is one part of the larger International Garden Photographer of the Year competition. The main competition, encompassing a massive variety of categories, is open for entries until later in October. However, several smaller "photo projects" run across the year, focusing on topics such as Black & White or Still Life photography.

1st Place, Panta Rhei. Bremen, Germany. "Everything flows, the wonderful Anemone flowers from my garden are apparently in motion - they constantly change their shape and structure."
1st Place, Panta Rhei. Bremen, Germany. "Everything flows, the wonderful Anemone flowers from my garden are apparently in motion - they constantly change their shape and structure."

The Macro Art competition is perhaps the most interesting side project, exploring the art of flora and fauna in profound close-up. Some of the celebrated entries in this year's competition reveal mesmerizing and magical perspectives of common insects and plants.

Highly Commended, Cockchafer. Criccieth, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom. "Head study of Melolontha melolontha (cockchafer beetle); relatively large and belonging to the scarab family. The name cockchafer means 'big beetle' in Old English."
Highly Commended, Cockchafer. Criccieth, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom. "Head study of Melolontha melolontha (cockchafer beetle); relatively large and belonging to the scarab family. The name cockchafer means 'big beetle' in Old English."

Hasan Baglar's incredible image of a swallowtail butterfly's wing reveals patterns of color that resemble pixels on an RGB monitor. Alan Price's highly commended portrait of a cockchafer beetle (above) offers an amusingly sassy look at a relatively common insect.

Take a look through our gallery at all of this year's amazing macro winners.

Source: IGPOTY

View gallery - 17 images

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Rich Haridy
Rich Haridy
Rich has written for a number of online and print publications over the last decade while also acting as film critic for several radio broadcasters and podcasts. His interests focus on psychedelic science, new media, and science oddities. Rich completed a Masters degree in the Arts back in 2013 before joining New Atlas in 2016.

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