Photography

Little things, grand visions: The best small photography of 2020

Little things, grand visions: The best small photography of 2020
WINNER 'First Light'. Bogra, Bangladesh
WINNER 'First Light'. Bogra, Bangladesh
View 23 Images
'Close up of a Damselfly'. Bilbao, Spain
1/23
'Close up of a Damselfly'. Bilbao, Spain
'Da Nang Perspectives'. Da Nang, Vietnam
2/23
'Da Nang Perspectives'. Da Nang, Vietnam
'Drop with daisy. Gota con margarita'. Málaga, Spain
3/23
'Drop with daisy. Gota con margarita'. Málaga, Spain
'Tiny vehicles'. Moerdijk, Netherlands
4/23
'Tiny vehicles'. Moerdijk, Netherlands
'Vindodden'. Vindodden, Svalbard, Norway
5/23
'Vindodden'. Vindodden, Svalbard, Norway
WINNER 'First Light'. Bogra, Bangladesh
6/23
WINNER 'First Light'. Bogra, Bangladesh
'Cheetah looking for food'. Parc National De Serengeti, Tanzania
7/23
'Cheetah looking for food'. Parc National De Serengeti, Tanzania
'Harvest' by @ (Iran).jpg
8/23
'Harvest'. Iran
'Little man on the ridge'. Norway
9/23
'Little man on the ridge'. Norway
'Small natural beauty'. Rajshahi, Bangladesh
10/23
'Small natural beauty'. Rajshahi, Bangladesh
'Black and yellow seahorse'. Jakarta, Indonesia
11/23
'Black and yellow seahorse'. Jakarta, Indonesia
'Small'
12/23
'Small'
'The baby going to the sea'. Pantai Samas, Indonesia
13/23
'The baby going to the sea'. Pantai Samas, Indonesia
'Tiny surfers paddling from above always reminds me of tiny fishes'. Gironde, France
14/23
'Tiny surfers paddling from above always reminds me of tiny fishes'. Gironde, France
'Walking in the crater'. Reunion Island, France
15/23
'Walking in the crater'. Reunion Island, France
'Windows Cleaner'. Jakarta, Indonesia
16/23
'Windows Cleaner'. Jakarta, Indonesia
'Workers'. Ishurdi, Bangladesh
17/23
'Workers'. Ishurdi, Bangladesh
'All Aboard'. Glenfinnan Viaduct, UK
18/23
'All Aboard'. Glenfinnan Viaduct, UK
'Chợ cá Tam Tiến'. Chợ cá Tam Tiến, Quảng Nam, Vietnam
19/23
'Chợ cá Tam Tiến'. Chợ cá Tam Tiến, Quảng Nam, Vietnam
'Skydiving'. Jakarta, Indonesia
20/23
'Skydiving'. Jakarta, Indonesia
'We are small'. Passo Falzarego, Provincia di Belluno, Italia
21/23
'We are small'. Passo Falzarego, Provincia di Belluno, Italia
'Working'. Tours, France
22/23
'Working'. Tours, France
'Golden river'. Moscow, Russia
23/23
'Golden river'. Moscow, Russia
View gallery - 23 images

Global photography social network Agora's latest contest tasked its community with taking portraits of small things, and the resulting highlights run the gamut from an extraordinary close up of a tiny damselfly to some shots of humans eclipsed by the scale and majesty of Mother Nature.

This photo competition began with a simple query asking photographers to, “share their best photos of all kinds of small things.” Over 14,000 images were ultimately submitted, spanning everything from macro close-ups to portraits of tiny figures in massive, stunning landscapes.

'Vindodden'. Vindodden, Svalbard, Norway
'Vindodden'. Vindodden, Svalbard, Norway

The top prize, voted on by Agora’s community of photographers, went to Bangladeshi wildlife and aerial artist Rafid Yasar. His winning shot zooms in on a Black Naped Monarch hatchling, presumably crying out for a meal. Yasar takes home US$1,000 for his winning photograph.

Unsurprisingly, lots of insect close-ups featured in the contest highlights. Perhaps the most compelling coming from Spanish photographer Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz focusing on the extraordinary way droplets of water sit on the head of a red Damselfly.

'Close up of a Damselfly'. Bilbao, Spain
'Close up of a Damselfly'. Bilbao, Spain

“I wanted to show the small details that are imperceptible to the human eye,” the photographer says. “You can see how the drops of water remain suspended in the face, transforming it completely.”

Other interpretations of the contest theme looked at the macro over the micro, zooming out and showing how small human beings can be when placed into massive landscapes.

'Tiny surfers paddling from above always reminds me of tiny fishes'. Gironde, France
'Tiny surfers paddling from above always reminds me of tiny fishes'. Gironde, France

Ilaria Ronchi, from the Netherlands, offered a creative drone shot turning a group of surfers into an abstract composition resembling a school of fish. Ronchi suggests she is a fan of how human figures can be so profoundly abstracted in drone shots looking down from on high.

“Every time I fly I pay attention to interesting patterns or repetition of elements,” she says. “In this case, I was mesmerized by the colorful boards, the gorgeous texture of the ocean and its bottom.”

Take a look through our gallery at more spellbinding shots from this contest celebrating all kinds of small things.

Source: Agora

View gallery - 23 images
1 comment
1 comment
ClaudioB
Plain and simply awesome!