This sensational macro image strikes again – winning another major international photo award

Photographer Ross Gudgeon, known as a standout shooter in underwater photography, has once again captivated the international stage.

Last September, the shot titled Fractal Forest was globally recognized at the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, as the overall winner. Now Gudgeon secured the title Close-Up Photographer of the Year 7 – receiving yet another top price, with an image that reveals intricate textures and shapes of a soft coral.

"This was the toughest competition yet," says CUPOTY co-founder Tracy Calder. "The winning image embodies everything close-up photography can achieve – it shows us a perspective we've never seen before and reveals hidden beauty in a familiar subject. The judges were captivated."

'Fractal Forest'

Tech details
Exposure: 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO 400
Gear: Sony A7R IV + FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS
Accessories: Nauticam EMWL with 160º objective lens and 2x Retra Pro flashes
Post-processing: DXO Pure Raw, Adobe Lightroom, Topaz Photo AI, Adobe Photoshop

Gudgeon explains, "Named for its cauliflower-like form, this soft coral is made up of countless small, rounded polyps that give it a puffy texture.

"I wanted to explore a perspective that isn’t possible with conventional lenses, and an underwater probe lens allowed me to do that.

"By carefully threading the lens through the coral’s branches without disturbing them, I was able to photograph the subject from the inside looking-out, offering a different view of a common marine organism."

The CUPOTY competition

The Close Up Photographer of the Year competition invites photographers from all levels and corners of the globe to showcase their finest close-up work, captured with any camera, camera phone, or even microscope.

Because in the world of macro and micro photography, the tiniest subjects tell the biggest stories.

CUPOTY will soon launch its 8th edition, with new submissions accepted from 8 May 2026. For more information and to discover more winning images, visit the CUPOTY website.

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Looking for competitions to enter? Here are 10 global photo contests now open for entries from February to May.