![\"Emanuele](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Emanuele-Biggi-Namibs-Gaze.jpg\")
\t\t\tNikon D810, Nikon AF-S 60mm f\/2.8 Macro, ISO 100, 1\/250sec at f\/16. Accessories: Flashes with custom-made diffusers, flash bracket. Post processing: Lightroom, light cropping of the image. Credit: Emanuele Biggi<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Namib\u2019s Gaze – Emanuele Biggi<\/h3>\n
Overall winner<\/strong> Close-up Photographer of the Year Winner Animals<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Naturalist and conservation photographer, Italian TV presenter<\/p>\n Website<\/strong> anura.it<\/a> Instagram<\/strong> emanuele_biggi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Finding a Peringuey\u2019s adder in the Namib Desert isn\u2019t easy. I followed its tracks during the early morning, and eventually found one under a shrub with its eyes poking out. This adder is small \u2013 the diameter of each eye is about 2-3mm, so even though I knew it was there, it was still hard to spot! This species relies on camouflage to hunt and uses a sit-and-wait technique, leaving its nostrils and eyes above ground for breathing and scanning around. When prey comes near, the snake strikes and delivers a venomous bite.\u2019<\/p>\n Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm, 1\/8sec at f\/22, ISO 100. Accessories: tripod, plastic bags, wellies. Post processing: Camera Raw and Photoshop for sharpening, adjusting levels and balancing light and dark. Credit: Nora Kirkbak<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Intimate Landscape<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Retired graphic designer<\/p>\n Instagram<\/strong> nora.kirkbak<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018When it comes to photography I have two main interests: sand patterns and macro (especially flies). To indulge the first I visit beaches on the island of Vigra outside Alesund on the west coast of Norway where I live. This photograph was taken in January some years ago on a beach called Roaldsanden. A picture like this depends on the light, how low the sun is, the angle you choose, the reflections from the sky, and so on. I love the light during winter, but we only get a few hours of daylight during the darkest period of the year, and the tide has to correspond with the lightest hours.\u2019<\/p>\n iPhone SE, 1\/200sec at f\/2.2, ISO 25, iPhone photo-editing software. Credit: Richard Mills<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Second place<\/strong> Manmade<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Learning disabilities support worker<\/p>\n Instagram<\/strong> richiemills70<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018I made this image in a place that mostly goes unnoticed \u2013 a textured surface at ground level, out of general view. This was my starting point, but my aim was to source and create an abstraction from this. I wanted to encourage the eye to see land, sky and sea. Cracks and scratches became horizon lines, while staining and weathering mimicked clouds. With a shift in perspective, and no reference point to suggest scale, the image appears to show a distant view, and is more suggestive of a painting than a photograph.\u2019<\/p>\n Nikon D300, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1\/1000sec at f\/6.3, ISO 250. Post processing: Photoshop, slight correction to white balance. Credit: Edwin Giesbers<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Animals<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Professional nature photographer<\/p>\n Website<\/strong> edwingiesbers.com<\/a> Facebook<\/strong> Giesbers.Photography<\/a> Instagram<\/strong> edwin_giesbers<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018This image of an orange tip butterfly was made in the grasslands of De Bruuk nature reserve in the Netherlands. In April you will find many orange tips here and, later in the year, some rare small pearl-bordered fritillaries. The butterflies sleep at night amongst the vegetation with their wings closed. As soon as the morning sun hits the wet grassland they open their wings to warm up. At this point you can see the orange spots on the male butterfly. When this happens they fly away looking for females. For me, the butterfly is the bringer of spring. When the plants start to flower and the trees and shrubs turn green, this butterfly is one of the first to appear. To photograph them, well you need to know where they sleep. It\u2019s best to look for them before sunrise and photograph them as soon as it becomes light. If it gets hot quickly you have to work fast because the butterflies will disappear earlier.\u2019<\/p>\n Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 100mm Macro, 1\/13sec at f\/2.8, ISO 100. Accessories: tripod, Joby Gorillatorch, greaseproof paper. Post processing: Lightroom, tonal adjustments to overall image and local adjustments with grad filter and brush tools. Credit: Andrew Wilson<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Plants<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Compliance QA games tester<\/p>\n Website<\/strong> awilsonphotography.com<\/a> Facebook<\/strong> andrewwilsonphoto<\/a> Twitter<\/strong> And_rew_Wilson<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018This photo of my girlfriend\u2019s cactus was taken in our living room nearly two years ago. I was experimenting with macro, and this was the first time I had really considered using a background to complement the subject. We were in the middle of securing a mortgage and a red folder from a banking company was lying around \u2013 this did the job perfectly! I used an aperture of f\/2.8 to isolate the ridge of the cactus from its main body. To get most of the ridge sharp I had to get the plane of focus as parallel as possible to it. To light the cactus I used a Joby Gorillatorch and wrapped the legs around my lens. I wouldn\u2019t normally light a subject from such a direct angle relative to the camera, but I liked the uniform look \u2013 it illuminated the ridge and body of the cactus without casting shadows, especially when diffused with greaseproof paper!\u2019<\/p>\n Nikon D7200, Tokina 100mm Macro, 1\/125sec at f\/8, ISO 1000. Post processing: Nikon Capture NX-D, contrast, brightness, saturation tweaked, unsharp mask applied, white-balance and colour balance adjusted. Credit: Vittorio Ricci<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Animals<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Traffic warden<\/p>\n Flickr<\/strong> flickr.com\/photos\/vricci63<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018In order to photograph this dice snake I had to lay on the ground with parts of my body in the cold water of a mountain creek. I took the shot during the summer while on a photo session in Beigua UNESCO Global Geopark in Italy. As a wild animal, the snake is totally free to roam everywhere and anywhere, which made it challenging to photograph! It wasn\u2019t a very cooperative subject, but I persevered. I wanted to avoid disturbing the animal in any way, so I got down to its eye level and adopted my awkward position half in the creek and half resting on stones of various heights, shapes and sizes.\u2019<\/p>\n Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Nikon 4x Plan Apo objective and 10x projection eyepiece, 1\/20sec, ISO 100. Accessories: Olympus BH2 microscope. Post processing: Lightroom, minor adjustments, cropping. Credit: Justin Zoll<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Micro<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Bartender\/photographer<\/p>\n Website<\/strong> justinzoll.com<\/a> Instagram<\/strong> justinzoll<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018This is an image of crystallised amino acids L-glutamine and Beta Alanine photographed at around 40x magnification using a microscope and a DSLR. I do all of my experimentation and work in my bedroom. In this case, roughly equal amounts of both amino acids were dissolved in high-proof vodka before being distributed onto a glass slide and allowed to evaporate. The colours in the resulting crystals are due to the interaction of polarised light and the birefringent properties of the crystals. One of my polarising filters is the lens from an old pair of sunglasses! This type of work takes a lot of patience and experimentation. The overall image is a panorama of many individual frames allowing for a wider field of view.\u2019<\/p>\n iPhone 7 Plus, 1\/17sec at f\/1.8, ISO 100. Post processing: Lightroom where small adjustments were made to white balance to give wintry feel, and tweaks made to highlights\/shadows. Credit: Jane Simmonds<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Plants<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Web administrator<\/p>\n Website<\/strong> janesimmonds.co.uk<\/a> Flickr<\/strong> flickr.com\/photos\/39655925@N00<\/a> Instagram<\/strong> janesimmonds31<\/a> Twitter<\/strong> JaneESimmonds<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018I enjoy using my phone to make abstract images of the things I collect on my daily walks in the Forest of Dean. Back in January, on a dreary winter\u2019s day, I was drawn to the delicate, branched shapes and silvery colour of the oakmoss lichen I saw on the twigs and branches. I picked up a few pieces that had been blown to the ground and took them home. I normally use a light pad to photograph the things I collect, but this approach didn\u2019t work with the lichen so I placed it on a piece of slate tile (which produced a nice textured background) instead. I made a series of images using my iPhone and then experimented with blending them \u201cin-camera\u201d using the PhotoSplit app, which has a multiple exposure mode. I tried various blending modes before achieving this look.\u2019<\/p>\n Sony RX100, 28-100mm (effective focal length), shutter speed unknown, f\/11, ISO 100. Accessories: tripod, remote release. Post processing: Lightroom and Photoshop tweaks. Credit: Hal Gage<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Intimate Landscape<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Graphic designer<\/p>\n Website<\/strong> halgage.com<\/a> Twitter<\/strong> halgage<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018While out walking in my downtown Anchorage neighbourhood I have a tendency to stroll down dirt alleyways, which often feature mud puddles. On this occasion I found a few with interesting spotted patterns. In order to get a square composition (which is my preferred format), I made two images: one slightly above centre and one slightly below centre and I stitched them together later using software. In this instance, I worked the dried mud for about an hour before coming up with the image shown here. The gradual increase in the size and frequency of the cracked \u201ccells\u201d, and the decrease in the \u201cspots\u201d is what really made it for me. Thefinal step was the making of the print le. I use software to create a type of split toning to give my black & white images a feeling of increased depth and separation. This is why the b&w image has a slight brown tone, in this case to the darkest values, leaving the mid and high values neutral.\u2019<\/p>\n Canon EOS 7D Mark II , Sigma 105mm f\/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro, 1\/1000sec at f\/7.1, ISO 2500. Post processing: Lightroom, image cropped and small adjustment made to exposure. Credit: Jo Angell<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Third place<\/strong> Animals<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Early Years pre-school practitioner<\/p>\n Facebook<\/strong> Jo Angell Photography Twitter<\/strong> joangell5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018It was a warm day and I\u2019d noticed how active the bees were around the bug house in my back garden. I had some spare time on my hands so I positioned a chair in line with the house and sat and watched the bees for a while. Some of them were in the bamboo sticks, and I had several little faces staring right back at me. I took some pictures, but as I watched I noticed a zebra spider moving in and out of the different areas of the bug house. Zebra spiders are quite small (around 7mm), so getting them in focus can be quite tricky. When they move they can be too quick to follow with the camera, so I find waiting until they pause to be the best option. However, more often than not they turn, or I am at the wrong angle! This is where the three Ps come in. I watched as the zebra spider made its way down the bamboo stick and finally paused, in a wonderful position just looking out of the hole.\u2019<\/p>\n Sony Alpha 7R II, Zeiss Batis 135mm f\/2.8, 1\/125sec at f\/10, ISO 1000. Post processing: Lightroom, Photoshop and converted to black & white using a preset created in Silver Efex Pro. Clone tool to remove a few flecks and a couple of strands from the water. Credit: Lizzie Sheppard<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Highly commended<\/strong> Plants<\/p>\n Occupation<\/strong> Professional photographer<\/p>\n Website<\/strong> lizzieshepherd.com<\/a> Facebook<\/strong> LizzieShepherdPhotography<\/a> Twitter<\/strong> LShepherdPhoto<\/a> Instagram<\/strong> lshepherdphoto<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018An intricate network of lochans intersperses the rocky, lunar landscape on the east coast of the Isle of Harris. These provide the perfect habitat for aquatic plants, such as water lilies, reeds and bog bean. A week here or there, can make such a difference to the form and colour of the plants. My preference is for a still day \u2013 on this occasion, there was a fair bit of sun. The water reflected the blue of the sky and the lily was golden in hue. I chose to discard the colours, focusing on the form of the lily and strands, with a black & white conversion.\u2019<\/p>\nEmanuele’s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Nora](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Nora-Kirkbak-Winter-Sun.jpg\")
\t\t\tWinter Sun – Nora Kirkbak<\/h2>\n
Nora’s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Richard](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Richard-Mills-Moonlit-Shore.jpg\")
\t\t\tMoonlit Shore – Richard Mills<\/h2>\n
Richard’s top tip<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Edwin](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Edwin-Giesbers-wake-up.jpg\")
\t\t\tWake Up (with First Light) – Edwin Giesbers<\/h2>\n
Edwin\u2019s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Andrew](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Andrew-Wilson-Cactus-Ridge.jpg\")
\t\t\tCactus Ridge – Andrew Wilson<\/h2>\n
Andrew’s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Vittorio](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Vittorio-Ricci-Dice-Snake-1.jpg\")
\t\t\tDice Snake – Vittorio Ricci<\/h2>\n
Vittorio’s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Justin](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Justin-Zoll-L-glutamine-and-Beta-Alanine-25.jpg\")
\t\t\tL-glutamine and Beta Alanine 25 – Justin Zoll<\/h2>\n
Justin\u2019s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Jane](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Jane-Simmonds-Winter-Oakmoss.jpg\")
\t\t\tWinter Oakmoss – Jane Simmonds<\/h2>\n
Jane\u2019s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Hal](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Hal-Gage-Cracked-Mud.jpg\")
\t\t\tCracked Mud – Hal Gage<\/h2>\n
Hal\u2019s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Jo](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Jo-Angell-Inquisitive-Zebra-Spider.jpg\")
\t\t\tInquisitive Zebra Spider – Jo Angell<\/h2>\n
Jo’s top tips<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t![\"Lizzie](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Lizzie-Shepherd-Lochan-Lily.jpg\")
\t\t\tLochan Lily, Isle of Harris – Lizzie Shepherd<\/h2>\n
Lizzie’s top tips<\/h3>\n
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![\"Henri](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Henri-Koskinen-Seeds-on-Stage.jpg\")
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