‘Roller Coaster’ by Hiep Nguyen/Photocrowd.com. “This photo was taken in my garden. It was a sunny day with slight drizzle, the little snail came out of hiding and crawled onto this unique branch of a cucumber plant. It appears to be riding the world’s slowest roller coaster” .
“A Papilio Machaon with a caterpillar. This shot was taken early in the morning – both were on the stem, which I moved around to create the background.”
The winner, chosen by the expert judge Ben Brain, editor of Digital Camera magazine.
“Well done to our first-place winner, who has captured this stunning macro image, which has been finished to a high technical standard. The relationship between the caterpillar and the fully formed butterfly reminds us of the cycle of life, giving the image greater context. The dominating position of the butterfly on top of the flower shows us the journey it has taken to its final form. The blurred-out yellow background frames the profile of both subjects perfectly and contrasts against the blues in the creatures. A great macro image, and a worthy winner in our contest”.
‘Blue Bottle’ by Bob Wood/Photocrowd.com. “The blue bottle was basking and possibly dozing in the evening sunshine on our house wall.”
Photo Credit: Bob Wood
‘Fly on Thistle’ by Ryan Morris/Photocrowd.com. “On the look out for bugs I came across this fly perched on a thistle, but it was only when I got home and uploaded to the computer that I realised the fly was actually cleaning itself. I thought this made for a more unusual shot of what could have been ‘just another fly’.”
‘Regal Jumping Spider’ by Oliver Wright/Photocrowd.com. “This is a friends pet (regal jumping spider) which I photographed in the studio on a black tile.”
Photo Credit: Oliver Wright
‘Ladybird avoiding getting wet feet’ by Dave/Photocrowd.com. “This shot is of a ladybird about to take off from a sundial in the garden.”
Featured in a photographic competition hosted by Photocrowd.com, these macro images showcase the stunning natural world of insects, bugs and plant life, bringing the world around us into a close-up view.