I Entered a Contest

Several months ago, while reading a photography magazine, I came across the announcement of a contest. I looked at the handful of photos that accompanied the announcement and thought, "I can do that." This was not a local or even national contest. It was the global Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY 6). I paid my euros soon after seeing the announcement. Then my confidence waned and I had a hard time choosing pictures to submit. I didn't submit my pictures until the day after the deadline, and I'm not even certain they were accepted.

I entered in the insects category. The "shortlist" has been published, and I can see why my pictures did not receive a mention. The great majority that made the shortlist are beyond my capability. Here are the pictures I submitted. I've posted most of these before.

Monarch caterpillar (2019). I chose this photo for its action: Did the caterpillar cause the stem to break?

Honey bee (2019). This one pleases me. The background is clean and the angle makes the image more interesting.

Black swallowtail caterpillar (2024). I chose this because of its simplicity.

I chose this because of the unexpected perspective.

Long-legged fly (2024). I chose this for the slightly low angle and the wave of the leaf's edge.

Honey bee (2024). I chose this for its artistic nature.

Some More Bugs

More bugs from my yard.

Large milkweed bug on milkweed. Focus stack of 8 images.

Great spangled fritillary

A better shot of a bicolored striped sweat bee (previous post)

Orchard orbweaver. This is the underside of the spider. Focus stack of 2 images.

Bumble bee on a purple coneflower. Focus stack of 9 images.

Orchard orbweaver (Same species, different individual. This one was along the road in the ravine near my house. Also the underside). Combo of two photos: One of the spider and one of the shadow.

Condylostylus patibulatus. Neither the Seek app nor Wikipedia gave a common name for this long-legged fly. Focus stack of 6 images.

I need more magnification! This is the uncropped shot of the long-legged fly. I can crop the photo or zoom in to make the bug bigger, but the details don't look good because relatively few pixels are devoted to the bug.