16 1 June 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
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AwardwinnersofClose-upPhotographerof
theYear, whichis supportedbySigmaUK,
sharetheirtechniques,writesTracyCalder
O
neofthejoysofclose-up
photographyis theway
thatit enablesyoutosee
theworldanew.When
viewedupclose,dandelionseedscan
takeontheappearanceofballerinas
andwallscanbetransformedinto
expressionistpaintings.‘Thereal
voyageofdiscoveryconsistsnot
inseekingnewlandscapes,butin
havingneweyes,’tosummarisea
MarcelProustquote.Asco-founder
ofClose-upPhotographeroftheYear
(CUPOTY),I aminclinedtoagree.
Manywonderfulpictureswere
takeninbackgardens,theresultof
keenobservationanda willingness
toexplorefamiliarsurroundings
withwhatZenBuddhistscalla
Beginner’sMind.Choosinga shortlistwasharder
thanI anticipated(Ihaveincluded
a selectionofmyfavouritepictures
here),butwiththehelpoftheexpert
judges– SueBishop,RossHoddinott,
DavidMaitland,RobertThompson,
andKeithWilson– we’vesucceeded!
Therewerefivecategories:Animals,
Plants&fungi,Intimatelandscape,
ManmadeandMicro,aswellas
YoungCUPOTY.Thecompetition
wasopentoall,andphotographers
werewelcometosubmitworkcreated
onanydevice.Asidefrombeinga
celebrationofclose-up,macroand
microphotography,I hopethis
annualcompetitionwillencourage
photographerstoslowdown,enjoy
theircraftandmakeconnections
withtheworldaroundthem.Technique CU POTY 01
To see all of the winners and awarded entries fromCUPOTY01,visitwww.cupoty.com.
encounters
WinterSun
NoraKirkbak
HighlycommendedIntimate Landscape
OccupationRetiredgraphicdesigner
Instagram nora.kirkbak
‘When it comes to photography I have two
main interests: sand patterns and macro
(especially fl ies). To indulge the fi rst 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
refl ections 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.’
NORA’S TOP TIPS
1 Study the tide tables.
2 Layer up with extra clothing.
3 Wear your ‘sand pattern glasses’!Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor
24-85mm, 1/8sec at f/22, ISO- Accessories: tripod, plastic
bags, wellies. Post processing:
Camera Raw and Photoshop for
sharpening, adjusting levels
and balancing light and dark
iPhone SE, 1/200sec at
f/2.2, ISO 25, iPhone
photo-editing software© EMANUELE BIGGI
© NORA KIRKBAK