2025 Shortlist Announcement

2025 AMPA Shortlist.

The shortlist for the 2025 Adaptalux Macro Photography Awards has been announced and in this article we’re featuring a selection of the images entred.

This is the second year of our annual awards and the entries have once again been spectacular. With over 1000 entries, 70 have been chosen to feature on the shortlist.

The calibre of entries has been incredible, and we look forward to announcing the winner of Macro Photographer of the Year in January!

Visit the shortlist to browse some amazing macro photography and see if your entry is included!

Let’s have a look at a few of the shortlisted images and what the photographer has to say about them.

Kissing slime moulds

Dr. Paul Hendley

“These amazing organisms have captured my attention. They are neither fish nor fowl nor fungus – an entirely different organism that spends most of its time as an enormous single cell that can move around to find food and that retains a memory. I worked with an expert who showed me how to find these things – the problem being that they are very very small – these guys were maybe 1 – 1.5 mm high.

OM1 MkII, 90 mm macro with mc-20 extension – OM flash with AK diffuser – 150 images focus stacked – cleaned up in PureRaw and LR/PS. The background is an autumn leaf had a few cm behind the subject“

Emerald and Glass

Simon Biddie

“Glass frogs, named for their translucent bodies, consists of over 150 species of frog. Living in Central and South America, their habits are different between species. This Emerald glass frog lives in tropical and cloud forests. Even their bones are green. Their translucency gives them camouflage, making them difficult to spot. New species of glass frogs have been discovered over the last few years. The protection offered by biodiversity reserves in Central and South America provide sanctuary and preservation of homes to glass frogs.

This image taken at night when the frogs are active, used light from a torch shone under the leaf to illuminate the frog, giving a green hue permeating the body of the glass frog.“

Craters

Benjamin Olson

“While making pancakes for my sons one morning I was inspired. I poured some oil into the milk I was using to cook when I noticed striking patterns as the oil beaded up on the surface of the milk. As I was cooking, I was struck with the thought of introducing food coloring to make it more striking.

Once I fed my kids, I got to work. I began mixing milk and oil in different ratios and adding food coloring. I used toothpicks and a fork to manipulate the beads of oil and to mix the different colors seen here. I spent the next three hours trying different color combinations until I came up with this. I then used the flashlight on my iPhone to illuminate the glass container my final mixture was in.“

The circle of life

Jon Appleyard

“I was struck by the seeming tenderness of the millipede’s embrace of her clutch and then, looking closer revealed another, symbiotic, family – tiny mites line the mother’s legs, cleaning her and in return getting distributed throughout her kingdom as she travels, a system that aids in their diversity and spread.

This is a 50 photo stack.“

Every tiny detail tells a story

Antaryami Das

“This is a stunning macro photograph of a dragonfly perched delicately on a branch. The image captures incredible detail of its golden-yellow thorax, transparent wings with orange veins, and large compound eyes that show a striking mix of red, white, and black.

The dragonfly’s fine body hairs and spiny legs gripping the twig add to the sharpness of the shot. Noticeably, there are red parasitic mites attached to its body, a common occurrence in dragonflies that adds an extra layer of natural storytelling.“

Come Right In

Harald K Andersen

“This is not what you think it is, but I´m sure you have it in the fridge. This is soy sauce or crystalized soy sauce. It’s the salt in the soy sauce that creates the crystals as the liquid evaporates.

Taken through a microscope with my EOS R7 tethered through my computer. To get the colors, I use polarized light and retarders. This image is a stack of 150 images combined with Zerene Stacker (P-Mode).

I just love the structure and colors. This not what you think it is when you see it. Must admit I look for the soy sauce with the most salt content.“

Carrying The Next Generation

Rodolfo Vega Littlewood

“Arachnids have some of the most spectacular maternal instincts. I managed to keep an eye on his long-legged spider for several months, I’ve been always fascinated by the way they lay and keep their eggs on a sack they build with silk.

After making sure the ovisac was there, I proceed with a quick photoshoot. The way they take care of their next generation is inspirational.“

If you’d like a chance to be featured in next year’s Adaptalux Macro Photography Awards, make sure to sign up to our newsletter to be notified when entries open for 2026.