The CUPOTY CHALLENGE is a themed contest, supported by Affinity Photo, that runs alongside the annual competition of Close-up Photographer of the Year.

Something Beautiful is this year's theme.

Pictures can be of any subject using any device (camera, phone, scanner or microscope) but they must be a close-up, macro or micro photograph. No AI generated images are allowed.

Anyone can enter and any subject goes: animals, insects, plants, fungi & slime moulds, intimate landscapes, underwater photography, studio work and images made with a microscope can all be entered.

To fit the theme, please submit photographs of subjects that you recognise as being beautiful. It could be a living thing, a place, an object, a creation or a moment that conveys beauty or is made beautiful by the way it has been photographed.