The search for the world’s best Nikon photographer of 2022 continues! Each issue the monthly N-Photo POTY 2021 photo contest’s top 10 images are selected by the N-Photo team. This issue’s competition has the theme of macro photography…
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1. Rain Bonnets
BY TONYNORTH
This incredible fungi close-up is a blend of multiple exposures. A continuous LED panel was used to light the mushrooms from below, pulling them from the background. The image was sprayed with a mister to form the fine lashings of water and the scene was focus stacked to achieve front-to-back sharpness. The lighting, motion blur and subject combines to form this month’s deserved winner.
Camera: Nikon D500
Lens: 105mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO1000
2. Millipede
BY GARYD03
Long and thin subjects are difficult to frame, but this photograph of a millipede has been cleverly balanced via the glassy reflection. You might assume that this tack-sharp subject was motionless, but the 1/250 sec shutter speed was necessary to freeze the moving critter. The arthropod is well lit, too, with the subtle glare highlighting the curvature of its cylindrical body.
Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: 105mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/250 sec, f/16, ISO100
3. Peek-a-boo
BY JAZ72
We love the creative thinking on display here. This photograph of a ‘supposedly’ peeping mantis is just bursting with character, something that’s amplified by the Dutch tilt. The partially eaten leaf provides the scene with a strong narrative, while the hole in the vegetation also serves to draw the viewer’s gaze towards the subject by creating a makeshift frame within a frame.
Camera: Nikon D500
Lens: 150mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/6 sec, f/13, ISO200
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4. Zerynthia Cassandra Close-up
BY MICHELE MARINI
Part of the appeal of macro photography is getting to study subjects in a way that simply isn’t possible with the human eye. This image is a fine example of how tiny critters can be transformed into something incredible and unrecognizable when captured through the camera and lens. A whopping 68 focus-stacked shots were combined in post-production to form this butterfly close up, so that every single strand of hair is visible.
Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: 25mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/15 sec, f/4, ISO100
5. Drop Shot
BY REGINA
This sci-fi-like macro abstract was inspired by the water droplet photography of YouTuber Lee Hall. A glue gun was used to create the thin transparent strands that house the water droplets and the purple-to-red gradient was formed by backlighting the subject with a cheap rotating coloured light.
Camera: Nikon Z 6
Lens: 105mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/25 sec, f/10, ISO100
