IF you can figure out what half of these are you're doing a lot better than the team at the Oxford Mail.

Spoiler alert – if you want to try and have a go at guessing yourself, we are going to give you the answers.

Among this bizarre bunch of photos, believe it not, you are looking at machinery, living creatures and several delicious morsels.

The reason for the picture mysteries is that this week we challenged camera club members to send us photos on the theme Up Close and Puzzling.

The challenge was inspired by camera club member Ray Partlett, who has been testing us for weeks on the Facebook group with his own intriguing images.

We were all having fun trying to guess, so we decided to nick the idea.

So, without further a do, here are some answers!

Going clockwise from top left...

1. A blackberry

2. Washing up bubbles

3. A highland cow's fur

4. Frosty washing pegs

5. Inside a washing machine

6. A chestnut sprouting

7. A delicious apple

8. Wet otter fur

9. Deep inside the replica Rafflesia arnoldii flower at Oxford Botanic Garden in 2017

10. A humble mallard

11. A bluebottle's wing

12. A frosty plant stem – species unknown

13. An iron

14. The centre of an Osteospernum flower

15. The scales on a Herald moth's wing

16. The frozen surface of Ian Marriott's garden pond!

Don't pretend you weren't surprised at some of them – we spent half an hour on the washing machine.

If you want to keep on playing, join the Facebook group – there are plenty more.

Onto next week, and the pendulum swings yet again – this time the challenge is Far, Far Away!

One stipulation – no pictures of the moon. You're all very good at them, but a two-page spread of moon pics just won't be that fun.

WIN £25

Join our Camera Club – which now has more than 500 members – by visiting facebook.com and searching for Oxford Mail Camera Club. See tomorrow’s Oxford Mail for this week’s winner of £25, sponsored by Jessops.