“An intimate image full of warmth and humanity”, titled ‘Kebabiyana’, and taken by Indian photographer Debdatta Chakraborty, has won the overall prize of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2022.
The photograph was taken on Khayyam Chowk, an ordinary Indian street in Srinagar by day that transforms into a buzzing food hub at night, as vendors fire up charcoal ovens and fill the air with the smoky aroma of grilled delights such as wazwan kebabs, the popular Kashmiri street food.
“In today’s world, more than ever, we feel the need for comfort, for love,” commented Caroline Kenyon, the Director and Founder of the Awards. “There is so much to reassure us here – the beautifully captured billowing embrace of the smoke, the golden light, the subject’s expression as he prepares the food for sharing. Sparks fly from the skewers, whose roasting we can almost smell, we imagine the warm, delicious aroma. This image, gentle but powerful, nourishes our soul.”
“Huge global events – war, famine, the end of lockdowns, the revival of the hospitality industry, the chance to celebrate with friends and family again – all these are recorded in the Awards, which show so vividly how food touches every aspect of our lives,” says Phil Turnbull, CEO of APAL, owner of Pink Lady®, and headline sponsor of the Awards since 2011.
Here are some of the category winners.
Bring Home the Harvest
Chang Jiangbin, “Movement Of Noodles”
Noodles are a favorite food of people in Southern Fujian, China. The noodles are cooled and made with a unique process. Taken in Fuzhi County, Fujian Province, China.
Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration
Chen Ying, “Traditional Skill”
Taken in a small farmhouse in Qianlian Village, Xiangyou County, Putian City, Fujian Province. A family gathers around to make rice or mung bean filled dumplings. They use a wooden seal to stamp the word “fortune” or “happiness” into the red dough, and steam the dumplings in a large steamer. This tradition means that the New Year will be welcomed with reunion and the coming year will be prosperous.
Champagne Taittinger Wedding Food Photographer
Isabelle Hattink, “Lemon Cake”
The cake was cut and the lady didn’t like this shot. She told me, when I asked her if I could publish the picture, that somebody had stepped on her toes.
Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year – Overall Winner
Jon Wyand, “Gathering Prunings on Corton Hill”
Winter prunings gathered in the vineyards of Corton Hill in Burgundy
Food at the Table
John Carey, “Putting on the Ritz”
The ‘Arts de la Table’ table-side theatre is a big part of The Ritz Restaurant experience.
Food for the Family
Weining Lin, “Traditional Food”
During the Spring Festival, the Tujia people in western Hunan will make tuansa, a special local delicacy which is made of glutinous rice and tastes light and sweet. Most local people take tuansa as a gift or an offering.
Food in the Field
Paolo Crocetta, “Agricultural Art”
After a heavy snowfall I raised the drone to take some photos of my country covered by the whiteness of the white coat, after a few minutes of flight I noticed the particular shapes that the apple plots created in contrast with the snow on the ground.
Food Stylist Award
Carolin Strothe, “Summer Veg Tart”
Celebrating summer with this spectacular veg tart – topped with buffalo mozzarella, feta, heirloom tomatoes, pea pods, spring onions and corn flowers.
Fujifilm Award for Innovation
Yuliy Vasilev, “Central Park”
The image is part of my ongoing project called “Foodtopia”, a miniature world created with food items.
Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture
Daniela Gerson, “Watermelon and feta salad”
Celebrating all the colours of the melon rainbow in cubed salad form, with feta, basil and spices.
MPB Food Influencer
Elisa De Cecchi, “Draining Pasta by the Window”
Draining pasta by the window sink on a gloomy day, moisture fills the air, condensation forms on the windows and droplets slide down the glass. It is an activity that seems quite mundane, but I find it evocative.
On the Phone in support of Action Against Hunger
Kasia Ciesielska-Faber, “Drying Stockfish”
In Lofoten archipelago, stockfish racks have become part of the landscape. The cod is preserved by drying on large racks with no salt or smoke required as the temperatures are just below freezing. The climate is perfect for outdoor stockfish production.
One Vision Imaging Cream of the Crop
Paolo Grinza and Silvia Vaulà, “Carrot Field Forever”
This image is part of a photographic series based on the concept of “hands at work”. Developed for the restaurant Etiko Bistrot (Torino, Italy) on behalf of Plastikwombat – Photography Art and Concept.
Pink Lady® Apple a Day
Amanda Farnese Heath, “Autumnal Woodland Apple Party”
I asked this group of children what their ultimate ‘Tea Party’ table would look like. ‘Toffee apples and cake’ was their reply. Here, in an autumnal wood in Scotland, I got to work re-creating this table for them. Not one apple remained at the end of the day.
Politics of Food
K M Asad, “Where Dreams Fly Away”
A little girl collects water with her older sister in the Chad Uddan slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh in September 2021. In the urban slum areas, people have access to fresh water only twice a day in the morning and evening.
Production Paradise Previously Published
Mike English, “Red Mullet”
Macro Red Mullet
Student Food Photographer of the Year supported by The Royal Photographic Society
Kim Bainbridge, “Pot of Tea”
A glass teapot with a tea flower blooming in it. the hardest part was to catch the light in the right place so only the outline is visible.
The Claire Aho Award for Women Photographers
Marguerite Oelofse, “At the Table”
Celebrating African heritage, fused with a touch of inspiration from French Post-Impressionist artist, Henri Matisse. The painter-like aesthetic in my photography creates a three-dimensional feeling by using bold colours, form and textures. These elements are native to our diverse South African culture. ‘At the Table’ is a celebration of the fruits of our freedom.
The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action
Weining Lin, “Cook”
An old man is preparing vegetables in the courtyard bathed in sun. He finely cuts the meat and puts it in a basin. This is a common picture in a farm yard, and you can imagine the happy family life behind it.
unearthed® Food for Sale
Anna Loraine Hartmann, “Herbwoman”
The lights are dimmed underneath the corrugated roof top, keeping the sunlight out to prevent the harvest from spoiling. In between the dark aisles of the bustling market in Yogyakarta, one only finds welcoming smiles and well-sourced produce.
World Food Programme Food for Life
Faisal Azim, “Food after Work”
Brick factory workers in a dusty, unhealthy environment. They get a short break to eat food brought from home in the dusty environment before starting work again. For a full day in this unhealthy place they earn very a small wage.
The exhibition of the 2022 Finalists will be premiering at The Royal Photographic Society, one of the world’s oldest photographic societies, in Bristol. The exhibition will run from 20 November – 12 December 2022. Entry is free.
You can see all of the 2022 finalists on the website.
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