Celebrating Global Food Culture: Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024 Winners Announced

The winners of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024, a prestigious competition celebrating food photography and film worldwide, were announced this week. The overall winner was Chinese photographer Zhonghua Yang, who captured the top prize with his evocative photograph “Red Bean Paste Balls.” This image, depicting steamed dim sum being prepared for Lunar New Year celebrations in Zhejiang province, also won the Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration category.

Yang’s winning photograph showcases a woman holding a tray of hot red bean paste balls, a traditional dish prepared for the Lunar New Year in Xiangshan, Zhejiang. The image captures the essence of the festival – the most significant holiday on the Chinese lunar calendar – highlighting the dedication involved in preparing celebratory food.

“This wonderful, perfectly balanced image is full of light, shadow, mystery and poignancy,” said Caroline Kenyon, founder of the competition. “It is clear a celebratory feast is being prepared. The food is exquisitely made, its circular shapes contrasting with the angularity of the fretwork screens, through which the light pours. Meanwhile, the woman who has made the food, weary, carries in yet another tray. Her role is to labour and to serve, while the guests party and enjoy.”

Now in its 13th year, the competition is open to both professionals and amateurs, with over 25 categories highlighting various aspects of food photography. This isn’t Yang’s first success in the competition; he won three categories in the 2023 edition. His winning photos, including “Anchang Sugar Dance Artist” and “Hanging Up Persimmons,” have a raw and immediate quality, offering intimate glimpses into food preparation and cultural practices across China.

Other notable winners this year include Scottish photographer Lynne Kennedy, whose image “Let Them Eat Cake!” captured an unconventional wedding celebration on the island of Skye and won the Champagne Taittinger Wedding Food Photographer category. The Claire Aho Award for Women Photographers went to “B.L.T Contemplation,” which shows a woman gazing out of her window while eating a sandwich.

The Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition, first held in 2011, aims to celebrate food and cultural diversity through exceptional photography. “Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year continues to tell important food stories from across the globe through the very best photography,” said Phil Turnbull, chief executive of APAL, the owner of the Pink Lady apple brand and headline sponsor of the competition. “Each year, the remarkable photographs serve as a reminder of the fundamental role of food in every culture and every people around the world.”

This year’s competition attracted thousands of entries from more than 65 countries. The finalists’ works will be on display at the Mall Galleries in London until June 9.

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