Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year finalists

Below is a shortlist of just a few of the competition’s highlights, with the overall winners announced next month. From growing and harvesting to cooking, eating, celebrating, and surviving, these captivating images offer a unique glimpse into the lives of people around the world through the universal language of food.

A woman prays during a Hindu religious festival known as Rakher Upobash in Bangladesh. Devotees follow Baba Loknath’s instruction to fast on Saturdays and Tuesdays in the month of Kartik to ward off cholera and smallpox. They gather at the ashram, lighting lamps and breaking their fast in the evening. Picture: Md Mahabub Hossain Khan/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A vibrant scene shows cherries suspended in jelly for an editorial shoot. Picture: Chelsea Kyle, styled by Drew Aichele/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

These pilgrims are attending the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest gathering of people, on the Ganges River in India. Local ashrams offer them dhal and rice, and they enter the building calmly and silently to consume their meal. Picture: Sue O'Connell/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

“Hot Honey Bacon” is an illustrated recipe in “The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook,” authored and photographed by Jackie Alpers. Inspired by the Dutton family’s Montana ranch, it explores Western Americana cuisine, showcasing regional culinary influences and cultural symbolism from the Yellowstone TV series. Picture: Jackie Alpers/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A clash between elephants and humans occurs in a paddy field at Sherpur, near the Bangladesh-India border. As settlements encroach upon forests and hills, the elephants are forced to search for food elsewhere. Over the past five years, more than 50 wild elephants have died due to these confrontations. Picture: K M Asad/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A farmer gathers bundles of rainbow chard at the Brooklyn Grange Sunset Park Farm in New York. Brooklyn Grange, operating atop two industrial buildings, has pioneered rooftop farming and produces over 4.5 tonnes of unique crops annually. Picture: Valery Rizzo/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A watermelon seller demonstrates the freshness of a watermelon to a customer in Tongi Bazar, Bangladesh. Picture: Syed Mahabubul Kader/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

Australian photographer Alana Dimou recalls her Egyptian mother telling her, “you’ll never go hungry if you have a tin of tomatoes in the pantry.” She captured the striking design of the tins while celebrating the beauty inside. Picture: Alana Dimou/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A thin wall divides the busy, buzzy, chefs from the calm, warm and welcoming ambience in the dining room at Adam Byatt’s Michelin-starred Trinity Restaurant in Clapham, London. Picture: John Carey/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

Peter MacQueen enjoys his Scotch broth by the fire with his West Highland Terrier, Seòras, at Guardswell Farm in Perthshire, Scotland. Picture: Susie Lowe/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

This Italian oyster mushroom was grown indoors on straw at Bramble Hill Farm in Unity, Maine. With an earthy, mild flavour, its fluted light brown cap and white gills are beautifully highlighted by soft, natural light. Picture: Lynn Karlin/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

During the Covid lockdown, British photographer Jacki Gordon snapped tiny model railway figures with everyday items - usually food - to entertain friends and family online. After biting into a tea cake, its snowy marshmallow centre became the perfect terrain for some tiny Nordic walkers. Picture: Jacki Gordon/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A frivolous pink and bubbly drink matches a sausage ring perfectly. Picture: Caitlin Isola/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

They say that fish is good for the brain, and with Bald Chef Nick prepping a gurnard for a photo shoot it was an ideal opportunity to test this out. Nick had asked for a creative chef shot for his highly anticipated cookbook and agreed to the somewhat random idea with his usual beaming smile. Picture: Daisy May Defined/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

In Vietnam’s vast sea, fishermen on slender stilts cast nets with practised precision. Against the horizon, they move in harmony with the waves, a tradition passed down through generations. Picture: Arun Saha/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A father and son catch fish using a bamboo basket trap inside a karst cave in South Vietnam during the monsoon season. Cave fishing is only possible during this season when the cave chamber is flooded with rainwater. Picture: Natnattcha Chaturapitamorn/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

Captured on a warm afternoon at London’s Battersea Power Station, two ice cream shop staff diligently serve a queue of customers seen through the shop’s distinctive window. Picture: Derek Snee/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

An interpretation of both art and nature in food, this creation showcases the vibrant colours and extraordinary beauty of flowers through culinary expression. Inspired by Klimt and the photography of Claire Aho, it also reflects the photographer’s love for flowers. Picture: Cath Lowe/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

At a busy cafe in Vienna, a couple share an apple strudel. With pastel colours and shelves full of books, the scene seems timeless. Picture: Guido Caltabiano/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

Winemaker Jordi Renard brandishes a bottle from grapes during a bottling session in Villeneuve, Switzerland. Picture: Nicolas Mancosu/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

In Germany, February is the ultimate month for citrus fruit. Inspired by a weekly delivery of organic produce, the photographer created a rectangular cake with spelt flour, adorned with an array of colourful citrus fruits: lemon, lime, grapefruit, cumquat, clementine, orange, blood orange, and pink orange. Picture: Carolin Strothe and Sebastian Keitel/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A woman in Chittagong, Bangladesh - known locally as “Minnie’s mother” - feeds her pet cats, each one of them named Minnie. She spends half of her daily earnings to care for her many pets. Picture: Mohammad Fayzul Mowla/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A family enjoys dinner together in their small shop in Kolkata, India, surrounded by stacked mats and shelves of goods. Their son smiles at the camera while the adult and the girl focus on their meal, reflecting a heartwarming moment of family unity and tradition. Picture: Laurin Strele/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A marriage of dark and bold with light and sweet in the form of squid ink pasta with a delicate prawn. Picture: Orly Catz/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

Travelling to the Omo Valley tribes in southern Ethiopia is an adventure that pushes you out of your comfort zone. For a photographer, the challenge lies in navigating the overwhelming sensory experience of village life: the bustling activity, interactions, and noise. O’Connell used a long lens to capture intimate moments like this depiction of motherhood, finding stillness amid the chaos. Picture: Sue O'Connell/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

This image was featured on the cover of the UK’s Waitrose Food Magazine to celebrate Pride Month. The recipe required creating cookie stacks that formed a perfectly imperfect shot. Picture: Ellis Parrinder, styled by Katie Marshall/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

A bold, graphic celebration of the eye-catchingly, marbled texture of Spanish serrano ham. The photographer’s intention was to celebrate the artisan quality of this wonderful product without the need for anything else but its own striking beauty. Picture: Costas Millas/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year