The winners of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024 have been revealed.
Red Bean Paste Balls by Chinese Photographer Zhonghua Yang was crowned the Overall Winner.
From the thousands of entries from more than 65 countries around the world, Indian photographers had an impressive 15 finalist images.
Let us take a look at these 15 finalists
First prize in the category: The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action
Rice Grain Threshing by Kishore Das
As the sun gracefully descends on the horizon, casting a warm and magical golden glow with an ethereal radiance, a tribal lady engages in the ancient practice of threshing rice grains in the courtyard of her home with rhythmic movements by skillfully tossing the harvested rice into the air.
Photograph: Kishore Das/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Second prize in the category: Street Food
Tea Stall At Varanasi Street by Arun Saha
Varanasi is an ancient city and visiting the street food areas is a must for anyone who travels there.
The best among them are the tea stalls, brilliant for both tasting the tea and watching it being made.
Photograph: Arun Saha/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
First prize in the category: Pink Lady® Moments of Joy
Breakfast with the Brokpas by Debdatta Chakraborty
The Brokpas are a small ethnic group mostly found in the union territory of Ladakh, India.
The Brokpas traditionally claim themselves to be descendants of Alexander's lost army.
The Brokpa diet is based on locally grown barley and wheat, prepared most often as tsampa (roasted flour) and Gur-Gur Cha, a brewed tea made of black tea, butter and salt.
Photograph: Debdatta Chakraborty/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration
Kulasai Dasara by Udayan Sankar Pal
Kulasai Dasara is a yearly festival that happens in October in Tamilnadu in India.
Photograph: Udayan Sankar Pal/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: unearthed® Food For Sale
Harnai Beach by Udayan Sankar Pal
An everyday morning visual at Harnai Beach in Maharashtra, India.
Photograph: Udayan Sankar Pal/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: World Food Programme Food for Life
Breaking Fast Together with Milkshake by Saurabh Sirohiya
Captured within the frame is a captivating scene where a diverse crowd has gathered around a magnificent fountain.
They are celebrating unity and breaking the fast with a refreshing milkshake at the iconic Nakhoda Masjid in Kolkata during Iftar in Ramadan.
It's served on a first come, first served basis.
Photograph: Saurabh Sirohiya/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Tenderstem® Bring Home the Harvest
Morning Work by Sanghamitra Sarkar
Fishermen of Inle Lake are preparing for their fishing in the early morning with their boats.
Photograph: Sanghamitra Sarkar/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Politics of Food
Black Fish by Haider Khan
Cargo ships dumping oil into the sea go unpunished.
Photograph: Haider Khan/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Winner 3rd place - Young 13 - 17
Steaming Milk Cake by Indigo Larmour
Tucked away in the winding streets of Jodhpur, India, was an alley lined with shops making milk cake, a decadent Indian sweet.
The process of cooking milk cake begins in the early hours allowing time for it to set.
As the vendors stirred their pots of milk, steam arose making photographing this process extremely atmospheric.
Photograph: Indigo Larmour/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Food for the Family
Traditional Dinner of a Shepherd Family by Konark Basu
A Shepherd Family having dinner in Pushkar Fair (Rajasthan, India) in traditional style.
Photograph: Konark Basu/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Winner 2nd place - Young 13 - 17
Fruits of Labour by Kainaat Arif
In a village in Northern India, a girl toils to help her family on their farmland.
Photograph: Kainaat Arif/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration
Roth Worship by Mohammed Rimon
About 725 years ago, in Sylhet, Hindu worshippers celebrated Roth worship.
Today, the Manipuri community in Sylhet, Bangladesh, honours it uniquely.
In their rendition, devotees gather, praying not just for themselves but for the joy and prosperity of all humanity.
This image captures their inclusive spirit.
Photograph: Mohammed Rimon/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action
Tea Tales of Terai by Debdatta Chakraborty
Terai tea gardens refers to the tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai regions in the Jalpaiguri Division of West Bengal, India.
In 1859, a young Scottish merchant, Walter Duncan, started tea plantations in the region and since then, this area alone has produced a quarter of the total tea produced by India.
Photograph: Debdatta Chakraborty/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: World Food Programme Food for Life
Sharing is Caring by Kishore Das
Amidst the bustling streets of Kolkata, a family living on the footpath, share a meal with love and compassion.
Two women served food to others, while inside a modest room, another couple shares a meal, echoing the sentiment that sharing is caring in this candid street scene.
Photograph: Kishore Das/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Category: Winner 2nd place - On the Phone
Queen Dress by Gurudas Bate
Taken at Harne, Dapoli Beach Maharashtra.
Fisherman generally dry their catch as it is popular in India to eat dried fish.
Visitors frequently visit this popular beach.
One visitor takes a selfie, it seems like a gown. Hence that woman is feeling like a queen. It's the best feeling to love yourself!
Photograph: Gurudas Bate/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
The Overall Winner of the whole competition 2024 is Yang Zhonghua from China with his photograph titled Red Bean Paste Balls
In the rural area of Xiangshan, Zhejiang people are busy with preparations for a feast to celebrate Spring Festival, also know as Lunar New Year.
This includes the tradition of making dim sum, such as red bean dumplings, steamed rice cakes and glutinous rice cake, each of which has a legacy of traditional craftsmanship.
Photograph: Yang Zhonghua/Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
To see all 40 entries, [please click here (external link)
Published with kind permission from Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Photographs curated by Rajesh Karkera/ Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com