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\nPeople and food<\/strong> Dario Cecchini, the world-famous butcher, has been training a team of young women who come to Tuscany from all over the world to learn the art of deboning. Food and wine photography has always been an important part of my work as a photographer, especially in recent years.<\/p>\n Whenever working on a food story I am always intrigued by the human element. The main role of food is to nourish our bodies, a basic need for human beings, and I love to investigate the role it plays in our world. I am incredibly happy to have been the first winner of the Claire Aho Award, and to win with a shot of another woman. We all do different jobs, but our passion and strength are the same.\u2019<\/p>\n Tell a story<\/strong> \u2018On the fourth day of the National Day holiday, the old couple\u2019s daughter and son-in-law had come with their little girl to celebrate the old man\u2019s birthday. It was amid the harvest season so the man had to return to the crops after a quick lunch, but his family stayed at home to make dumplings.\u2019<\/p>\n To capture the opportune moment Li Huaifeng waited until the lid was removed from the steaming pot to enable the cascading light to pick up the steam. \u2018During the process I tried not to interrupt them and captured the interactions between the mother and daughter so as to present a lively, natural and heartwarming picture.<\/p>\n I made the most of the natural light as it backlights the people, but also forms a diagonal line from the stove, which in turn leads the viewer\u2019s eye to the centre of the image. The composition is also strong as the symmetry of the door and window offers visual beauty.\u2019<\/p>\n Old props<\/strong> This picture of vanilla pudding is one image from his series of six, and came highly commended in the Fujifilm Award for Innovation category. Wesley prefers to work in the studio setting and for this set-up used his Nikon D800 with a Nikon 85mm manual tilt-shift lens and Profoto lighting.<\/p>\n \u2018I like to have the same lighting consistency in my images, so for that a lot of tests are done in advance. I have a fixed routine in making this type of image. I always photograph the different elements of the image, and I often work with stackings that I later combine in Photoshop.\u2019<\/p>\n Reflect and connect<\/strong> Manja says, \u2018\u201cStyling\u201d the octopus was a fiddly, time-consuming and slimy task. In food photography, an octopus is usually presented inside out to expose the suction cups on the arms. I wanted to get this guy looking a bit more like a monstrous beast, pushing the boundaries of the camera frame.<\/p>\n I wanted to honour the importance of this creature and get it looking the part it plays in the Maori legend of Te Wheke-a-Muturangi. In this story, the famous explorer Kupe battles with a monstrous wheke (octopus) across the Pacific Ocean and this leads him to discover Aotearoa.\u2019<\/p>\n Manja finishes by saying, \u2018My goal is always to create images that are beautiful in their detail and that serve as pockets of beauty and order amid the chaos of everyday life, and creates a safe space for reflection and connection.\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s all a trick!<\/strong> This helps me control everything remotely without having to be in front of the camera.\u2019 Despite the fact that it looks like the toffee apples are falling through the air, Anastasija reveals this isn\u2019t actually the case. \u2018Most of my levitating images rarely actually involve objects flying in the air… if ever!<\/p>\n And to achieve the best image quality and sharpness, levitating objects need to be fixed\/fastened in some way. For this particular image I used a helping hand, which was a table clip tool.\u2019<\/p>\n Reveal the scene<\/strong> When the little child feels thirsty she has to search for drinks from empty bottles. I used a Nikon DSLR to take this photograph.\u2019 Mahabub Hossain\u2019s important yet saddening photograph got several awards including the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2021, and we can see why.<\/p>\n What he reveals in one image raises important questions about our basic human rights to resources such as clean drinking water and what happens to those who are vulnerable when these are denied.<\/p>\n Be in the right place<\/strong> \u2018The image was taken in Chateau des Ganfards, France, where I have worked as winemaker and viticulturist since 2018. On the 26th of August, 2020, we decided to start picking our first grapes for our white wines,\u2019 he continues.<\/p>\n \u2018It was a chilly morning, and at 7am I prepared the press for the receival of the fruit.\u2019 It was after this point Oscar grabbed his camera and went down to the vineyards. With the perfect sunrise setting as his backdrop, Oscar got ready for the harvest machine to unload the grapes.<\/p>\n \u2018I was lucky enough that a sharp ray of sun was illuminating the spot where the grapes were gracely falling into the trailer, with the focused look of Jean Claude G\u00e9raud driving the tractor behind.\u2019<\/p>\n Always have your camera<\/strong> Laura Chase wanted a creative way to announce to her Instagram followers the birth of her baby daughter. \u2018I know people follow me for food, not babies, so I had to think of a way to keep it on topic. I think my favourite part of the shot is actually the breast pump on the right, just peeking in. That\u2019s what made it feel like it really was a photo of food for the whole family.\u2019<\/p>\n Laura Chase\u2019s image came Highly Commended in the Food for the Family category.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all about style (and collaboration)<\/strong> The image pictured here called \u2018Winteropulenz\u2019 goes with five other images to showcase his skills as a stylist. He tells AP, \u2018This picture is a collaboration, between the photographer Frank Weinert and myself, and shows a broad range of winter harvest in a contemporary, and organic way.\u2019<\/p>\n For this image Martin ensured that each object was carefully selected and placed, but not \u2018styled\u2019 in a technical way. \u2018In pictures like these, food styling is about creating an image from imagination, not on demand, so we have to have a very playful and spontaneous attitude in composing. Sometimes you throw in objects and they fit so they stay. The books (centre) are a great stand for some veggies but they also serve as a tongue-in-cheek reference to old masters.\u2019<\/p>\n Food on the go<\/strong> Thong\u2019s image, \u2018Breakfast at the Weekly\u2019, saw him win first place in the Food at the Table category. It shows people enjoying Pho (beef or chicken noodle) for breakfast.<\/p>\n \u2018I captured the photo on an early spring morning,\u2019 he says. \u2018The weather was cold but sunny. As I walked around the market and the Pho restaurant, people were enjoying noodles while the sunlight caught the steam from hot bowls.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nMarina Spironetti<\/a> took first place in the brand new Claire Aho Award for Women Photographers, a category of the contest, and she tells us all about her winning image. \u2018This image was part of a reportage project about the female butchers of Panzano in Chianti, Italy.<\/p>\n
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\nWith just one frame you can reveal a whole story as Li Huaifeng\u2019s overall winning image called \u2018Taste\u2019 shows. This photo was taken in Licheng County, Shanxi Province, China, during the National Holiday of 2016 as part of his project on earth cave dwellings.<\/p>\n
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\nPhotographer Wesley Dombrecht<\/a> tells us the idea behind his project Reminisce had been on his mind for some time, however it wasn\u2019t until the lockdown that it started to take shape. \u2018I was looking in an old photo book and I got an impulsive idea to also use old kitchen appliances that I had found at my grandmother\u2019s barn,\u2019 he tells us.<\/p>\n
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\nDanish food and drink photographer Manja Wachsmuth<\/a> is based in New Zealand, and her award-winning image titled \u2018Octopus\u2019 was taken for top chef Monique Fiso\u2019s book, Hiakai: Modern Maori Cuisine (Penguin Random House NZ).<\/p>\n
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\nFor the Pink Lady\u00a0 Apple a Day category, Anastasija Malinovska\u2019s<\/a> action image, \u2018Magic Birds\u2019 took second place. Anastasija tells AP, \u2018When I\u2019m taking images, I always try to use a tripod to fix my camera for a better image quality, and I\u2019m also tethering my camera and smartphone to the Camera Connect app (for Canon users only, but other manufacturers also offer similar functionality).<\/p>\n
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\nMd. Mahabub Hossain Khan\u2019s heartbreaking image of a child drinking from a rubbish pile in Bangladesh took first place in the World Food Programme Food for Life category. Mahabub Hossain tells us, \u2018A little child is drinking from the plastic bottle, as her mother works in the bottle recycling factory.<\/p>\n
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\nPhotographer Oscar Oliveras (follow him on Instagram @wineographic, or www.wineographic.com<\/a>) took overall first place in the Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year 2021 category with his image \u2018A Grape View\u2019. \u2018One of the most exciting days for a winemaker is the first day of harvest and to taste the first juice of the year,\u2019 Oscar tells us.<\/p>\n
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\nNot many expectant mothers pack heavy camera kit in their hospital bag, however they aren\u2019t photographer Laura Chase de Formigny (www.laurachase.com<\/a> and follow on Instagram @laurachasedeformigny). \u2018This shot was heavily pre-planned! I brought my Nikon D850 and my 24-70mm f\/2.8 lens with me to the hospital. My husband thought I was insane for standing on the bed because of how hard the birth was on my body, but I wasn\u2019t about to miss this shot for anything in the world.\u2019<\/p>\n
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\nWhen it comes to food looking its finest, a food stylist knows a thing or two about how to make this possible. Martin Gr\u00fcnewald (foodstyling-gruenewald.de<\/a> and follow on Instagram @lilalewisia) is a food stylist from Germany, and took first place in the Food Stylist Award.<\/p>\n
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\n\u2018In the northern mountainous regions of Vietnam, one of the best cultural features is the weekly market,\u2019 photographer Thong Nguyen<\/a> (thongnguyengallery.com) tells us. \u2018The market at the commune or district centre, is a place for cultural and culinary exchanges of many different ethnic groups.\u2019<\/p>\n
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