Last night, the finalist exhibition of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2015 was held at The Mall Galleries in London. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend this year’s prestigious event but I am pleased to say that I was awarded third prize in the Politics of Food category.

The prize-winning image above was taken in north west Laos and shows table of wild food openly onsale in the market. One of the first things you see when entering the airport at Vientiane is a huge sign about wildlife trafficking. Wild food always has been a part of the diet in Laos, especially with the rural communities of the north. Although a table of python, civet cat, bamboo rat and an assortment of other jungle creatures may look gruesome, the real issue is not local consumption but mass smuggling of anything that moves to feed the voracious appetite of China. Corruption and incompetence ensure that little is being done to address the problem.

I also had another image on show at The Mall Galleries in the Politics of Food category. The “Highly Commended” shot, “chickens on a bike” was taken in Yangon, Myanmar and shows the indifference to animal suffering that is frequently encountered in Asia.

Shortlisted but not making it into the final selection were these “Commended” images:

“Man versus manta ray” – an enormous ray cut up on a quayside in Myanmar which was in the Politics of Food category.

“Crabs for somtam”, an image taken in Phuket Town, Thailand was shortlisted for the Cream of the Crop category.

“Just one more spoonful” of a mother feeding her daughter in Kompong Cham morning market, Cambodia…

…and “street-side lunch” from Yangon, Myanmar – both from the Food for the Family category.

The above photographs and my extensive library of food and food culture images are available through my agency, StockFood.

You can see all the finalist images online here or can pop along to The Mall Galleries, just of Trafalgar Square in London. The exhibition is free and open to the public until the 10th of May.