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.

A favourite breakfast dish here in Laos is khao jee pâté. Variations are also popular in Vietnam where it is known as bánh mì and in Cambodia, nom pang.

Laotians enthusiastically accepted the baguette when it was introduced during the French colonial period. In Vientiane, baguettes are sold on street corners and in the local markets but with a distinctly local twist. Warmed over a charcoal brazier, split down the middle, smeared with pâté and stuffed with pork, raw papaya, pickled vegetables and a lick of hot chilli sauce, the baguettes make a satisfying breakfast when served with thick, sweet Lao coffee.

I recently spent an afternoon doing shots khao jee pâté for Stockfood. The great thing about stock food photography is that you get to eat your work.

Just a quick reminder that my exhibition of photographs of food and food culture in Southeast Asia is still showing at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok. In you are in town any time from now until the 18th of March, drop in for a drink and take a look. There are 18 images in the show from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

One of the most popular with the many people who have seen the exhibition is ‘Rat Boys’, an image taken in northern Laos of young lads selling live bamboo rats by the side of the road.

The show also includes the first prize winning shot in the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year “Food in Action” category of a woman cooking dosa over charcoal stoves in Yangon.

All images in the show are part of my photography stock collection with the world’s leading food image library, Stockfood.

The FCCT is easy to get to. The nearest BTS skytrain station is Chidlom.

The Thai beach resort town of Cha Am attracts weekenders for the sun, sand and sea, but during my recent visit I headed straight for the morning market.

As you would expect, the produce is predominately fishy.

It’s a great little market and well worth the early rise. Plan to get there for around 6:30 a.m.

The street along the back of the main market building is the most interesting as that’s where the fresh seafood is sold.

Around 7 a.m. colourful characters from nearby food stalls get busy delivering khao tom to vendors.

The shortlist for the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2014 has been released so I can post the seven images of mine that were selected from more than 6,000 entrants. Of the 400 shortlisted images, just seven in each category have been chosen for the final. The exhibition at The Mall Galleries in London of April 23rd, 2014. Three of my images made it into the final but, as yet, I am not at liberty to tell you which ones. You can choose your three favourites and discover if you were right on April 23rd.

I was pleased to hear that two images taken in Thailand were chosen. The image above was selected for the Food in Action category (the category I won last year) and is of a man cooking pad Thai. It was snapped in Ayutthaya.

The Food in the Field category image is of salt fields in Udon Thani province, northeast Thailand.

Shortlisted  for the Cream of the Crop category was a stack of vegetables at the morning market in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Also from Sri Lanka, this time in Negombo, is a woman with a tuna. The image was selected for the Food in the Street category.

From Cambodia and in the Food and its Place category is the above image of a fisherman bringing his catch ashore in the beach town of Sihanoukville.

At New Year I went off-road motorcycling in northern Laos, as I do each year, and captured this rather disturbing image of a leopard cat that had been poached. It was being sold at the side of the road. The woman selling it was uncomfortable with my presence and in fact covered the cat up. I chatted with her a while and, determined to get the shot whether she like it or not, pulled back the cover and snapped. The shooting of wildlife for food in Laos is a huge problem. To be honest, the woman and her leopard cat (she also had wild deer) is just the tip of the iceberg. The big issue is organised poaching and the animals heading straight to kitchens in China. This image was shortlisted for the Politics of Food category.

Finally in the Food for Sale category, a group of delightful lads with their live bamboo rats on strings for sale at the side of the road in northern Laos. The rats, I might add, seemed less than delighted by the experience!

Photography competitions are a curious thing. On one hand, it is always great to be selected but, in my case at least, it’s usually not my favourite images that make it through. It is, after all, someone else’s opinion. And so it is in this case. If you asked me to pick three images from the seven above, they would all be different from those chosen by the judges for the final. You can see the full shortlist here . Remember, just seven from each category will be in the final. I have to say, there are some cracking images from other entrants. Good luck to you all. I particularly like the images in Food Portraiture category. It’s not something I’ve explored but I do hope try my hand at the dark arts of food porn over the coming months, time allowing.

It’s great to be able share the news that I have been selected for the final of the prestigious “Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year” for the third consecutive year. I will have three images in three different categories on show at The Mall Galleries in London. I’ll be at the opening night on April 23rd. The exhibition will open to the public on the 24th.

Last year I scooped first prize in the “Food in Action” category. I can’t reveal my images yet as everything is kept under wraps until the night of the awards. This year, there were more than 6,000 entrants, whittled down to just seven images in each category. I also have four “commended’ images in other categories. Chosen by a high profile panel of photographers, food media professional and chefs, the standard of work in this show is always extremely high. The judges include documentary photographer, Martin Parr, food photographer, David Loftus (who does Jamie Oliver’s books), food critic and journalist, Jay Rayner, and cookery writer and restaurateur, Yotam Ottolenghi. Fingers crossed for April 23rd.

I know I speak for many in Thailand when I say “kanom jeen is one of my favourite noodle dishes”.

Kanom jeen is made with rice that has been fermented for three days. The soft spaghetti-like noodles are often served with green curry or nahm yaa, a fish-based sauce and lots of herbs and vegetables to add to the dish and nibble on. In the northern city of Chiang Mai the noodles are central to the popular street food dish, kanom jeen nahm ngiao. They also make an appearance in Lao and Vietnamese dishes such as khao bun, bee bun and naem neuang.

Common though these dishes are, it’s rare to see the noodles being made. Usually noodle shop owners buy daily from a factory or market. When I was in Krabi in southern Thailand recently, I headed to a shop for a bowl of breakfast noodles and I was surprised to see them making their own kanon jeen in the back.

They were coming straight out the press, into a cauldron to cook, then rinsed in cold water, and straight into bowls for waiting customers. What a find. Here they were served with another of my all-time favourite dishes, gaeng dtai pla, a fantastic full flavoured curry made with fish innards, bamboo and egg aubergines.

For more kanom jeen-ness check-out an old post by fellow writers and photographers, Robyn Eckhardt and David Hagerman.

Last night I attended the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2013 at the Mall Galleries in London. It was a well attended evening with prizes presented by food critic, journalist and MasterChef judge, Jay Rayner. David Loftus, Jamie Oliver’s photographer, and chef Bill Granger were also there.

There were more than 5,500 entires from all over the world and I think the standard of work was even higher than last year. I had been selected in three categories, each of which featured seven images. I’m delighted to say that I scooped first prize in the Philip Harben Award for Food in Action category with the image above.

It was taken at about 5.30 a.m. near the morning fish market in Yangon. The shot is of a lady preparing dosa rice flour pancakes on three charcoal stoves.

The exhibition is open to the public at The Mall Galleries, London SW1 from Wednesday 24th – Sunday 28th April 2013.

I was also selected for the Food in the Street and Food in its Place categories.

While in London I stayed at the Mecure London Bridge, a great hotel in an outstanding location close to the river and Borough Market.

I must confess that I am a bit of a foodie. And I live in the right place to indulge myself. Thailand, indeed South East Asia, is a paradise for adventurous eaters. An added bonus is that I love photographing in vibrant markets, snapping food vendors and the nosh on my plate.

Last year I entered the international “Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year ” competition, a prestigious annual event which attracts thousands of entrants, and I was selected in one category. This year, I am delighted to say that I have been selected in three categories; ‘Food in the Street’, ‘Food in Action’ and ‘Food in its Place’. There are only seven photographers selected for each category.

I must emphasize that the images shown here are not the chosen images. These have to be kept secret until the winners are announced at The Mall Galleries in London on April 23. I will be going to the show as it coincides with my annual trip back to my grey little island.

The event is attended by leading figures from photography, media and food industries. Senior representatives of the sponsors also attend including Petra Thierry from StockFood’s Photographer & Art Department. More importantly Errazuriz Wines and Taittinger provide free flow wine and fizz. Basically it is a damn good arty party and I’m really looking forward to it.