2012 PINK LADY FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS | THE MALL GALLERIES | LONDON

2012 is a monumental year for one of my greatest passions - the art of Food Photography.  In a previous Anne Watson Photography blog post you saw that I was absolutely thrilled to see this artform being celebrated with the 2012 Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year contest.  Sponsored by Pink Lady Apples, this was the first-ever international competition celebrating Food Photography - and, just for the fun of it, I decided to spend an inspired January afternoon shooting photos of apples for my submission.

In the end, it turns out that the Pink Lady team and their panel of renowned judges received 3,160 submissions from over 60 countries around the globe - an incredible turnout and some seriously stiff competition! Needless to say, I didn't expect to hear a thing and had just had fun entering... so, when my email chimed on March 1st with the incredible news that my photograph had been selected as one of the 65 short-listed finalists who would have their art displayed in a public 5-day exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, I was beyond excited and truly honored.

So, this week it was off to The Mall Galleries in London for the gallery reveal & awards reception on Tuesday, April 24th, 2012. The Taittinger Champagne flowed while the winners were announced - it was a magical evening. And although I didn't win a trophy, I still felt like a winner as it was such a huge honor to be considered amongst the finalists and to have the opportunity to meet such incredibly talented & inspiring people! I can hardly wait until next year's competition - another year to allow the creative Food Photography juices to flow!

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Cheers!

 

SIMPLE. BEAUTIFUL. DELICIOUS. | ART WITH APPLES

When was the last time you paused to admire the natural, unique beauty of an apple? Until recently, I must admit that I'd taken these gorgeous little treasures for granted. That was until I discovered a Food Photography contest being hosted by Pink Lady Apples in the UK. Their Food Photographer of the Year contest boasts nine categories in which amateurs & professionals alike can enter - one of which sounded too fun to pass up - 'An Apple a Day'!

In the 'Apple a Day' category, the Pink Lady judges are asking for images that showcase, "the simplest, most delicious of foods represented in the most inspiring way."  It was a perfect excuse for me to spend a cloudy Sunday afternoon scouring the market for the most vibrant variety of apples I could find (yes, I think I looked like an insane person picking up every apple, examining it, putting it back, picking up another... this went on & on for about 45 minutes) and then photographing them in every creative way I could dream of. I was in food-photographer-nerd heaven!

The variety of apples available here in the United States is staggering - everything from electric green Granny Smith apples, to bright Red Rome apples and everything in between - Pink Lady, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Macintosh, Red Delicious - each its own shade with its own pattern, as infinitely unique as snowflakes.

Entries in the contest are being accepted through next Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 - and winners will be announced in April. I'm looking forward to entering - it's really not about the competition for me as much as it is how grateful I am to see Food Photography being celebrated on a global scale and how excited I am to participate. And, every entry into the 'An Apple a Day' category generates a £2 donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, the chosen charity of Pink Lady - Food Photography for a great cause - what's not to love about that?! Here's to apples - simple, beautiful, delicious.

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