The Candy Man, by UK photographer Jon Enoch, has won the overall prize at the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition this year.

The photograph was taken in the streets of Mumbai and is part of a wider series of images of the sellers who display the candy in a variety of ways in the hope of attracting a buyer.

“I’m ecstatic to receive this award, it’s a real honour to get this recognition in such a prestigious competition laden with wonderful imagery,” says Enoch.

“The winning image was part of a personal project – a huge amount of time and thought went into capturing it so it’s great to be recognised by such an esteemed panel of judges. Ever since I first saw the candy floss sellers I was drawn to the shapes, colours and juxtaposition of the candy and the urban environment.”

Here are some of the competition category winners, with descriptions by the photographers.

“When I arrived at Lap An Lagoon, the storm came.

“The people who were with me were very afraid of lightning, but I stayed to witness the change of the storm when Heaven and Earth seemed to be connected by wind and water.

“I tried to stay calm, to forget my fear and shoot this moment.”

“Adua’s kitchen is part of a journey down memory lane of an 86-year-old woman who had to leave her lifelong home during the Covid pandemic.”

“Girl resting after emptying a vat after the fermentation of the grapes in a vineyard in Burgundy.

“Physical and tiring work.”

“This image was taken from my visit to Shwe Gu Orphanage monastery in Old Bagan, Myanmar, in 2018.

“I visited this monastery for three days and observed their daily routines. Most of these children have lost their parents and have no family.

“They are training to be Buddhist monks.”

“This year’s persimmons are harvested, peeled and dressed, and hung under the eaves in bunches, waiting for the persimmons to soften and freeze, hoping they will bring a good price in the New Year.”

“Spag bol is always a winner in our house and the leftovers are enjoyed for lunch the next day, as my youngest daughter demonstrates in this image.”

“A sow taking a nap in a hole, meanwhile her piglets feed themselves in the hot weather of Palenque, close to Cartagena, Colombia.”

“This image is one of several in the collection Beauty in Destruction.”

“Saturday afternoon street food in Galle Fort, Sri Lanka.”

“The process of pulling sugar is a local specialty.

“This process is very skilful and the master appears to be dancing when pulling the white sugar.”

“After the campaign of the Syrian regime on Idlib and the departure of the Syrian forces from the city of Nayrab, the people of the city found all its houses destroyed.

“That was in the month of Ramadan in the year 2020. Neither the war nor the destruction prevented the people from holding a group breakfast, an important tradition for them during Ramadan.”

“An imaginative scene that could be somewhere in the dense Amazonian jungle made out of food.”

“One of my favourite summer fruits, photographed under a tree in our garden.”

The exhibition of all the finalists can be seen at The Royal Photographic Society in Bristol from Saturday 20 May until Sunday 11 June.

All photographs courtesy Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2023