World Food Photography Awards 2026
Two images shortlisted for my very first entry into an international competition. To be perfectly honest, I’m still reeling from the surprise.
I submitted six photographs, driven by a healthy dose of curiosity. For a nascent project like Galerie Bokeh, it felt essential to understand the ecosystem of global awards and the submission process from the inside. But I quickly found myself caught up in the thrill of it.
I have always been an exacting observer, perhaps most of all with myself. My hard drive is a graveyard of discarded shots. Yet, through this process, I’ve curated a "private gallery" of sorts, images that simply refuse to leave my memory. Of the six I sent, two were chosen. Both share a certain amused affection for those unique, suspended moments in places I deeply love.
Cyrus & Nabuchodonosor (Hong Kong)
It began during a business lunch at Petrus, at the top of the Shangri-La. As we were ordering, the sommelier approached, carrying a bottle of monumental proportions with solemn pride.
Struck by the contrast, I asked permission to capture the moment. It was only later, when I converted the image to black and white, that its true power emerged: the incredible expression on Cyrus’s face, the crisp interplay between the deep blacks of his suit and the darkness of the wine, and that raw light pouring in from the high-rise windows, sculpting the reflections on the glass. A collision of professional excellence and sheer scale.
Fong Seng Carnes Asadas (Macau)
A weekend spent wandering through the old town, where the Portuguese soul remains intertwined with Chinese traditions. I stopped in my tracks in front of this cured meat shop: hams hanging in the window like a storefront in Porto, yet presented with an aesthetic that evokes the Peking ducks of Beijing.
By treating the image with a vintage black-and-white feel, I wanted to pull out every nuance of grey in the details. It was only years after taking the shot that I discovered the focused craftsmanship of a second figure, hidden behind the glass. This photograph isn’t just a travel memory anymore; it tells a complete story that I hadn’t even fully seen at first glance.
Once the initial excitement of the shortlist faded, I was immediately faced with the reality of being a gallerist. While the thrill of being an artist is exhilarating, my mind shifted almost instantly to my professional responsibilities.
Gathering technical metadata, preparing high-resolution files for large-scale printing, and reaching out to the team at Petrus as a matter of professional courtesy and image rights, and doing so before even showing the photograph or disclosing the name of the competition. Finally, coordinating a professional-grade Reel for Instagram to share the journey.
It was in this specific workflow of balancing the logistical, the legal, and the aesthetic, that I realized: Galerie Bokeh is exactly where I am meant to be. Championing an artist's work means knowing how to carry it, both technically and humanly, toward its audience.
