A PICTURE taken by a food photographer from Wimborne has won an award in a national competition.

Robin Goodlad’s photograph of a carpet of wild garlic growing in a Dorchester woodland came first in its category at the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year awards.

During a glittering ceremony at London’s Mall Galleries, Robin was presented with his award by renowned chef Pierre Koffmann.

His picture was chosen above hundreds of others in the competition’s Food in the Field category.

Among those on the judging panel were Jamie Oliver's photographer David Loftus and Nigel Atherton, group editor of Amateur Photographer.

Robin, a professional photographer, branched into food photography around a year ago.

The 41-year-old said: “It was incredible to win my category. It took a while to sink in. I was surprised when they read my name out, but it quickly turned into elation.

“I have a big interest in food and do a lot of cooking myself. For this competition, I wanted to look for something different. That’s why I went for the shot I did. It was a woodland in Dorchester, and what inspired me was spring.

"You always see pictures of bluebells in spring. Wild garlic is similar but isn’t photographed that much.”

Once a quarter-finalist on Masterchef, Robin loves catching and growing his own food. His photograph captures the beauty of wild garlic, which he says has a huge amount of uses in cooking.

“I love experimenting with different things and cooking with seasonal ingredients, like wild garlic.

“There’s not many woodlands in Dorset like this one,” he continued. “The shot took a lot of planning, and I had to do four or five trips until the conditions were right and the wild garlic flowers were ready.”

The Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year awards were created to give recognition to food photography. The categories represent the various depictions of food in society, from styled food for magazines to images of families eating together in celebration of religious festivals, from the realities of food production to food growing in its natural setting.

Describing how it felt to win the award, Robin said: “It was incredible. It took a while to sink in, and I was surprised when they read my name out, but it quickly turned into elation.

“I had confidence in the picture I took, but there were at least a thousand submissions in my category, which made it quite daunting.

“With photography, it’s very much subjective to the viewer. I was really pleased when the judges said that my photo was the best in the competition, technically speaking. That was a real honour.

“And it’s also nice to get coverage of Dorset. The picture captured a different view that’s not normally seen.”