Sun-drying octopus in Crete

I was staying with a friend in Heraklion, Crete, and took a trip along the coast ,” says Irina Wang of the day she took this photo. “Outside a small village restaurant were these three beautiful octopus, hanging from a clothes line with brightly coloured clips, as though they were freshly washed laundry.”

Irina says that though they didn’t end up sitting down at the restaurant, there was no shortage of seafood on her trip: “There was an octopus so large that its grilled tentacle was served alone, taking up the entire plate – perfect with a squeeze of lemon.”

An art and design student, Irina writes a food and travel blog called Wandercrush inspired by the difference between the seasonal ingredients available in Florida, where she’s from, and London, where she lives. “In Crete I was treated like family,” she says. “I tend to learn about people through the food they eat, but everything I learned about Greek food was through the people I met.”

Pink wafers by Gary Bryan

“I love everything Bauhaus. The wafers reflect the look: I chose rectangular shapes to reflect the brutalism of that architecture. I wanted people to try harder when looking at the image, so there are no crumbly edges. I shoot lots of food [I’m an advertising and commercial photographer] and do things to make it stand out. Not gratuitously, but I put a twist on it.”

La vida es corta by Emily Gottlieb

‘This photo of my mother was taken six weeks before my father, Stephen, died, and is dedicated to him. I took her on a surprise weekend to Barcelona – she thought we were going to Norfolk. This meal, before we went home, was one of those unexpected occasions where everything is right. The olive was just the start: we had seafood paella and a fantastic bottle of cava – it was a glorious day.”