Been there photo competition December 2009

The open market is a staple of life throughout Asia. As economic development has taken off and large retail malls have been built many of those open markets have simply been moved indoors. They still retain much of the life and colour of the open market as this picture taken in Chiang Mai, Thailand shows. Photograph: Benjamin Arthur/guardian.co.uk

Feeding the family is an integral part of indigenous community life in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where daily foraging in the rainforest provides their means for survival.   Fish is one of their staples.  This Shuar family is proudly displaying its biggest catches of the morning, of which a portion was boiled for dinner and the rest was smoked to last the rest of the week.   Photograph: Rosie Pollard/guardian.co.uk

Meat diets in Africa tend to expand beyond just cattle, poultry, pork, and fish. Bush meat such as wild rodents, porcupine, and grasscutters are hunted daily and serve as an alternate source of protein. Photograph: Lola Akinmade/guardian.co.uk

Three girls share a snack of shelled beetles and giant fried spiders outside the RoyalPalace, Phnom Penhin Cambodia. Photograph: Jonny Crook/guardian.co.uk

Cholula, Mexico. Stopped for some crickets on the side of a hill. Pretty good with chile. Photograph: Jacob Russell/guardian.co.uk

Skewered centipedes- an acquired taste Taken at a night market- Beijing, China Photograph: Roslin Zuha/guardian.co.uk

Pátzcuaro, Michoacán state, Mexico. This picture epitomises all that is great about Mexican eating. Home cooked food, brought to the people and part of every day life and totally delicious. Photograph: Anja McCarthy/guardian.co.uk

Plaza Mayor, Madrid. A street performer entertaining diners in Madrid's main square. I love the reaction of the diners who had paid handsomely for this unlikely view Photograph: Amy Proctor/guardian.co.uk

This photo was taken in Tokyo. It was the first time my boyfriend Ben had tried sushi and he was a bit nervous after seeing what was on display. Trying sushi in Japan makes you realise exactly how much the sushi in england is adapted to western tastes. Photograph: Julia Pearson/guardian.co.uk

Young monks take meticulous care to divide up some dairy milk between them, in Paro Zhong, Bhutan. It seems that the love of chocolate has no cultural or religious borders! Photograph: Shelda Alcock/guardian.co.uk

This was taken in a Ramen Booth in Japan, from the customers point of view. A surreal experience, not the normal socialising meal as you order and pay for your meal by a ticket machine and sit down in solitude at the booth with walls seperating you from fellow eaters. All you see are hands taking your reciept and pushing your ramen bowl in front of you. Your only purpose is to eat. Photograph: Miranda Lowe/guardian.co.uk

This is a shot of a young member of the Flower Hmong at Bac Ha market Northern Vietnam. Oblivious to the chaos, and me, completely absorbed in her grapefruit. Photograph: Nick Board/guardian.co.uk

Islington, London. This is a celebration of the ordinary. There are no relatives, no festivities. It was taken on a Sunday and there is a deafening quietness about the image as it speaks perhaps of loneliness but also of stress-free contentment and relaxation. Photograph: Miltos Dikaros/guardian.co.uk

The Fete des Citrons Carnival in Menton, Provence, where the citron fruits of the region are celebrated - here in the form of a 20m tall sea monster!  Photograph: Hannah Scott/guardian.co.uk

The picture was taken on Karl-Marx-Allee at the Berlin Beer festival August 2008.  They have 2.2km of Beer and food stalls, this picture was taken at one such place.  Being on a Stag do this picture pretty much sums up our food consumption for the weekend as we were never very far from munching another Frankfurter served with a smile by attractive German Lassies. Photograph: David Burke/guardian.co.uk

Grapes are everywhere on this beautiful island Skiathos, in Greece. They are ready to eat and after a night in the bar, they're a perfect snack when you get a bit peckish! Photograph: Emily Gionis/guardian.co.uk

Eating is a much more public activity in Asia than in richer, Western nations. People tend to eat anywhere, any time, in the street or, in this case, the temple. This lady is a buddhist nun who spends much of her day in the Angkor Wat complex; cleaning there, resting there and eating there. After we'd broken jellied dumplings together I was allowed to take her photograph. Photograph: Benjamin Arthur/guardian.co.uk

Dave Scattergood: 'This is a shot of my daughter taken in an alley just off a small, beautiful square in Barcelona. The light entering the alley hit the spot just right where she was standing and the lush green and yellows in the background all came together for this moment. I think she was eating a Cornetto style ice cream and, pre face wipe, she's taken on a street urchin like characteristic as she ravishes her treat!'
Natalie Mayer: This is a shot of my daughter taken in an alley just off a small, beautiful square in Barcelona. The light entering the alley hit the spot just right where she was standing and the lush green and yellows in the background all came together for this moment. I think she was eating a Cornetto style ice cream and, pre face wipe, she's taken on a street urchin like characteristic as she ravishes her treat! Photograph: Dave Scattergood/guardian.co.uk