A photograph of an amateur volcanologist standing barefoot on the lava fields of Vanuatu’s Mount Yasur has won the Portraiture category of the Open competition in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards.

‘Barefoot Volcanologist’

Elle Leontiev, a fine art and documentary photographer, captured the image of Philip or the “barefoot volcanologist,” on Tanna, a remote Pacific island approximately 120 miles from the main island of Efate.

“It was actually tough conditions on the day. The volcano was spewing a lot of ash that day, a lot of sulfur,” Leontiev told Live Science. “It was really hard just to breathe; I was struggling. It was really windy, and a lot of the ash and sulfur was just being blown straight at us. We actually got off the volcano because it was too dangerous to stay up there.”

Mount Yasur is a 1,184-foot active volcano on the eastern side of Tanna. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, the volcano has been erupting since at least 1774, with the most recent period of major unrest occurring in December 2025.

Born and residing at the base of Mount Yasur, Philip has spent years studying and monitoring the volcano. Though he doesn’t have formal qualifications, Philip previously trained with French volcanologist Thomas Boyer.

“I started to teach him stuff about volcanoes at the same time he was teaching me how to approach the Yasur and (volcano) field techniques he learned since he was a small boy,” Boyer, ab manager and chief scientist at Geolab XP, told Live Science in an email. “We complemented each other from the start and have since successfully blended our two worldviews: science and Melanesian customs. … Philip has progressively played an increasingly important role locally as a knowledgeable observer of Yasur and as a bridge between the volcano, visiting scientists, and the communities of Tanna.”

According to Boyer, volcanic activity in the area consists of bursts of explosive activity and, because this is relatively predictable, controlled tourism of the area is possible. Philip acts as a guide, taking researchers and tourists up the volcano.

“On a day-to-day basis, Philip’s work is a mix of observation, guiding, and informal monitoring,” Boyer said. “Because he lives directly next to the volcano, he has a continuous awareness of its behaviour. This kind of long-term visual and experiential knowledge is extremely valuable for us as volcanologists, it can help [build] models and better predict future eruptions.”

Sony World Photography Awards 2026. Exhibition at Somerset House in London, April 17 to May 4, 2026. worldphoto.org.