A photograph of an amateur volcanologist standing barefoot on a lava field on Vanuatu’s Mount Yasur has won the portrait category in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards open competition. Fine art and documentary photographer El Leontief captured Philip, the “barefoot volcanologist,” on Tanna, a remote Pacific island about 120 miles (190 kilometers) from Efate’s main island.
“It was actually a tough day. The volcano was spewing out a lot of ash and sulfur that day,” Leontiev told Live Science. “It was really hard and a struggle just to breathe. The wind was so strong and it was blowing so much ash and sulfur straight at us. It was too dangerous to stay on top of the volcano, so we actually got off the volcano.”
Mount Yasur is a 361 m (1,184 ft) active volcano on the east side of Tanna. It has been erupting since at least 1774, and low-to-moderate Strombolian explosions occur regularly, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s World Volcanism Program. The last time there was much anxiety was in December 2025. Mount Yasur is one of the most accessible Stromboli volcanoes in the world due to its frequent and moderate explosive activity.
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Born and living at the base of a volcano, Philip has spent years researching and monitoring Mount Yasur. Although he trained with French volcanologist Thomas Boyer, Philippe lacks formal qualifications due to limited access to further education and high tuition fees.
Mr. Boyer, laboratory manager and chief scientist at Geolab XP, an independent geological research institute based in Vanuatu, met Mr. Philip during a visit to Yasur in 2011.
“I started teaching him things about volcanoes, but at the same time I was teaching him how to approach yasur and (volcano) field techniques, which he had learned from an early age,” he told LiveScience via email. “We complemented each other from the beginning and since then we have successfully merged our two worldviews: science and Melanesian customs.…Philippe has played an increasingly important role locally, both as a knowledgeable observer of Yasur and as a bridge between the volcano, visiting scientists and the Tanna community.”
Tanna is a very fertile land due to its volcanic soil. The island’s population of approximately 30,000 people relies on agriculture and tourism, focusing on basic needs and cultural practices. “Philip is in some ways an exception to this rule. Yes, he is a science person and he loves science,” Leontiev said.
Activity at Yasur typically consists of explosions that spew “volcanic bombs,” ash and gases from vents in the summit crater, Boyer said. He added that managed tourism is possible because it is relatively predictable.
Philip takes researchers and tourists to volcanoes as a guide, but the number of tourists visiting Vanuatu has decreased significantly in recent years.
“It’s pretty isolated right now,” Leontiev said. In 2015, Tropical Cyclone Pam, one of the deadliest Pacific storms in recorded history, severely damaged Vanuatu’s infrastructure and devastated crops, livestock and fisheries. The tourism industry was also severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with Air Vanuatu, the country’s main airline, going into liquidation in 2024. Then, in December 2024, the country was hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, causing massive destruction and affecting more than 80,000 people.
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Vanuatu, a chain of approximately 80 volcanic islands, is also exposed to major risks from climate change, with abnormal weather, coastal erosion, sea level rise, and ocean acidification impacting resources and tourism.
Leontief said Philip is currently working with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Authority, visiting the volcano’s seismic observatory and conducting occasional sampling. He also works at the nearby Volcano Museum, which Boyer founded.
“Yasur is embedded in Tanna’s cultural and spiritual life,” Boyer said. “All communities consider volcanoes to be part of their identity and history, and people respect them, understand their rhythms and have lived safely around them for generations. Philip and I tried to emphasize in the museum that science and tradition are not contradictory to each other.”
The Haos Bron Volcano Museum is an educational center and a base for visiting scientists. “It provides an important on-site base for logistics, on-site coordination, and scientific exchange between international researchers and local communities,” Boyer said, adding that both Boyer and Phillip help visiting scientists access the crater, conduct observations, and maintain and inspect monitoring equipment.
“Philip’s day-to-day work is a combination of observation, coaching and informal monitoring,” Boyer said. “He lives right next to the volcano, so he is always aware of its behavior. This kind of long-term visual and experiential knowledge can be invaluable and useful to us as volcanologists.” [build] They will be able to create models and predict future eruptions more accurately. ”
Leontiev said the suit Philip is wearing in the photo was donated by a group of scientists who visited the volcano. He’s always barefoot, so he’ll be barefoot. ”[His feet are] Leontief added that actor Will Smith, whom Phillip helped guide in the 2021 National Geographic documentary “Welcome to Earth,” had shoes custom-made for him, “but I don’t know if he’s wearing them.”
Philip’s goal is to send his son John to university to become Tanna’s first official volcanologist. John, a college student, is currently working with Boyer to learn about volcanoes. “That passion is passed on to the next generation,” he said. “We want to help John do what Philip was not able to do formally: research science and volcanology.”
Vanuatu does not have a dedicated volcanology program, so he hopes to study abroad in New Caledonia or New Zealand. “Education in Vanuatu is limited and people have to pay for it themselves,” Leontief said. “It’s about $2,000 a year, which is very high.” According to the United Nations Urban Resilience Hub, the average income of a person in Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila is about $350 a month.
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Cinematographer Guillaume Baudouin, who met Philippe while filming a volcano on a remote island in Vanuatu and made a short film about his work, has launched a campaign to raise funds for John’s education.
“Philip is a really good person, a really kind person,” Leontiev said. “And someone who really believes in his community and cares about everyone. I think his desire to see young people succeed and get an education is something that’s really admirable to him and that he strives for regardless of his circumstances. He’s also someone who never gave up on his dreams no matter what obstacles he faced. I think that’s pretty special.”
Sony World Photography Awards 2026. On display at Somerset House, London from 17 April to 4 May 2026. worldphoto.org
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