/ 2026 / Portraiture / Personality

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Elle Leontiev, Australia
• Date of Photograph
  7th September 2025

This photograph was taken on the ash plains of volcanic Mt Yasur on the remote island of Tanna, Vanuatu a tiny nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Phillip stands barefoot atop a volcanic rock bomb, wearing a donated lava-protection suit gifted to him by European researchers. Behind him, Yasur smoulders, sending a dense plume of gas and sulphur into the sky.

Since childhood, Phillip has been captivated by the volcano. Through curiosity and lived experience, he has become a self-taught volcanologist respected by internationally recognised scientists, despite living in poverty.