DON GONYEA, HOST:
The winning portrait in the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards captures a man named Phillip Yamah. Wearing a silvery metallic lava suit, he stands barefoot at the base of an active volcano in Vanuatu, a country in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where 75% of all active volcanoes are located. In that image, ash and sulfur darken the sky, but Phillip doesn't wear a helmet or shoes. He is a self-taught volcanologist and also a guide for tourists and for scientists in Vanuatu. He joins me now. Good morning, Phillip.
PHILLIP YAMAH: Hello. Good morning.
GONYEA: Phillip, when our producer was talking to you, making this connection that we have, did I hear you tell him that you are full of ash as we speak?
YAMAH: Yes. There's a few explosions this morning. I could see there's still some ash cloud above me now.
GONYEA: OK. Well, this is probably not an unusual thing for you. How is it possible to live on an active volcano?
YAMAH: I was born right on the base of an active volcano. Living with a volcano, I feel like it's God, despite its natural hazards - acid rain or the ash falls - but I still love to be on the side of this fire because it means God to me.
GONYEA: In that award-winning photograph I mentioned earlier, you are barefoot. Is that your natural state? Are you always barefoot around the volcano?
YAMAH: Yes. Yes. I was born like this so...
GONYEA: (Laughter) Of course.
YAMAH: ...It helps me get balance every time. And then when I walk on the top of the volcano, I could feel the volcano. The volcano can feel me. So, yes, it's my entire life to go all the time with barefoot.
GONYEA: And what does volcanic rock feel like under your bare feet?
YAMAH: (Laughter) It's good and sharp, but I never get hurt. I know where to set on my feet, and I never got any cut or bleeding on my foot.
GONYEA: Tell me how you know when Mount Yasur is safe just to walk around.
YAMAH: Well, my friend Thomas Boyer, he really helped me a lot to train me and telling me about all the symptoms, the signs, if it's going to be active or not. And also, my father, he told me when I was a little boy, he said, if you are walking around or living around the volcano, you have to show some respect. So I feel more safe when I respect the volcano. My father told me a legend about this mountain.
GONYEA: Can you tell us briefly what the legend was?
YAMAH: Well, a man named Yasur used to live in the north part of the island. He wanted to discover the whole island. So he started to go from north to more in the south. He end up in the village. He met these two ladies and they were - he just tell them, I'm just trying to walk around this island. They said, well, you're most welcome to sit beside this oven. So this oven, they've just covered a traditional food called laplap. To make laplap, you need to make a fire and then add some - put some stones on the top of the firewood to heat it up for at least 900 degrees. So while the ladies were discussing what will happen, a very big explosion, very big sound came out from the ground beneath the oven, which is now the shape of the volcano. This mountain now is called Yasur. The stones are still coming out today as lava.
GONYEA: So your father shared the legend. And we understand you have a son who is also studying this field, preparing to go to college. Can you tell us about him?
YAMAH: Yes. My son, his name is John. I don't really go to school, so that encourages me to boot my son to become a volcanologist for my family and my community, even my island or my country, so that one day, he can help the schools to give this knowledge. Pass it on to the next generations.
GONYEA: We've been talking to volcanologist Phillip Yamah in Vanuatu, in the Pacific. Thank you for taking the time.
YAMAH: Thank you very much. And don't forget, I have a home for you here beside the fires in my island. May God bless you.
(SOUNDBITE OF NOWE'S "BURNING") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
