TAFE Queensland graduate wins world photography award

Sunshine Coast photographer and videographer Elle Leontiev has been named the 2026 Open Photographer of the Year at the Sony World Photography Awards in London for her striking image The Barefoot Volcanologist.

Her win capped a standout run at one of the world’s biggest photography competitions, which in its 19th year attracted more than 430,000 entries from over 200 countries and territories.

Elle won the Open Portrait category earlier in the year, placing her among the category winners shortlisted across the Professional, Open, Student and Youth competitions for the grand prize.

The award-winning portrait was captured on the ash plains of Mount Yasur on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It featured local Phillip Yamah, a self-taught volcano scientist, standing barefoot in a donated lava suit as smoke rose behind him.

The win also closed a personal loop.

While living and working in London’s finance sector, she visited the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in 2018 and promised herself she would return one day as an exhibitor.

After returning to Australia in 2023, Elle completed a TAFE Queensland Diploma of Photography and Digital Imaging CUA50925, supporting her move into documentary and fine art photography and helping her build an industry-ready portfolio.

“I’d always played with photography throughout my life, but it was more a passion. Working in the corporate world didn’t fill my heart creatively, and TAFE Queensland helped me shift into work that was more fulfilling,” Elle said.

“The teachers were industry professionals. Their direction helped me understand what the industry was looking for, refine my lighting and critique skills, and develop my own voice,” she said.

Her TAFE Queensland photography teacher Robert Della-Pina said Elle was driven from the outset and had a clear sense of direction.

“She was passionate about global issues such as gender equality, and her corporate background helped drive her to make change,” he said.

“I wasn’t surprised by her success. Looking at her work and its quality, I knew she was going to achieve great things,” he said.

“She got into her assignments early, which gave her the freedom to push further creatively. And she took feedback seriously, entering competitions and learning from judges’ comments,” he said.

“I always tell students that it is no good leaving images sitting on a storage device, you need to enter as many competitions as possible and work with the judge’s feedback,” Rob said.

“Elle followed that advice and look at where that has taken her.”

“When I found out that I had won the Portrait category, and then back-to-back the Open Photographer of the Year, I was in total shock. Winning this award is the culmination of a long-held dream and a deep love for what I do,” Elle said.

“I am incredibly grateful to all the people who have contributed to my journey along the way. The teachers at TAFE Queensland hold a special place in my heart and in this journey, and everything I have learned from them has been invaluable to my growth and progression.”

Elle’s work was later featured across domestic and international exhibitions and competitions. Through personal and commissioned projects, her images invited reflection on fragility, resilience and humanity’s responsibility to the natural world.

“Over the last couple of years, I did two documentary filmmaking trips with international development organisations to document social issues including gender-based violence and climate change in Fiji and Vanuatu, and to talk to the women involved in political movements in those countries,” she said.

During that work she met Phillip, who lived with his family at the base of Mount Yasur, where explosions and earthquakes were a daily reality. He had no formal training but became a self-educated volcano expert who often walked the crater barefoot to do research and earn a small tourism-based income.

Elle said Phillip drew on deep, generational knowledge and lived experience, alongside local and spiritual knowledge. When creating the portrait, she aimed to honour his grounded presence within the landscape, rather than dramatise the volcano.

“It was difficult to get a quick picture in that environment. I had just a small window. We’d just gone up the volcano, it was incredibly windy, and walls of volcanic gas made it hard to breathe,” she said.

She explained that Phillip remains barefoot due to his size 20 feet, which make it difficult to find suitable footwear. Additionally, he prefers going without shoes, as he has been accustomed to walking barefoot from birth.

The donated lava suit contrasted with his bare feet, highlighting both protection and connection to place.

Mount Yasur was one of the most accessible active volcanoes on Earth, but conditions could be hazardous, with ash-thick air, heat radiating from the ground and frequent tremors.

Next, Elle will travel to Greenland for an artist-in-residence project in the Summer lasting months where she will explore climate and social issues through her work.

Her practice involves both social documentaries of issues affecting our time and dreamlike states people can achieve in close relationships with nature.

Her previous Awards include multiple Honourable Mentions at the Monochrome International Awards (2024–2025), recognition at the Capture Awards (Top 15 and Finalist, 2025) and a shortlist placing at the Australian Photography Awards (2024).

She will also be attending the Siena International Photography Awards 2026 in Italy in October where her work will be displayed in an exhibition attended by the heavy weights of the art world. She will be competing for Highly Commended or 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.

To see more of Elle’s work, visit elleleontiev.com or follow her on Instagram at @elle_tieva_

Congratulations, Elle!

Elle with the Hon Jay Weatherill AO, Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK, and his wife Melissa Bailey