As we near the end of 2023, we’re celebrating the past year with a selection of the most meaningful images taken by the Brand Ambassadors in 2023. See Part 3 of 6 below featuring breathtaking landscape photography from Peter McBride, Andrew Geraci, Patrick Murphy-Racey, Tiffany Nguyen, Jess Santos, Sapna Reddy, Philip Nguyen, Vincent Lim and Mahesh Thapa. See Part 1 HERE, Part 2 HERE - and stay tuned to Alpha Universe this week for more.

We're counting down to the end of the year with a selection of the most meaningful images taken by our Sony Artisans and Brand Ambassadors in 2023.

Peter McBride

Photo by Peter McBride. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 24-105mm f/4 G. 1/400-sec., f/20, ISO 250

"I took this image of the Colorado River delta spanning the border of Sonora and Baja Mexico. I was leaning out of a Cessna 182, 1000 feet over the ground going about 75 mph – in total awe of the beauty I was witnessing as a boreal tide had created other worldly drainage patterns in the now dry and dead river estuary."

"I like this image because the tendril patterns look so much like the roots of a tree with an abstract perspective. I've documented the challenges and wonders of the Colorado River for decades. This image shows how we have asked too much of this southwestern lifeline that supplies 40 million Americans with drinking water and most of America's salad bowl. The plight of this over-allocated, over-diverted, overused river is the subject of my new book, The Colorado River; Chasing Water and this image is the back cover. I love the beauty of this image that showcases a not-so-pretty subject about our fresh water challenges."

Andrew Geraci

Photo by Drew Geraci. Sony Alpha 7CR. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II. 5-sec., f/5, ISO 50

"I found myself lost this year, going through a divorce, a dying mother, and pivoting to new career endeavors while Hollywood figured out what it was doing. This all led me to nature and to this moment, where I was able to capture this incredible display of natural beauty through the lens of my camera at Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania."

"This photo is meaningful to me because the calmness of the water but also the power of it allowed me to remember who I am and what I stand for in my career and life. It made me feel alive again."

Patrick Murphy-Racey

Photo by Patrick Murphy-Racey. Sony Alpha 7CR. Sony 16-35mm f/4 G PZ. 1/1000-sec., f/4, ISO 100

“After years of shooting sports and editorial work, I really needed a personal retreat. I made a trip out West to the Valley of Fire to spend some time alone, shooting the awesome landscapes out there. I got up every day long before dawn, drove an hour to the entrance to the Valley of Fire , and then waited for the sun to rise. I did this twice each day for four days, putting over 1300 miles on a rented car. On the last day, clouds appeared in the sky! Prior to that, every day was only about the landscape and perfect blue skies. The drama created between the light, location, clouds, and vista, all created the payoff in this image.”

“I did this trip to learn all I could about the Valley of Fire and to prepare for a workshop I'll be offering there in February, but there are things I learned about myself, things I learned about shooting landscapes, and this image more than any other sums them all up for me. It’s the most meaningful image for me in 2023 because it represents that I can still learn, stretch, and grow.”

Tiffany Nguyen

Photo by Tiffany Nguyen. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/125-sec., f/2.8, ISO 250

"I took this photo at Scripps Pier in San Diego. The sunset caught me by surprise because the conditions looked far from ideal and then all of a sudden the sky started to light up and I couldn’t stop shooting! This is my favorite image I took this year, because it was the least expected. It was easily one of the best sunsets I’ve seen all year and it really inspired me to go out and catch more sunsets. It’s meaningful to me because it represents the reason why I love photography. Being able to capture special moments like this and sharing it with the world is why I keep doing what I do."

Jess Santos

Photo by Jess Santos. Sony Alpha 7R IV. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/40-sec., f/11, ISO 100

“After three days of battling weather and one hospital visit, we finally made it up this mountain to find the most perfect blooms of pasqueflower were still clinging to life on the edge of one of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen before. I sat and watched the clouds and fog roll in and out as the sunset, hoping for some color in the sky, but the color never came, so I combined several images of the foreground as the light had changed with a sky I had captured a few days prior.”

“The amount of blunders on this trip to Washington was quite funny looking back at it now, but at the time I had struggled for a good two weeks without a single image to show from my time spent there, until this day. It was like the light at the end of the tunnel and showed me that being persistent really does pay off. Living out of your car for a month and a half, battling weather conditions and planning mistakes is not glamorous, but it is in these moments of struggle that the most meaningful images can be captured.”

Sapna Reddy

Photo by Sapna Reddy. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/20-sec., f/22, ISO 64

“Gonbo Rangjon mountain in Zanskar Ladakh is considered to be holy by the local inhabitants who practice Buddhism. Standing at the base of the mountain, you are at 14,800 ft and towering above at 18,110 ft stands this divine peak. Illuminated by the light of the setting sun, it demands we photographers fall to our knees and pray our images do justice. I wanted to create a unique perspective of this majestic mountain. This image was shot using the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master and placing the camera low and close to the foreground. This image is a time blend. The water was shot before it was in complete shadow to enhance the color of the glacial water. The mountain was shot before sunset, illuminated by the angled light and the sky was shot after sunset. The image in essence being a summary of an extended period of time before, during and after sunset.”

“Exploring new territories, photographing mountains I had not seen before, my journey through the Himalayas reiterated for me why I pursue landscape photography. This image represents one of those moments when I felt both a deep spiritual connection as well as total bliss in the pursuit of the art form. Being able to share the image with others enriches the experience many fold. This image was crafted using multiple exposures of the same composition over an extended period of time in a deliberate attempt to showcase every visual element in optimal light. There was no single instant in time when the scene looked like this. But a person standing at this scene for an extended period of time at sunset would have witnessed all of the drama in the image. This image represents to me a successful attempt at pre-visualizing, reacting to light, executing and post processing to bring a creative vision to life. One that requires working through multiple hours to get a single image with the desired end result in mind. A truly satisfying creative endeavor.”

Philip Nguyen

Photo by Philip Nguyen. Sony ZV-E1. Sony 20-70mm f/4 G. 1/125-sec., f/6.3, ISO 800

“Sunrises in Oahu are something else! It can sometimes be hard to catch a good one because the weather on the island changes so drastically in a short amount of time, but when it does, it's one to remember. That's why on our short trip to Hawaii, we had to plan for sunrises nearly everyday just to see what we could score. Driving past these mountain ridges as the clouds fill with a golden glow is something quite special. It took us some time to find the right spot for a shot but once we stumbled on this still pond, I knew this was the image I wanted to take, with the mountains reflecting and the glow on the ridges, couldn't ask for a more serene moment in Oahu.”

Vincent Lim

Photo by Vincent Lim. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/100-sec., f/5.6, ISO 200

“This was captured at Bishamon-do temple in Kyoto just before sunrise. It was a three shot bracketed image taken with the Sony Alpha 7R V and Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II, my new go-to set up for landscape images. This pathway is actually pretty inclined, so to get a shot of the pathway looking flat, I had to get really low to the ground. It had just rained overnight causing the red maple leaves to fall on the pathway, making for an interesting foreground element. If I had to sum up autumn in Japan in just one photo, this would be it!”

“We announced our pregnancy in Japan back in April, and we wanted to bring our new daughter to Japan back to our announcement. This is our first trip as a family and it’s been filled with so many memorable moments together.”

Mahesh Thapa

Photo by Mahesh Thapa. Sony Alpha 6700. Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6. 1/30-sec., f/5.6, ISO 100

"This was taken at the end of a long but beautiful hike. The sunset was gorgeous behind Mt. Baker, and I just took out my Sony Alpha 6700 and captured this amazing scene! It had been a few years since I visited the Mt. Baker area during the fall season. It was great to get out there and see some of the best fall call colors in Washington state in years."