We asked our Sony Artisans Of Imagery and Alpha Collective to submit their most meaningful images of 2024. See Part 3 below featuring night and astrophotography from Colby Brown, Ben Moon, Jude Allen, Allison Anderson, Andrew Eggers, Michael Hollender, Quay Hu, Mike Meyers, Stan Moniz, Autumn Schrock and Fei Tang. Stay tuned to Alpha Universe as we continue to countdown to 2025.

• Part 1
• Part 2

We're counting down to the end of the year with a selection of the most meaningful images taken by our Sony Artisans and Alpha Collective in 2024.

Colby Brown

Photo by Colby Brown. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II. 4-sec., f/6.3, ISO 200

“This past February I was down in Bolivia, leading a series of photography workshops, when I noticed a shift in the weather forecast. It is rare to get thunderstorms in this region in March, so I knew we were in for something unique. As the storm began to build in the early afternoon, I noticed it was moving around the salt flats, almost encircling our group. We found a shallow pool of water on the Salar to prepare for sunset, and suddenly, we started seeing lightning strikes hit in the distance just as the light from the setting sun began to get epic. For the next 45 minutes, we watched as the light ebbed and flowed around this passing thunderstorm as it led into dusk. I instructed my students to set up a timelapse using the Interval Function setting on their cameras to increase their chances of capturing a lightning strike at sunset. This was my best shot of the evening. My workshop clients were beyond excited with their results! “

“It was one of the most unique shots I was able to capture this year. Lightning is always interesting to try to photograph, but when you find it in an unlikely area like the salt flats found in the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the images become pretty special. The chef's kiss in this situation was that it happened at sunset with a near-perfect reflection coming off the shallow water sitting on top of the salar. In the 12 years I have been visiting Bolivia, I have never witnessed something like this before.”

Ben Moon

Photo by Ben Moon. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master. 10-sec., f/1.8, ISO 3200

“When I spotted hints of the aurora in the night sky above my home on the Oregon Coast, I headed to the beach, hoping to capture the spectacular event above the haystack rock and Cape Kiwanda. Near midnight the reds and pinks shifted to green as the solar wind’s activity increased. This was the peak moment for me as the moon set and the full spectrum of colors were visible.”

“I've witnessed the aurora in Norway and Iceland but never at home at the beach where I surf and walk with my dog nearly every day. I was also with my close friend Jon Swift who in addition to being a musician and surfer is a respected astrophysicist. To have someone with Jon's knowledge explaining what we were seeing in real time was quite surreal. This is a moment I will never forget and will definitely print and hang on the wall.”

Jude Allen

Photo by Jude Allen. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master. 13-sec., f/2.8, ISO 1000

“I was experimenting with framing the Milky Way with a tall and curvy Joshue Tree when a car drove by and lit the foreground and some of the background. I love exploring our National Parks. I feel this image speaks to me as it has a subject so close but also has stars so distant but it brings them together to show the beauty of nature and space.”

Allison Anderson

Photo by Allison Anderson. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master.

“The Great North American Eclipse of 2024: my most exciting - and stressful - image of the year. I woke up on eclipse day to cloudy skies and a forecast of rain. This was also my first time photographing an eclipse, and I knew I would only have a brief moment to get it right. Miraculously, the clouds cleared just long enough for me to capture the event, and the images came out even better than I had hoped. This image is a composite to include other stages of the eclipse as well.”

“The preparation and stress that went into this day paid off. I also took this photo from my own backyard, which probably makes it the coolest photo I'll ever take at home.”

Andrew Eggers

Photo by Andrew Eggers. Sony Alpha 7 III. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master. 8-sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200

"This shot was taken as part of a timelapse during the best week of photography in my life. My friends Marion, Fred and I went to Kit Carson Pass once we heard the Aurora Borealis would be visible in Northern California. This is one of my dream shots to have the Northern Lights so close to home and it was a night with a ton of memories I won't soon forget."

"This photo reminds me of the joy I felt seeing the light pillars dancing over the horizon during this timelapse. Hootin' and hollerin' with my friends while enjoying Mother Nature's everlasting beauty was a feeling of sheer joy."

Michael Hollender

Photo by Michael Hollender. Sony Alpha 7CR. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master. 10-sec., f/3.2, ISO 5000

“Tucson Photo Adventures! Earlier this year I had the opportunity to visit Saguaro National Park and lead a small group of photographers on a photowalk after sunset. We were scouting around the Eastern side of the park and found a great trail with countless towering Saguaro Trees to photograph. I loved this Saguaros classic pose with its arms reaching up towards the stars, and this fork in the trail perfectly aligned with the Milky Way rising behind the mountains. Key things I needed were a wide fast lens, low light camera, sturdy tripod, remote shutter, low level lighting and some good company!”

“Looking back over the memories and adventures from 2024 this one really takes the cake. Saguaro National Park has become one of my favorite places. Learning about the landscape, wildlife and history of the region has really influenced me. From the research and reading I have done, to spending time with my daughter each day and reading her favorite Saguaro themed children's books. Did you know that Saguaro Trees don't grow their arms until they are at least 50 years old and some of these trees can live up to 200 years old. These are just a few of the many mind blowing facts and takeaways about the resilience of these plants and animals.”

Quay Hu

Photo by Quay Hu. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 20mm f/1.8 G. 13-sec., f/1.8, ISO 3200

“We looked for a nice foreground and a subject to add to the composition of the milky way. It brings a little more life into the image. It's been awhile since I captured images for fun. Photography for work and personal projects are so different. Kando is a time where we are able to re-connect with our friends.”

Mike Meyers

Photo by Mike Meyers. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master. 20-sec., f/2.8, ISO 2000

“During the first night of Kando 2024, a group of us headed up to the highest point we could find with a good lookout to shoot the Milky Way over Santa Barbara. Anthony Castro was generous enough to climb on the rock and serve as our model for an hour while we all shot different compositions of him. I shot 20s exposures which I found was the sweet spot to not blow out the highlights on Anthony's face and still get enough of the night sky where I'd be able to bring out the Milky Way in post. This was a single image.”

“Sony Kando Trip is always one of my favorite weeks of the year. It's so good seeing everyone again, catching up, and finding somewhere cool to go to shoot together. This night was probably my favorite night of the trip, and also one of the shots I thought came out the best. Living in Chicago I rarely get a chance to shoot the night sky or even see the Milky Way. So it's always a special thing to get to capture it, especially when it's with good friends.”

Stan Moniz

Photo by Stan Moniz. Sony Alpha 7CR.

"In late November, North Laguna Beach experienced a rare phenomenon—a vibrant red tide that lit up the ocean with neon blue bioluminescence at night. That evening, the water was blood red, a promising sign of what was to come. Trusting my instincts, I headed to the beach at 3:30 a.m. just as a fresh swell rolled in."

"What I witnessed was nothing short of magical. Each crashing wave illuminated the shore in a brilliant neon blue glow, transforming my local home break into something otherworldly. Here one day and gone the next, this fleeting moment was a reminder of nature’s extraordinary beauty—one I’m grateful to have captured forever."

Autumn Schrock

Photo by Autumn Schrock. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master. 4-sec., f/1.8, ISO 3200

“We were shooting the aurora and running timelapses in Norway this February. My partner and fellow Sony Ambassador Nate asked me to go stand out in front of the camera so that we could shoot some commercial work that we had. And then this happened! I had absolutely no clue that this proposal was coming.”

“I honestly never thought that I would get married, but then I met Nate. Getting to experience this under the aurora borealis, one of our favorite photographic subjects, in one of our favorite places is something that I will surely never forget. To have this memory forever in a photo means the world to me.”

Fei Tang

Photo by Fei Tang. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 85mm f/1.4 G Master II. 1/160-sec., f/1.8, ISO 2500

“This was an 8-shot panorama stitch using the Sony 85mm G Master II. For the first time in years, I had the opportunity to return to Hong Kong, the place where my family’s story began. Life had placed many obstacles in the way—losing my parents, the challenges of political unrest, and the global pandemic—but this year, I was finally able to go back. With Sony's support, I embarked on a deeply personal journey to reconnect with my roots, rediscover my heritage, and capture the essence of the city that shaped so much of who I am.”