Photographing ethereal scenes in the night sky, like a dancing aurora, a streaking comet or a glowing moonrise, inspires awe and ignites the imagination of both the photographer and the viewer. Timelapse photographer and Alpha Collective member Andrew Eggers (@andreweggers) was lucky enough to not only experience, but capture all of these events in a single week. Using a combination of Sony Alpha cameras and Sony G Master lenses, Eggers explains how he captured each event from multiple focal lengths to create timelapses that tell it all. The week of incredible photographic achievements serves as a testament to the beauty of both the natural world and the connections we as creators forge while exploring it. Keep reading below as Eggers shares the story of what he calls: ‘the best week of photography in his life.’

Product Preview – In This Article You'll Find:
–Sony Alpha 1
–Sony Alpha 7 III
–Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master
–Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master
–Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master

A dancing aurora, a streaking comet and a glowing moonrise. Timelapse photographer Andrew Eggers shares how he captured them all in a single week.

A Dancing Aurora

It was a Thursday night and football was on the TV when my roommate came home from work and said, “Hey! Are you ready to go?!”

I had no idea what he was talking about as he then explained that the aurora borealis was set to make an appearance in the dark skies across Northern America. Considering he said the same thing on May 10 when the last big aurora storm danced across the Golden State and I didn’t go because of an early work day the next morning, I quickly grabbed my already-packed kit and changed clothes faster than a host at the Oscars.

We met a friend and grabbed burritos at a Taco Shop in Placerville along the way. The solar storm was building up as we got there, so we quickly set up timelapses. I had two different setups going – a wider timelapse at 12mm with the Sony Alpha 7 III and Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master, and a more zoomed-in timelapse at 35mm with the Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master.

I wanted the wider-angle setup to capture as much sky as possible while keeping the horizon at the lower third’s line. My settings for that timelapse were 8-sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200. My goal for the other setup was to get a closer look at the aurora, and I captured that one at 10-sec., f/2.8, ISO 2500. The ultraviolet red color wasn’t visible to our naked eyes, but you could see the pillars of light in the sky like fingers playing a piano. There were certainly shouts of joy and the awe and appreciation of the universe was at the forefront of my mind.

We also met a local who had decided to drive up for a better look of the aurora, and he told us stories of the area and how he and his family had seen Halley’s Comet from his doorstep. But we’ll get to comets later…

It was a few days later that my son and I attended Fleet Week in San Francisco for our first time. We showed up early and got a spot near the Yacht Club with a great view of the Golden Gate and a partially blocked, but still good view of Alcatraz. The adrenaline that courses your veins as those majestic and extremely powerful machines take flight can turn a grown man into a kid in an instant. It was a great day and the images turned out really well.

A Streaking Comet

The next jaunt came several days later to capture Comet C/203 A3 (Tuschinshan-ATLAS) that only visits us every 80,000 years. My roommate and another friend stopped at the same taco shop before trekking about an hour and a half away to eventually find a spot along Highway 88. The moon was up and bright as we were also shooting back over Sacramento’s light pollution, so the comet was hard to make out without the camera.

It was a sight to be seen and another that I’m very thankful to have photographed. That night I couldn’t help but think of the local we had met a handful of days prior who talked about Halley’s Comet and how it filled up the sky. So, here’s to making it to 2062 when it next passes by Earth!

I again used two setups when creating this timelapse for two different views. I created the wider timelapse with my Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master. I shot this one at 54mm, and there was plenty of moonlight in the opposite part of the sky so my settings were 2.5-sec., f/2.8, ISO 800. For the more narrow timelapse, I used my Sony Alpha 7 III and Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master at 123mm. I wanted this setup to punch in and capture more of the comet’s tail, and I captured it at 2-sec., f/5, ISO 3200.

A Glowing Moonrise

The next night was the monthly moonrise chase and I’ve been photographing them all year as a passion project. This month was the Hunter’s Moon, which would be our brightest and largest full moon in 2024 and it is hard to explain, but there is nothing quite like soaking in the energy of a full moon in the moment.  I met up with a friend not far from my work and set up shop on a bridge facing another bridge the moon would rise over.

Lining up the moon properly has always been a challenge for me, but I’ve learned a lot over this past year. I used the PhotoPills app to figure out the alignment for the timelapses. I captured the opening timelapse with the Sony Alpha 1 and an 85mm at 1/640-sec., f/6.3, ISO 100 to get the details of the moon. The other two were captured with the Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. I took a wide one with this setup at 100mm with my settings at 1/5-sec., f/8, ISO 640. Then I punched-in for a closer timelapse to show the details of the moon, capturing another at 1/30-sec., f/10 and ISO 640.

It didn’t dawn on me until driving home that night how it had been the best and most memorable week of photography in my life. I felt so alive in that moment recalling all of the events and thinking about each one individually and while that was so neat to think about, another thought caught my attention as well. This is a story about a series of photography events, but it’s also a story about people spending time together doing what they love and making meaningful memories. So, thank you to my son, my friends Marion, Fred and Jeff for being a part of these photo moments.

See more of Andrew Eggers’ work on his Alpha Universe Profile and on Instagram @andreweggers.