April 22^nd is Earth Day, a chance for us to celebrate nature and reflect on how we can support conservation work. We can also celebrate the photographers, filmmakers and storytellers who have dedicated their work to nature, wildlife and conservation. We’ve gathered a list of truly incredible Sony shooters who spend their days in the vast wilderness, on ships, underwater, high in the tree canopy, or trekking through mountains to make unique imagery. They then use their images to protect and conserve. Many of them are pushing technical boundaries with their Sony cameras and lenses, using new techniques such as camera trapping, infrared and crittercams to share untold stories, improve scientific research and document behaviors. Check out their work and give them a follow on Instagram!

Earth Day is April 22nd! Follow these Sony creators on Instagram to fill your feeds with all things nature.

Cristina Mittermeier – @mitty

Cristina Mittermeier is a conservation photographer and Sony Artisan of Imagery. She brings awareness to important conservation issues through her compelling life’s work. She’s the co-founder of conservation organizations @SeaLegacy, which is dedicated to promoting the protection of the world’s oceans through storytelling, and @OnlyOne, a platform for stories, solutions and community action to protect the ocean, tackle the climate crisis and help build a more just, equitable planet. She’s most recently been aboard the SeaLegacy 1, a boat specifically designed for the collective of storytellers to document ocean life for conservation purposes. You can watch their most recent explorations in the latest episode of SeaLegacy | The Voyage. Follow her on Instagram as she brings important issues to light through her inspiring imagery. Help rebuild ocean life, for people and the planet. Learn more about how you can Join The Tide HERE.

Paul Nicklen – @paulnicklen

Sony Artisan Paul Nicklen is among the world’s most celebrated nature photographers and filmmakers. He’s also an acclaimed polar specialist, speaker, author, @natgeo contributor and the co-founder of conservation organization @SeaLegacy with Cristina Mittermeier (@mitty). He aims to create an emotional connection through his photography, giving us a closer look at wild objects in extreme conditions most humans would otherwise never witness. He collaborates with other conservationists, scientists and creatives to create awareness and inspire action for global issues like climate change. He’s also been aboard the SeaLegacy 1 with the rest of the crew, and you can stay tuned to the Alpha Universe YouTube Channel for future episode of SeaLegacy | The Voyage to see which corner of the earth they explore next. Follow Nicklen for more compelling conservation and nature photography in your feed. Help rebuild ocean life, for people and the planet. Learn more about how you can Join The Tide HERE.

Colby Brown – @colbybrownphotography

Sony Artisan Colby Brown is a photographer, photo educator and author specializing in landscape, wildlife, travel and humanitarian photography. Through his work he combines his love of the natural world with his fascination with its diversity, creating imagery that tells a story of life on this planet. He recently posted these images of a Variable Bush Viper below, taken with his Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G. We love seeing the video footage of what the behind the scenes was like. If you’re an animal lover, following Brown’s Instagram account is a must.

Chris Burkard – @chrisburkard

Chris Burkard is an accomplished explorer, photographer, creative director, speaker and author. The Sony Artisan travels the expanses of the earth to capture stories that not only inspire humans to consider their relationship with nature, but also promote the preservation of wild places everywhere. His powerful landscape imagery shows others the beauty of the outdoors and why we shouldn’t take it for granted. His coverage of the volcanic eruptions in Iceland have garnered major attention. He was even honored in National Geographic’s Top 50 photos of they Year. Learn more about that HERE. Follow him on Instagram to keep up with his next wild adventure.

Andy Mann – @andy_mann

Sony Artisan Andy Mann is a photographer, director, diver, climber and speaker. As a @natgeo photographer and senior fellow and storyteller for conservation organizations @SeaLegacy and @OnlyOne, Mann’s work centers around ocean and adventure photography as well as commercial and conservation film. His imagery helps to tell the story of our rapidly-changing planet, as he works tirelessly to document endangered animals and wild places in need of protection. In his post below you can see he’s taking on the issue of endangered sharks being killed if caught in commercial fishing lines and how you can help. You can also catch him in episodes of SeaLegacy | The Voyage and follow him on Instagram to see what beautiful part of the planet he captures next.

Peter McBride – @pedromcbride

Sony Artisan Peter McBride is a photographer, filmmaker, writer and public speaker who has traveled to over 75 countries for the likes of the National Geographic Society, Smithsonian, and The Nature Conservancy. He’s worked over 20 years in the realm of conservation, and over a decade of that he's been documenting the Colorado River. He explains his work in the caption below stating, “I’ve been covering this story for 15+ years — following the river source to sea, walking (and paddling) its delta and it is like watching a slow motion train wreck… sadly…I will continue to work on this story and the tragedy of the commons in my ‘backyard river’ until I can’t. In the past, collaboration and awareness are the only tools I’ve seen work to remedy this challenge.”

Renan Ozturk – @renan_ozturk

Renan Ozturk is an adventure filmmaker, photojournalist, climber and Sony Artisan. He explores some of the most challenging environments in order to tell compelling stories that inspire change. Below he posts images from “The Last Tepui,” on @disneyplus, directed by Ozturk with Sony Artisan and partner Taylor Rees, which documents elite climber Alex Honnold, writer and climber Mark Synnott and team work to deliver National Geographic Explorer Bruce Means to the top of a massive “island in the sky” known as a tepui.

Taylor Rees – @taylorfreesolo

Sony Artisan Taylor Rees is a documentary filmmaker and photojournalist. Her work focuses on bringing new perspectives and deeper public understanding to the complexities of issues like climate change, human rights and more. Follow her to learn more about the current human and environmental issues in the world through captivating visual storytelling.

Gina Danza – @wildgina

Nature photographer, visual storyteller and Alpha Collective member Gina Danza specializes in intimate landscapes. She takes an approach to photography that includes connecting with nature and getting in touch with her emotional side, hoping to make others realize and reflect how they are connected with nature too. Follow her Instagram account for more nature content in your feed with captions that make you think about your relationship with all things outdoors.

Charly Savely – @charlysavely

Charly Savely is a member of the Alpha Collective who specializes in adventure/travel, wildlife and fine art photography. She enjoys exploring the harsh environment of her home in Alaska, respectfully capturing its wildlife, and bringing awareness to climate change and conservation issues. Much of her photography features minimalist moments, often getting close-up with animals. She also leads wildlife photography and conservation workshops. Follow her to keep up with her latest work and for more beautiful wildlife imagery like the arctic fox image she posted below.

Autumn Schrock – @autpops

Autumn Schrock is a photographer and designer specializing in outdoor lifestyle, travel and landscape photography. The Alpha Collective member strives to showcase the immense beauty of our world and to encourage others to get out and explore. We love the stunning image below made on the Sony Alpha 7R V with the Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master. If you’re looking to be inspired and add beautiful imagery to your feed, be sure to give her a follow!

Sapna Reddy – @sapnareddy

Nature photographer Sapna Reddy of the Alpha Collective loves immersing herself in the natural beauty that surrounds us. She believes that nature has an inherent healing power and hopes to share that healing effect of nature through her photography. By looking at the series of wildflower images below, you can see that she truly makes art from nature through her Sony cameras and lenses. And we love the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote she included in her caption: “Flowers are the earth's laughter at the arrogance of human beings who believe they can rule the earth, although they themselves are transient and must return to it.”

Gary Hart – @garyhartphoto

Gary Hart is a professional landscape, astro-photographer, and a Sony Artisan. He creates his images with single-click captures to try to convey the world untouched by humans, using the camera's unique vision to create images that reveal aspects of the world overlooked or unappreciated by the human eye. Follow his Instagram for more beautiful landscapes and astroscapes in your feed.

Don Smith – @don_smith_photography

Sony Artisan Don Smith is a professional landscape photographer and educator. He says his love is nature, and he shares his passion through his workshops around the world at beautiful locations. He made the image below using focus bracketing in his Sony Alpha 7R V. The results are wonderful! Follow him for more beautiful captures of nature in your feed.

Erin Sullivan – @erinoutdoors

Erin Sullivan is a travel, outdoors and miniatures photographer, and member of the Alpha Collective. She’s passionate about exploring the imagination and sharing stories from all over this world, particularly those that have a deep connection to this planet and its people. When the pandemic started and her travels came to a halt, she started creating her own miniature landscapes at home. Her work in this realm has really taken off, and she partners with brands and sells prints. Now that travel has picked back up, she’s also back to photographing the beauty of the natural world.

Rachel Jones Ross – @rachel_jones_ross

Rachel Jones Ross is a landscape and astroscape photographer and educator based in the Canadian Rockies. The Alpha Collective member is most inspired by snow-covered mountains and skies filled with stars. Her imagery shows the depth and vastness of our planet and beyond, helping others build their appreciation for its beauty. She also enjoys sharing her expertise with others through her photography workshops and tutorials.

Jess Santos – @missjessbess

Photographer and Alpha Collective member Jessica Santos calls herself a wanderer at heart. She goes on adventures throughout the West, capturing landscape, astro images,  and timelapses that put the vibrant colors of the day and starry glow of the night in the desert on display. Santos also shares her photography expertise through exciting workshops and custom adventures. She created this absolutely beautiful photograph with her Sony Alpha 7R IV and Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master, the shot is actually a composite of 20 images! 

Nate Luebbe – @nateinthewild

Alpha Collective member Nate Luebbe is a photographer, cinematographer and self-proclaimed nature nerd. A lifelong explorer of the outdoors, Luebbe shares his passion for Mother Earth on Instagram by posting landscapes, astroscapes, wildlife and more. His dynamic and inspiring photographs, videos and timelapses reveal the spirit of adventure and thirst to see more of the beautiful planet we call home.

Cath Simard – @cathsimard

Alpha Collective member Cath Simard is a photographer, composite artist and workshop leader. She has spent years exploring the wildest and most remote corners of the earth. She creates beautiful landscape photography and astro-landscape composites and is also in the NFT space. She made the composite below with her Sony Alpha 7R III – the foreground was shot with the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master and the sky was shot with the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master.

Scott Kranz – @scott_kranz

Scott Kranz is a photographer, filmmaker, educator and member of the Alpha Collective. He has an extreme passion for the mountains and all things outdoors, and his photography specializes in capturing authentic moments in real adventures while surrounded by the most wild, rugged, and pristine beauty of our planet. The image below is truly captivating, and Kranz made it with the Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 600mm f/4 G Master. "Can’t tell you how fun it was to use this setup to capture the wild things here!”

Javier Aznar González de Rueda – @javier_aznar_photography

Photographer Javier Aznar González de Rueda’s work is mainly focused on natural history and wildlife conservation along with its relationship with humans. He is a @natgeo contributing photographer and a fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and The Photo Society. He has a background in biology and aims to offer a personal point of view showing nature at its wildest state through his photography. He often captures the magnificence found in the hidden world of creatures, with hopes to sensitize the public to the pressing need to preserve the planet and the animals living in it. He captured this close-up of weevil with his Sony Alpha 7R IV and Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G lens. Follow his Instagram to see which fascinating creature he gets up-close to next.

Morgan Heim – @moheim

Morgan Heim is a conservation photographer and filmmaker. She’s a Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and co-founder of Her Wild Vision Initiative, an organization aimed at raising the voices of diverse women in the craft of conservation visual storytelling. Her work focuses on wildlife-human coexistence. She is well-regarded for her bird photography and stories about birds. Learn about her tips for avian imagery HERE.

Katie Bryden - @ktbryden

Wildlife filmmaker Katie Bryden is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. She lives in Florida and works on conservation issues across the state, using stories to help protect wild places. We love the clip in the Reel below. Give Bryden a follow to stay up to date on all things Florida wildlife.

Sandesh Kadur – @sandesh_kadur

Photographer and Filmmaker, Sandesh Kadur has worked with National Geographic, BBC Earth, Disney+, Netflix, and others to tell stories about wildlife all over the world, but primarily in his home country of India. Kadur shoots with the Sony Alpha 1 and you can see how he creates magic with it in the video below. Follow his feed to see his beautiful wildlife photos and videos and perhaps some of his humor along the way!

Kartiki Gonsalves - @kartikigonsalves

Kartiki Gonsalves is a photographer, filmmaker, member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, and Sony Artisan of Imagery in India. She recently won an Oscar for her first film, “The Elephant Whispers” on Netflix. You can learn more about how she made this film HERE. And check out a few clips from the documentary below!

Sebastian Kennerknecht – @pumapix

Sebastian Kennerknecht is a nature and conservation photographer who covers wildlife and environmental issues internationally, focusing in particular on wild cats. He’s a fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and works closely with field biologists to both effectively and ethically capture photographs of some of the rarest cats on the planet while also highlighting the threats they face. In his post below he shares a photo of a fishing cat and information on how you can support their coexistence with humans.

Jen Guyton – @jenguyton

Jen Guyton is a photographer and ecologist with a passion for telling stories at the junction of global environmental change and human culture. She’s also an explorer for National Geographic Society and a fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers. Her conservation photojournalism has taken her all over the world and her belief that storytellers have the power to persuade and motivate makes them crucial to the protection of our planet. She is on assignment for @natgeo working on a story about hyenas and shared this image as a sneak peak!