1,841
Followers
5,010
Following
19
Posts
N/A
Reels
5
Highlights
12/0
Photos/Videos in last 12
Bio
Writer. Story Architect. Strategist. Work: @SonyAlpha Head of Content & Experiential
Links
pilotism.substack.com-
Avg likes
-
Avg comments
-
Engagement
0.0/wk
Posting
Likes and comments are still being collected for this account. Check back shortly.
Recent posts
Super excited to chat with @michaelaion in just a couple of hours for today’s @sonyalphafemale Live Chat! 📸✨
I’m such a huge fan of everything Michaela has done for the Sony Alpha Female community and how much she’s inspired and supported so many of us along our creative journeys. I can’t wait to share stories, talk photography, and catch up with her today!
I’m sharing one of my recent photos from Patagonia, which won my latest Sony Alpha Female microgrant. Every time I feel like I'm losing focus, I remember how much this community has helped me regain it with their support. 🏔️❤️
Come hang out with us today at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET! Would love for you to join our conversation! 💕
14 Oct 2026
Photo by @brookeshaden — Every once in while I get to pretend I am a mermaid. For this shoot, I collaborated with two of my favorite @sonyalpha photographers: @paulnicklen playing the part of the handsome sailor who saves the mermaid, and my dear friend @brookeshaden who is the artist, mastermind and creative genius behind these photographs. We envisioned a mermaid trapped between two worlds and Brooke casted her unique spell on the elements to make something moody and beautiful. Thank you @michaelaion for bringing us all together. #fortheocean
22 Nov 2025
Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada
📷 @sonyalpha #A7CR
This week, someone I love said to me, “There are two types of people: sails and anchors. You have to figure out fast if the person in front of you is one or the other and act accordingly.”
I’ve mistaken anchors for sails many times. In some cases with devastating consequences. Here are some things I’ve learned:
- Once you decide to be a sail, you start assuming others are too. Don’t. Let them show you first.
- An anchor seems light until it’s tied around your leg and dragging you under. Don't underestimate its weight. Sharpen your knife in advance so that you're ready to cut the rope.
- Some anchors dream of being sails. That doesn’t mean they can. Don’t confuse potential for capacity.
- Anchors raise big red flags from the start. Don’t mistake them for sails, they're not made from the same cloth.
- A sail feels calm in your body. An anchor fills you with tension. Learn the difference between oxytocin (peace) and dopamine (chaos).
- Get enough sails around you, and they’ll pull you out before an anchor drowns you. There’s power in numbers.
Be a sail. The world has too many anchors.
18 Aug 2025
Location: New York City
Graffiti: "Your Love Is A Gift To The World" -- @thebrooklynpoet
📸 @kateogg with #Sony #RX1RIII
Last year I landed on love as a strategy for life.
After many trips over the years down massive existential rabbit holes, I reached the simplest truth there is:
1️⃣ If you don't let yourself love, you lose even when it looks like you're winning.
Love your imperfect self.
Love your messy life.
Love others even when they don't deserve it. And love them fiercely when they do.
Love with all your being even when you know it will not save you. Even when you know it will destroy you and you'll have to rebuild yourself after. Because you'll be rebuilding on fresh ground with new tools.
Does it hurt when you love fully? Always, guaranteed. But after the joy.
Does it hurt if you don't? Always, guaranteed. With no upside. Plus, the longer you stay on that cold avoidance train, the longer and harder the trek back to yourself when the pain becomes too unbearable to ignore. Pull the emergency brake now, get off, and start your journey back.
My second simple truth:
2️⃣ The act of loving isn't about feeling good, it's about feeling at peace.
Loving will give you the peace that hate and fear, by definition, cannot provide.
Because there is nothing beyond love--that's the final level.
But beyond hate there's an endless field of emotional debris guarded by scary demons who have learned how to say your name seductively. Peace is not their goal.
My third simple truth:
3️⃣ Love is not a feeling, it's an action.
You can't both love something or someone and act unloving toward them.
You can't love anyone before you love yourself.
Whoever or whatever you love, you must also be ready to let them go. Love doesn't seek ownership, it's a vehicle to freedom.
Finally:
⚓ The opposite of love isn't hate, it's fear.
Stop holding yourself back from loving just because you're afraid of pain.
Pain is guaranteed whether you love or not.
But one pain is abject misery during your descent into hell on a golden escalator.
The other burns a clean path to your liberation.
Let yourself love. It's your gift to yourself, not just the world.
06 Aug 2025
Capped off half a year of prep ending in an incredible #sonykandotrip filled with love, laughter, and unlimited joy, with a creative session under the stars with @yyangcheng @callanpaolabarrett and @drewgiggity . Gratitude is the word of the month.
01 Sep 2022
When you face the dark night of the soul, get yourself a lit umbrella.
a7R III hand-held
#SonyKandoTrip #BeAlpha
15 Aug 2019
Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
#SonyAlphaFemale
#SonyAlpha a7R III
24 Feb 2019
Welcome to church.
#SonyAlpha #SonyAlphaFemale
#Sony #a7RIII
09 Nov 2018
Secrets.
#rxmoments #RX10 #sonyalpha #girlpower
26 May 2018
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. - Brene Brown
Thanks for all the inspiration @nahyel.e!
#sonyalpha #mexico
06 Apr 2018
White sands.
#sonyalpha #beach
17 Feb 2018
Happy New Year everyone! Whether you swim with the current or against it, may you revel in the journey, and may you be joyful, peaceful, and surrounded by like-minded, thoughtful, brave beings who support you wholeheartedly when you need it and whom you support lovingly when they need you. ❤️
#HappyNewYear #loveistheanswer
31 Dec 2017
Follower tracking
We have started recording @michaelaion, but only 1 observation so far — not enough to show a trend yet. Track it daily →
Download @michaelaion's data
Everything below is derived from this account, priced on the counts shown. Delivered as CSV by emailed link.
You only pay for rows we deliver. Counts are the maximum available today; if an export comes back smaller, the difference is refunded automatically. Counts as last collected 2 days, 13 hours ago.
Tracking
A monthly plan, not a download: we keep reading @michaelaion and email you what changed.
Other reports
Not downloads of this account: they take their own inputs.
Similar accounts
Accounts we track that share hashtags, mentions or bio topics with @michaelaion.
@brilewerke
11.6K followers
Also uses #sonykandotrip
@sonyalphafemale
34.6K followers
Also uses #sonykandotrip
@jbg.photography
3,047 followers
Also mentions @sonyalpha
@lenanikolaj
12.2K followers
Also mentions @sonyalphafemale
@padiyong
4,327 followers
Also uses #bealpha
@sonyalpha
2.6M followers
Also mentions @sonyalphafemale
@asfandcore
9,230 followers
Also mentions @sonyalpha
@monaris_
443.0K followers
Also mentions @callanpaolabarrett