[photoptimist]

milky way (done)
desert shots (done)
northern lights (done)
bald eagles (done)
water falls (done)
lightning (done)
infrared landscapes (done)

Seems I've ran out of things to shoot

How about:

snickers
dessert shots
southern lights
toupeed eagles
water springs
darkening
ultraviolet landscapes

[Wasp]

Come on, man, it's the 21st century. Get your own robot to do the work in your disguise!

I saw a video on YT of a guy who tried it with video call meetings. It was actually a lot of work to pre-record videos with vague answers. He still had to sit in on the meetings and spool up the right wrong answers. He works for a media company and used it as a basis for a story. He kept it up for a week before revealing himself. His so-workers thought it was great! YMMV...

[robgski]

I doubt I'll be able to get that sort of assignment

I've seen your photos, you have a good technique and understand the action that is happening, so you know how to position yourself to capture. I suggest you put together 3 to 5 of your photos which really present the dynamism of the sport, print them in 8x10, and send them to a few NHRA affiliated publications and ask to be assigned to cover something. All they can say is "No" and you only lose a little money and time. Also, talk to the photographers who have press credentials, ask them if they need an assistant, or how to get some assignments.

You may find that a magazine or web site in those territories would commission you to cover an NHRA event and provide suitable paperwork to persuade the NHRA to allow you trackside.

I don't want to double-dog dare you, Mooncatt, but I will if that's what it takes for you to give it a try

As much as I enjoy travel and landscapes, I want to do more portraiture. I never took many pictures where the person is the subject of the photo, except for family and friends, and nothing formal, mostly snaps using ambient lighting. I did practice a lot of street photography, but rarely have I asked anyone if they would mind holding still while I took their picture.
in the past decade, I've become more interested in the technical and social challenges of capturing people. I've also become more interested in artificial lighting and studio set ups.
So, my portraiture would be twofold, first would be environmental, people outside on the street are one idea. Another is taking pictures of people in their home or workplace, areas where they are most at ease, areas they consider extensions of themselves. Shooting in those locations often provide more context for the subject.
I've lived in the same small town now for 14 years, and I wish I had spent more time taking pictures of the people who populate the town, because it is now growing and losing some of its past.
I'm inspired by Joel Meyerowitz, who walked around the streets of a seaside resort town for a few years with a large format camera and tripod, taking pictures of people in the streets. Those images are some of the best I've ever seen for portraiture.
The second would be formal studio portraiture, where I have to meet the challenges of getting the lighting, pose, etc correct in order to present the subject well.
I also want to make more pictures of male faces. Looking at photos submitted for critique on PF and other forums, as well as in photo magazines, the large majority of submissions are of female faces. That is fine, and completely understandable for a number of reasons. However, I am more often stopped cold by a well executed portrait of a male face, in part because those are fewer, but there is something more to it.

---------- Post added 07-10-21 at 07:19 ----------

finding a spot to shoot them is sometimes nearly impossible, like several places I have in mind that are visible as glimpses from busy highways.

I know what you mean, I have that problem in my own area, let alone travelling. There is something to be said for paper maps and gazetteers, they offer routes that your GPS won't show you.

---------- Post added 07-10-21 at 07:26 ----------

find that just exploring the area within 25mi. of my house is a pretty big job; over my lifetime, I've explored most of Virginia,

I've lived in Virginia going on 14 years, and there are still so many places I have not yet visited.

I've lived in Virginia going on 14 years, and there are still so many places I have not yet visited.

Depending on the level of detail you include in your visit (driving through Ruckersville isn't the same as walking around Ruckersville), it's going to take you a few lifetimes to cover Virginia. I've been trying for about 70 years, and I'm not done yet (though at this point it's more likely finding a road I haven't been on before, as opposed to a place I've never been). And Virginia's only 42,774 square miles and ranks 35 among U.S. States in area. Imagine if you lived in Texas!

[DW58]

Trip to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve near Michoacan Mexico to see where they amass and overwinter at the end of their migration. Starts happening about the same time as they celebrate Day of the Dead. More great photo ops.

[Mooncatt]

I've seen your photos, you have a good technique and understand the action that is happening, so you know how to position yourself to capture. I suggest you put together 3 to 5 of your photos which really present the dynamism of the sport, print them in 8x10, and send them to a few NHRA affiliated publications and ask to be assigned to cover something. All they can say is "No" and you only lose a little money and time. Also, talk to the photographers who have press credentials, ask them if they need an assistant, or how to get some assignments.



I don't want to double-dog dare you, Mooncatt, but I will if that's what it takes for you to give it a try

Thanks for the acknowledgement. You probably know about being one's own worst critic, so to know that my work is becoming memorable to others means a lot.

I'm not going to rule out that idea completely, just trying to be realistic. I know before I get to that point, I'll need at least one or two better lenses, which are on my wish list already. It may even be the one thing that convinces me to pull the trigger on something like the K3 III despite the high price, because AF tracking and low light performance is paramount (the MK II I have is good enough, but not great for this). Then there's the entire issue of getting to an event, assigned or otherwise. The nearest sanctioned track is about 3-4 hours away, and I'm not even sure if they run the big national events. So it's more than just being good enough or affiliated with a media outlet.

[Wasp]

Back in the eighties, me and a friend once worked our way into the pit area at a motor racing event without passes. I was rocking a Super A and an LX with motor drives, with an SMC Pentax A 400mm f/5.6. He "only" had an ME Super with winder and a Tak 70-210mm but it was good enough. We simply walked past the security guy at the entrance, looking like we belong there and the bluff worked. The 400mm must have sealed the deal. It was an expensive piece of kit that the average amateur simply did not have. I don't think the trick will fly in this day and age.

[robgski]

We simply walked past the security guy at the entrance, looking like we belong there and the bluff worked.

Part of getting into places is looking like you belong there, I've done similar things a few times.

[Mooncatt]

Part of getting into places is looking like you belong there, I've done similar things a few times.

True, but that doesn't work with a lot of major events where it requires special dress or a big vest (like with NHRA).

[dneira29]

oh man. Mine a long list of places!! And I could go on forever hahah

Currently my next stop is Iceland !

[UncleVanya]

True, but that doesn't work with a lot of major events where it requires special dress or a big vest (like with NHRA).

Buy the dress! Lol.

[robgski]

it requires special dress

I guess that’s why it’s called a drag race

[AgentL]

Definitely aurora borealis.

[Mooncatt]

Definitely aurora borealis.

I've yet to see them in person, much less photograph them. Even when they forecast being visible far enough south for us in Wisconsin, they either don't happen or I somehow miss them.