I just thought of something. You are about to enter monsoon season. There are photogs who specialize in capturing those dramatic scenes. I know one from California who leads trips there. I assume there are a bunch in Phoenix/Scottsdale area. I strongly suggest you link up with one of them for an incredible photo journey.

I also know about your wild horse on the Salt River. There are tours that try to capture them hanging out in the water. Another very cool photo op.

We had a condo on Scottsdale a few years ago. I love the desert and can easily find photo ops around there. There has to be really good groups as well to go with.

Opinions on the benefit of meet ups and groups was not the question posed by the Op. So your response was not on point. The other thing is that, for some, photography is also a social thing. Covid made us all shut ins of many of us.

Finally I disagree with your notion that good photographs cannot be made in groups. In my club we have many accomplished and published photographers who lead trips. The work that comes out of those events are vastly superior to most of what I see on this forum. Their air show photos and Death Valley photos are excellent.

Like you I don’t relish going in groups simply because i need to take photographs of things that I am experiencing or are meaningful to me. If you were to look at my pics on my site you’d see mostly travel related shots that I experienced. Hopefully unique.

But why dampen someone’s desire to spend time with others doing photography?