This is an image of an image that was added to an art car. Where does one find a clown and Monkey to pose?
I saw this guy running all over the Playa. Never said a word, just acted like he had a mission of some sort
For years my friend Steve and I had talked about how cool it would be to go to the Burning Man event in the Nevada desert. For me, it was to be a photographers dream come true. So we packed up all of our canned food, tent and sleeping bags and hit the road to Black Rock City. I could go into the many reasons the trip was so much fun, from meeting many intelligent, gifted and warm people. To why it totally sucked when the wind would whip up the sandstorms for hours, where all you could do was sit in a fetal position at center camp, waiting for the misery to pass.
I shot with a Nikon S52, Nikon D1x and Mamiya medium format camera. The dust hammered the D1x and looking back, I should have never switched lenses while there. Just bring a 28-200 and leave it on is the best advice. But my 50mm 1.8 is such a great portrait lens, I took the risk to use it and paid for it with dust on the CCD and images.
My best advice as a photographer for Burning Man, is to just go. Don’t think or worry about what it is like. You’ll survive and have a most amazing time. For more info on Burning Man, go to http://www.burningman.com
Star Wars Guy again, what was he up to? I was happy to get this shot next to the rocket. Made it look a bit more "realistic"
This sculpture lit up at night, powered by solar cells and the smiles of those who visited the art exhibit.
This beauty had the perfect backdrop of an art car covered in stuffed animals.
Many wedding dresses were given out by an artist (Sorry never caught the name) to both men and women. These smiles are pretty much how a week of Burning Man goes for participants.
Not sure if this was a morning I got up early or partied until the sun came up. As soon as I saw this group standing on their RV, I ran back to grab my camera and glad I did. Sunrise was always met with a beautiful call to prayer, provided by David King at www.davidkingcollage.com
There was a big art project on the Playa by Myk Henry, titled "Bummer" This was a larger than life Hummer measuring 38 feet long x 18 feet wide x 16 feet high. This was a self portrait I took in one of the large hubcaps. Seeing my artistic inspiration, soon others were copying my idea. My daughter Amanda is standing to left of frame.
By far the greatest place to party in Black Rock City, was the Deep End. Imagine a couple thousand happy people, an open bar and great DJ's. Dancing on the water tower, the stage and anywhere one could stand. This image was about a 1/4 exposure as I zoomed out during exposure.
Center camp was virtually the only refuge from two days of really bad windstorms. This image was pretty mild and you can see how much dust there is to play havoc on my CCD on the D1x
So this is not an uncommon way for burners to dress. Running around in their underwear and any other piece of clothing they can tack onto their body. It's pretty cool to see everyone's idea of "Playa Fashion" and Corey and Amy were great to party with during their Margarita party.
This was one of two strings of balloons that stretched across the playa. I though this perspective worked perfect as it takes your eye into the middle of the frame.
The man is the centerpiece of the event. I thought watching him burn would be some type of spiritual awakening of some kind, but it was just a really big party. I was glad they removed all the country flags out of respect, before the burn
Burning Man was surprisingly popular for families and lots of children experience the "Burn" with their parents, including my daughter who attended. Despite all that one hears about what goes on, it really is a fantastic event that everyone should attend once.
Art cars are everywhere on the playa and being a kid that grew up on the Flintstones, I thought this one was perfect. Art cars are usually loaded with people as they part and drive on over 50 miles of "Roads"
Sometimes the playa can look like a martian landscape and this art installation titled "Mutopia" by the Flaming Lotus Girls, was very cool when the dust kicked up. At night the petals were on fire. You'll notice my in attention to detail, the lift in the background. I could have used PS to remove it, but like to leave images as they are.
Yes, that's a real boat and he really is driving it.
The final burn is the Temple. This is a large wooden structure dedicated to those who have passed on. Inside the temple are dedications to friends and families who have died and it is a very somber place. Beautiful poetry, drawing, photographs and mementos for loved ones are left to burn, to help with a sense of closure. This photo was after that burn.
