Burning Man 2016, a professional photographer's striking images

Participants attend Burning Man 2016, the largest outdoor arts festival in North America, in the Black Rock desert of Gerlach, Nevada. ("Sidney Erthal works with the Burning Man Project as an archivist, photographer, and translator.") less Participants attend Burning Man 2016, the largest outdoor arts festival in North America, in the Black Rock desert of Gerlach, Nevada. ("Sidney Erthal works with the Burning Man Project as an archivist, ... more Photo: Sidney Erthal Photo: Sidney Erthal Image 1 of / 118 Caption Close Burning Man 2016, a professional photographer's striking images 1 / 118 Back to Gallery

Photographer Sidney Erthal shared his images from Burning Man this year with SFGATE. He has been shooting Burning Man for several years, and many of his images are in the recently released book "Burning Man: Art on Fire: New and Expanded Edition," written by Jennifer Raiser and photographer Scott London.

Over 70,000 participants attended Burning Man 2016, which took place from August 28th till September 5th in the Black Rock desert of Gerlach, Nevada. The theme this year for the largest outdoor arts festival in North America was "Da Vinci's Workshop," which was inspired by the Italian Renaissance of the middle fifteenth and early sixteenth century.

The Brazilian-born Erthal found his way to California to study English. After earning a degree in tourism, he "accidentally" ended up in Sausalito, where he had the opportunity to meet people who introduced him to the art of photography.

"I simply love to be behind the camera," said Erthal. "I am passionate about pictures and the subjects that occupy each photograph. It can be nature, events, people, pets, food, weddings, or products.

I just love doing what I do. And I do it with passion, and it is that zeal for life and living that is reflected in each of my photos."

You can view more of Sidney's photographs from Burning Man and his other projects on his Instagram page.