Back to the Burn for the second time, I thought I’d share a handful of pictures through my eyes at the annual week long event. While there’s no shortage of documentation available, the thing that’s often missed is capturing the humanity of the brief convergence. What makes Burning Man meaningful is that there’s no belief system; it’s simply a place where all are welcome.

The desert’s climate is tough to endure, so those who make it must be up to the challenge. The goggles, masks, and eclectic costumes are partly for the fun of non-consumer self-expression, but also to handle the heat, dust, and self-illumination (don’t be a ‘darkwad’). Along side all of the enormous and colorful installations hundreds of classes are going on, people are having poignant conversations with no use of phones, and everybody is giving generously. It makes for a feeling of unity we can only imagine could be real one day. But imagining it is the first step to creating it.

I want to share these images because Burning Man is meaningful far beyond bright lights and dancing. I recommend going and finding out for yourself in the years to come.

A Flight and a Road Trip to the Gates. Tickets ready!

Arrived!

The Camps

Peacock art car Struts onto the Playa

Múcaro

Chilling out beneath the canopy

Dragon art car

Farewell- Watching Múcaro Burn

Stepping Forward by Miguel Angel Martin Bordera, a 20 ft tall marionette with a range of outfits

Inside the hull of an actual 747, slightly modified

The Man

Frog Hug

Tree of Ténéré by Alexander Green, Mark Slee, Zachary Smith, and Patrick Deegan

Tree of Ténéré, detail

Sunrise with Lone Bike

Solipmission – small crew of artists locked inside for entire week, painting images inside based on stories people tell them.

The Man Burns

The Man Burns

Watching the Man Burn

There are Hundreds of Classes. This one was on Dungeon Mastering

Akil Spinning Fire

Reflections inside Paragate

Mayan Warrior art car

Raccoon art car

Camp Short Bus/Xoxo

VW art car beside Calliope

Welcoming the Sun

O hello

Art by the Light of the Moon

To the Temple at Dusk

Solemnity, Watching the Temple Burn

Stepping Forward, Ready for Bed

Back to the Real World…