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I had no plans to attend the world famous Burning Man Event 2012 (www.burningman.com). However, out of the blue, two days before a scheduled Labor Day trip to the Oregon coast, my fly fishing buddy called and said that he had two free Burning Man tickets for me. I told him that I would mull it over and get back with him in a couple of hours. I called Lynette Shirley to see if she wanted to attend the event for one night. She said yes. Hurriedly, I put together items for a one night campout at the Burn…minimalist camping. I was even able to get two bicycles in the back of Lynette’s pickup. I packed one change of clothes, bedding, fresh food items, plenty of ice, coffee, a small propane stove and one pan, warm clothes for biking on the playa at night, head lamps, neon sticks for the bikes and my camera gear.
Off I went, picked up Lynette at the end of her work day en route to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert—110 miles distant—the world’s flattest land surface and home to this annual event which draws fifty thousand-plus people from around the world. Gerlach, Nevada is the entry to this unique land form and the event.
Much has been said, written and photographed about this unusual event, both fact and fiction. I had never been motivated to attend the event but years ago the Black Rock Desert Association gifted me tickets in exchange for the use of some land yachting images which they wanted to display at the event. A friend and I attended. It was fascinating and most enjoyable. Sand storms came with a vengeance that year but I’ve always loved adventure and the unexpected. Because of those weather conditions, photographic possibilities were expanded. This year was my fourth Burn…albeit, very brief.
We arrived on the playa just before sunset. It took a couple of hours before we made it to where we camped for the evening near 2 o’clock Avenue. We quickly set up a small camp, ate a bite, drank a lemon drop, dressed up, mounted our bikes and headed out to visit some of the unique art installations on the playa, including the temple and the man. The playa comes alive in the evening with art cars, art floats and colorful, artistic costuming from participants. Burning Man is indefinable. The best definition is to just experience this other-worldly magic. There is no event quite like it on the planet. It is like a human/artistic stew combining elements of Star Wars, Mad Max, Mardi Gras, Carnival, Halloween, circus, attending art exhibits in museums, unique workshops, radical art expression…just to name a few analogous things.
We spent most of the evening biking, exploring and photographing the event. We departed at 10:30 the following morning.
It is impossible to see ‘everything’ at Burning Man, even if one spent the entire week at the event (which takes place every Labor Day weekend).
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves during our brief time there this year. |
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