every creative person needs to experience burningman at least once in their life. a rag-tag collection of the most amazing temporary artwork in the world. you will experience more amazing things in a day than most people will in their adult lives. more acts of genuine kindness & generosity. gorgeous naked/half naked people and brilliant creations. it's an indescribable experience, one where you will leave a better person.
burningman 2013
members of our camp Polygraph dancing out on the playa to the sounds of a caravan of art cars. doctors, a brain surgeon, medical professionals, lawyers, scientist, a fund manager, yoga instructors, entrepreneurs and me. you'd never know it otherwise. not everyone at burningman are hippies & drug addicts.
burningman 2013
"el pulpo mecanico" aka the flaming octopus is famous at bm. each tenticle moves & shoots flames in time to the music. it actually gets pretty hot standing near it as the radiant heat is like standing in front of an oven. one of those unforgettable moments your first night riding on the playa to come upon this magnificent piece.
burningman 2014
michelle using the chainsaw blender to make us daiquiris (out in the desert with no electricity). she is sitting next to the elderly man who designed & built this amazing mobile bar complete with water misters, sound system & lights.
burningman 2014
man burn fireworks show. best view imaginable. 2nd row of art cars, dead center. to top it off, the pirate ship masts frames the action perfectly. on top of that, this was a burlesque double decker bus. so lots of teenage yoga contortionists aboard.
burningman 2014
embrace burn : first time they had a morning burn. since the piece was made of eucalyptus wood which is known to have hot embers, we were kept back at a distance. needless to say it was correct since the swirling tornadoes of hot embers caught my scarf on fire, but i kept on filming.
2:45 - i try to put out the fire on my neck while still filming.
4:10 - notice the mud puddle at the bottom right where i doused the fire with my water bottle.
burningman 2015
here is the virgin ritual for first timers at burningman. they make you lay down on the dusty playa & make a snow angel. there is a point to this. to make you stop worrying about getting dusty & just embrace the dust. it's impossible to avoid & this ritual gets the point across. i didn't see them ring the bell which is usually part of it.
burningman 2015 - aussie applepie breakfast
our aussie friends next door offering their version of an aussie breakfast - apple pie vodka shots (mixed in your mouth). apple juice, vodka, whipped cream & a sprinkle of cinnamon. surprisingly it tasted very good. i’ve had a few & was pretty apparently drunk by this time.
burningman 2015 - flamingo trap camp
our aussie friends next door offering their version of an aussie breakfast - apple pie vodka shots (mixed in your mouth). apple juice, vodka, whipped cream & a sprinkle of cinnamon. surprisingly it tasted very good, although we were all drunk at 9am as you can tell. my older GoPro didn't have a viewfinder so the video is pretty aimless. plus i've had about 4 of these vodka shots already too.
this couple was hilarious. they should have their own tv show.
burningman 2016
my gift for this year is a pewter sundial compass. point the hole at the tip towards the sun until the light goes straight thru. read the time where North points on the outside dial.
burningman 2016
where else can you flag down & take a ride on a custom built tank track car. pretty cool. lots of other cool mad max vehicles that are all available for a ride at the driver's discretion.
burningman 2016
Camp Strangelove - After a delicious camp dinner, we opened up the bar & celebrated the final nights of burningman in camp. Our campmates come from all around the world - Canada, England, Australia, Iran, Spain, Belgium, Croatia, Mexico, Russia and USA (mostly from the San Francisco but a few from Southern California).
burningman 2016
Camp Strangelove - Campmates enjoying a night together.
Veronika trying to dance in some rave boots.
burningman 2017
group virgin ritual. for your first time at bm, they perform a ritual. they make you roll in the dust & make a snow angel. it's all to get you to stop being worried about getting dusty since it's inevitably going to happen. the dust is actually good since it is an alkali which kills everything (including the top layer of your skin unless you wash with vinegar). no bugs! it also kills bacteria so you actually won't stink.
no shower for 3 days... no problem!
burningman 2017
My gift for this year is a brass sundial compass. Angle it at the sun until you see a white line appear on the sundial to show the time.
At the tip of 8 = 8:00.
middle of 8 = 8:30.
Sundial is purposely designed to be accurate for Burningman for that specific year. Declination is set for Black Rock City 2017, so it is slightly off when reading in Los Angeles a few weeks after the festival.
burningman 2017 - camp termination dust hole
we were fortunate this year to have the Erotic Sock Puppet & fire performers across the street from us. we turned off the music grabbed a few drinks & they held a practice fire performance for us. about 10 performers doing everything from flaming poi balls, flaming swords to a flaming bull whip. drove all the way down from alaska.
burningman 2017
Sundown in camp waiting for our traditional camp communal dinner. Our amazing San Francisco djs "Count" & "Dragon" (not shown) usually play at Bay Area clubs during the year when they aren't doing their day jobs as a contractor & Google Programmer. "Ninja" decided to take the mike for this set. Left to right behind the bar - Mexico, Spain, Canada & Croatia.
burningman 2018
Pie camp run by a few nice old ladies. they had a performance production before they served us a selection of tasty pie. diner theme with a “testy robot” arm that would create havoc. lots of fun & this was one of my favorite camps because of the love they put into their presentation. found it by chance when i was touring with kevin in the morning to find my friend who is a curator at the Smithsonian museum. we stopped by a ramen camp, bacon camp, champagne, shaved ice, had a cool down with the air conditioner camp and toured the AEZ (alternative energy zone) to talk to solar vs wind nerds to determine the best green solution.
burningman 2018
My gift for this year was an updated version of my brass compass. Angle it at the sun until you see a white line appear on the sundial to show the time.
At the tip of 8 = 8:00.
middle of 8 = 8:30.
Sundial is purposely designed to be accurate for Burningman for that specific year. Declination is set for Black Rock City 2018.
burningman 2018
Some friends from License To Chill camp on their annual visit to our camp. Testing out the swing across the street which i was slightly afraid of. They used heavy wood & bolts to erect the support structure, but notice the thin cotton rope & double knot underneath the swing to hold it. I was almost sure it was going to break at some point but it held up for the week.
burningman 2018 - Sunset
We had the incredible fortune to be placed across the street from a French Circus. They had huge metal wheels of various sizes with synchronized lights and hypnotic music. Actors dressed only in loincloths covered in white dust would slowly push the wheels through the street and on to the playa. It’s hard to express how absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing this experience was.
burningman 2018 - Night
We had the fortune to be placed between a French Circus & the street performers from Spain who brought their giant female puppet. They would slowly roll the giant hoops out every night. The giant puppet would talk & went thru several outfit changes. It went thru an evolution as it was first confused by the festival & by the end of the week she was a burner herself. i’m awestruck by how committed these 2 performing groups from other countries put all their resources together to make it all come together.
Photo Gallery : may contain slightly racy images. Various photos i took throughout the years.
