The fun of going on a walkabout at Burning Man is that you never know what will come up next, such as King Kong wearing a tutu…
I am about to wrap up my series on Burning Man 2015 so I thought I’d take you on a walkabout tour of Black Rock City. It gives me a chance to slip in the photos I liked but couldn’t fit into the stories I was telling. This post and my next will primarily be photo essays. My final blog will be on the celebration surrounding the Burning of the Man.
This jet was hosting a DJ.
Dancing and music are an integral part of Burning Man. The event attracts some of the top DJs in the world. They spin their tunes for free at Burning Man. The size of the speakers equates with the loudness of the music. The major dance venues are relegated to the outer limits of Black Rock City, which is a good thing.
Large camps are common along the Esplanade, Burning Man’s main street. This devilish clown had great character.
As did this, um, bounteous beauty.
I caught this guy ogling her.
Several million photos are taken at Burning Man each year and this is how we photographers like to view ourselves with fancy equipment, standing tall. Note the professional handling of the camera.
This is more the reality… lying in the dirt, posed under a woman with a whip.
Or butt up in the air while eating Playa dust… all for the sake of art.
I prefer my models posed on the same level I am. Being a nature lover, I couldn’t resist these collar wearing rabbits. Or are they supposed to be bunnies?
It always pays to look up. You never know what may be up in the air, such as this flying motorcycle. (Photo by Don Green.)
This heavy equipment was up in the air as well. Now you know how all of the large sculptures and buildings are put up.
This is another way the equipment was used. The large block is being raised into the air to toss a burning piano that is affixed to the other end of the tower. I’ve included a video by Don Green of the toss as my final entry of the day. NEXT BLOG: We will continue our walkabout tour of Black Rock City.
Wandering through Time and Place 
I think King Kong should give that woman his tutu. It looks like her top could use a little more fabric…
Or maybe a contribution from Pastie Dan? 🙂 Not sure he makes them that big, Carrie. –Curt
Ha!
Creppy 🐵 lol
Sometimes. 🙂 –Curt
Curt, I was hooked on your blog from the first post I read, and I’ve been following it ever since. Not only do I enjoy your photography and writing, but I like the way you structure and group posts. Thank you for sharing your travels and for being an inspiration to this fellow blogger. I look forward to following your upcoming trip with Peggy. I would love to read more posts from her. She did a great job writing about the Cotswolds garden tour earlier this year.
Glad you are enjoying the tour! Thanks. And I shared with Peggy. She laughed, and then noted the work that goes into blogging. Usually she just shares photos and makes me do the work. (grin) But I will continue to encourage her to do guest blogs. –Curt
Curt, what a wonderfully surreal event – I’ve never heard of it before but loved learning about it.
It is certainly one of the world’s more unique events, Annika. Thanks. –Curt
Love the DJ’s home.
Not bad, eh. 🙂 –Curt
Got a kick out of the DJ. Amazing is a word I’m stuck on when seeing the Burning Man photos, Curt – pardon my lack of imagination,
I have the same problem, GP. 🙂 –Curt
LOVE the piano toss! I’d be the photographer with my butt up in the air 🙂
Alison
Bet you would Alison, or whatever other position you need to get into to capture a photo. 🙂 –Curt
Never done burning man! Three cheers to you!
You are close. 🙂 –Curt
Who wouldn’t want to be a photographer at Burning Man!!! But maybe there should be a BM invention: dust cover. Whew! All that stooping under women with whips could do in a photographer’s equipment (in more ways that one)! Thanks soooo much for sharing these pictures.
Laughing. Yeah, Burning Man can be hard on your equipment. I did a camera in my first year. You learn to be careful! Ziplocks help. –Curt
Reblogged this on Nevada State Personnel WATCH.
Thanks for the reblog! –Curt
Oh this is just the best. A look at some of the machinery that is used during construction. Thank you.
Curt, this is just such a delightful series.
I am glad you have enjoyed it, JoHanna. I put one together each year I go and it is always fun for me to relive and share the experience. Thanks for reading. –Curt
Did Peggy not go this year? Haven’t seen one snap of her or did I miss it? While I don’t baby my camera equipment, I’ll be honest and I would be very concerned of dust getting onto my sensor if I were to change lenses. Does dust get into your camera?
Right on Peggy, Koji. She had just returned from a trip to England that she had gone on with her sister. I did in a camera my first year. Now I actually do all of my photography with a Canon S100 Powershot. There are a lot of expensive cameras around. Photographers use various methods of protecting them. Nothing beats the dust 100%. –Curt
Indeed. In the “old days”, we were worried about dust but not in the way we are today. I remember using that camel hair brush with a small rubber balloon at the end… and this was even before Dust-Off! I hope Peggy had a grand time!
I have to confess, you have me on the camel hair brush with the balloon… but I need to know more. 🙂 Peggy and Jane visited the Cotswolds and loved it. I even had her do some guest blogs on her experience. Her comment afterwards: wow, that resembles work! -Curt
Just out of curiosity, how long does it take to recover from this little experience? I’d think you would be exhausted in every way possible by the time it’s over. I get a sense of being overwhelmed just reading your posts — I’d think actually being there would be quite something.
The first two years, the recovery was substantial. Since then, not so much. I’ve learned ways of sleeping through the night. The secret: two noisy, battery operated fans that drown out the noise and provide air moment. If it is unbearably hot, I put a wet towel over me and the evaporation provides a true cooling effect. I am not above slipping in a nap in the afternoon. Riding the bikes provides lots of exercise. Now, for the folks who stay up all night, it is a different story. –Curt
So I just sat back to see if I could begin catching up on Curt’s world, and this is how far back I had to go to find the first one I didn’t see. Good heavens what a lot of catching up! I look forward to all of it, though I promise not to comment on every one. 😉
My fave shots in this post are the ones of photographers telling the story of what we want to look like (dare I say, romantically imagine ourselves to be) vs. our realities. That would be me, with dirty butt in the air. I do love those shots from ground level.