Thunderdome

I thought I would give you and me a break after the first four images from Cuba. I still have lots of images from other trips and I also think that the blog stays most interesting when switching between different topics.

The Thunderdome did kind of stick out a little compared to other things I saw at Burning Man. This seemed to be the place to go for some serious adrenalin rush. Obviously, the folks you are seeing on top of the dome are spectators. What you cannot see (because of motion blur) is that down inside fighters/volunteers with harnesses were hanging on very tall swings. Two fighters per match, swinging toward each other beating each other like crazy with pool noodles. Pretty weird, huh?
I think those fights were only going on at nights. Once I passed by the Thunderdome during the day and saw an army of french maids climbing and posing on top of the dome. I leave the view to your imagination, it looked interesting to say the least.

Got OINK?

Some Kind of Burner Portrait

This is a portrait of a burner, however I didn't take this at the festival. The story is that my visit to Burning Man seems to have a much longer lasting effect then I would have expected. Because of my pictures, more and more burners get in touch with me. Now if you are not familiar with BM, you probably don't know what this means. I'm happy to share my impressions: the people you meet there are people of the most creative, kindest, and entrepreneurial kind - 50,000 of them. This has all been very interesting to me so far. The lady in the picture is a photography student. She contacted me on Facebook and then "booked" me for a 1-on-1 course to learn about my approach to picture-taking.

In the picture below you see Alex and Yanina. Alex and Yanina got married at Burning Man. I didn't know about them until their best friend Laurent contacted me to ask about the Bliss Dance photo. In a virtual way, I accompanied Laurent during his quest seeking for the best way to make a wedding present out of it. The result is a print on metallic paper behind 1/4 inch Plexiglas. Receiving this photo kind of made my day. Not sure how to explain this. I very much enjoy looking at the contrast between the day I took off to the dessert not knowing what to expect, and today, when looking at the positive ripple-effect it still has.

Now I'm Ready to Start

Now I'm Ready to Start
My mind is open wide
Now I'm Ready to Start
Not sure you'll open the door
To step out into the dark
Now I'm ready!


Find out which song these lines belong to and win a free spaceflight!

Burner Portrait IV

You can find more Burning Man images here.

Burner Portrait III

She was dancing into the sunrise to some chill electronic music.

The first two Burning Man portraits are here & here.

Scarf Dance

Do you mind if I photograph you?
I don't mind, but I think I have a cramped muscle.
And I have only 14 frames left on my memory card.
We are a good match.

Girl with Balloons

During my whole stay at Burning Man I had these balloons in sight where ever I was. This thing reached so high there was no way not to see them. I thought I would come across the source at some point, just didn't know it would be a girl with a bike crossing my way at 7 in the morning.

The Mysterious Shoe Tree

If you like standing around inside dust storms scratching your head, I know a place for you to go.

blissdance.org

Did you have a good weekend? I just came back from a trip to Sequoia National Park. I took a few pictures (really not many) and in case I got something nice looking, I'll post it here later.

By the way, it seems many of you really liked the Bliss Dance photograph. If you did, you might wanna check out blissdance.org. You can find many more great pictures from other photographers there and much more information about the artwork.

Couple on Polar Bear

What's better than enjoying a sunrise on a motorized polar bear?

"About me" Page & Burner Portrait II

You might have already noticed that my little website here was lacking of an "About" page. This has changed now. You find it right here.



Another portrait from Burning Man:
I met this guy inside an interesting three story Asian looking building.

Black Rock City Street Scene

Just noticed how much I'm photographing straight into the sun these days.

The Joy of Riding a Giant Fly

I believe only very few among us know what this is like.

OINK

During the whole time I didn't use any clock except an alarm clock to not miss sunrise. There are no dust storms in the mornings and people were usually still dancing when the sun came up - really beautiful.

Burner Portrait I

For this picture I used the truly fantastic Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Burning Man Self Portrait

A whole afternoon I dedicated to photographing things inside dust storms. The density of the dust kept changing continuously, which made it very interesting and fun. However, the dust is known for its high pH level, which is also interesting, but wasn't so much fun for my eyes and equipment.
This one is a reflection on an extra terrestrial looking sculpture.

Bliss Dance

I'm back from Burning Man. I still have goose bumps.

Take Off to Burning Man

In a few hours I'll be on my way to the Burning Man "festival". It's commonly described as "an art event and temporary community based on radical self expression and self-reliance". I believe this is going to be a somewhat extreme experience as I have never been there and especially because I'm going all by myself.
Because I'm starting from Southern California, I will be first driving for 12 hours to get there. The fastest way seems to be the 395 which -according to some websites- seems to be a major attraction by itself.


What I also read is that the desert where Burning Man is located has a very unfriendly climate. Besides very high temperatures during the day, and very low temperatures at night, the most difficult thing to handle are sudden dust storms. The fact that you cannot buy anything at the Burning Man except coffee, tea and ice made me buy lots of stuff I would regularly never buy. It has been recommended for survival, so here we go.


In order to get around in this Mad-Max-like city of 50,000 people, I also got this old black beach cruiser with silver flames on it ^^


Publication of photography and recordings is very restricted from the organziers, however, they gave me a permit. If everything works out well, you will find pictures right here starting next week. Till then I have to say arrivederci, as I will be cut off from the outside world once I'm there.

Cheers!