I’ve long said that I’ll always lean towards the tool that gets the job done in the way I want. I don’t get camera bodies from the various manufacturers, at least not to keep, and buy what I use. So along the way I’ve tested out a few things like the X-Pro2 which went to Burning Man with me in 2016.
In the middle of the day, the playa is full of people rolling around on their art cars. It’s such a fun sight to see people dancing and laughing, just having a good time as they go by. Of course, Burning Man can also be a stressful experience. It’s a lot to take in, and it can be easy to get overwhelmed. That’s why it’s important to take some time for yourself to relax and recharge. One way to do that is to find a quiet spot and just sit back and watch the people go by. It’s amazing how much you can learn about people just by watching them. I find that life is full of people who are constantly posing as their natural state of being and so while it may look like I direct people, really, I’m just capturing little moments of their normal state.
This was described as “Visually the installation represents a giant diabolical clockwork bacteriophage infecting the playa or planet. Symbolically the installation represents the connection between people, technology, and the environment”. What i can tell you is that it was absolutely mesmerising watching people interact with it, making it twist and turn to their will.
Not a bad place to take in a sunset, or sunrise. Every time I passed by this sculpture there were people climbing all over it, as if answering some internal calling.
Every time I see this gramophone I think I should really look into building one for the garden… well… getting someone to build one for the garden. I’m sure the local sheep (and neighbours) would love me. I wonder just how far away you could hear it…
My latest recommendation is to watch this super funny show. Mike Judge had the brilliant idea to capture stories from musicians and then animate them in clever ways. Here’s the promo for it.
Here’s a photo I recently processed of The Temple at Burning Man. I think this was in 2016? I don’t remember. Too many drugs. Anyway, I did happen to capture this photo. I have strong opinions on the design of each temple, which varies from year to year (it’s always burned on the last day). For me, this one was definitely in the top three. I try not to look on the Internet about upcoming designs, but I heard the one for this year is another Asian-inspired theme.
Like me, my Photography Portfolio is a work in progress. But I made a lot of progress with both lately. So click on that link and check it out! 🙂
I’m always impressed at how people climb and jump and do all sorts of athletic things around Burning Man. I’m a bit of a wussy, I guess. I’m always thinking that these are the sorts of things to do if you don’t mind being hurt. And, you see, I mind that. Plus, I have a lot of people that depend on me, so I can’t be doing silly things like jumping on an X.
Wow what a great year! I got around 18,000 photos and had a very inspirational time. After eight years in a row now, I’m always surprised how every time is like the first time, in so many ways. Sometimes awesome, sometimes uncomfortable, it’s sort of like a microcosm of a whole year of life squeezed into one week because you are doing and seeing So Many Things.
Here’s a few photos for you to get the party started!
This was many people’s favorite art pieces on the playa. In the day time, it was a pure green tree in the middle of the night desert. At night, the LEDs came on and flowed through the tree like the wind
It was another great year out there… it was very exhausting out in the sun all afternoon, though. But still glad I got out there as much as possible to take photos. I still have tons more to process, but enjoying going through
Birds of a feather…
You may remember the photo of the embracing Israeli couple that was doing Acro-Yoga from a few days ago. Here’s the pre-acro-yoga stretching period. They say it’s good to stretch before exercising. I don’t know who this “they” is, but they are probably right about these things. The sun caught her jewels in a surprising way.
Around 5:30 PM the sun begins to get low enough to cast great angles everywhere. It’s still a little warm, so many people still have their fans out to stay cool. I suppose a native American headdress also helps! 🙂
I don’t know if this enormous statue got enough attention, but she certainly did for me. She glowed from the inside and outside. I made a small pilgrimage there every day; this time I came with my camera.
By meandering-chance, I found a camp along the Esplanade that had a tremendous steel wool vortex spinning away. People would come stand in front and let the winds spray the burning metal around them. I’m not into being burned and stuff, so I sat down in the desert to take some photos. It was great fun to watch… I could have stayed here all night, but forced myself to get up and go see what else I could find.
Fuji was nice enough to send me the FUJI X-T2 to use at Burning Man along with a few lenses. I used it’s little brother last year and absolutely loved it. Here’s a link to the FUJI review showing off some of the shots I got with it. Below, if you’re a Passport Member, you can see me unboxing the new one!
The best way to get to Eze, if you don’t have a car, is simply to Uber there from nearby Naples. It’s a short ride, and you get dropped off at the base of the medieval town. You can wander up into it (not toooo far uphill), stroll through the streets, shop, then find a cute little restaurant and have wine and cheese and ice cream. It’s a great day-trip I recommend!
This little mountaintop town in France is one of my favorites. I first went here about 20 years ago with my dad. My dad used to do lots of car racing all over the world. He did those 24-hour races for Porsche – raced at Le Mans, Daytona 24hr, Nürburgring, Silverstone, etc. While there, he found lots of cool little spots like this. So it was fun to return now that I am really into photography and try to capture some of its beauty.
I am just now releasing the first version of the FUJI XPro2 Review. There’s lots of sample photos – enjoy!
It’s been on my to-do list FOREVER to put together different city guides about the best places to go take photos. I’ve not gotten around to it yet… but certainly on the list.
What an idyllic place to have evening drinks and relaxation! This is on the coastline on the east side of Istanbul. The vast majority of Turkey is on the Asian continent, and I wanted to be sure I visited this side even during my short stint there. What a great place and an exhilarating walk along the shore. There wasn’t a bad view to be found. I had no idea how in the heck I was gonna get back across the water. I found a car ferry and jumped aboard. It dropped me off back on the west side before finding my way back to my sanctuary of the Ritz-Carlton!
