People

We had two wonderful photographers in my camp this year, BeKos and Photo Sheik, both of whom took some fantastic portraits. The Sheik, especially, makes a point of taking portraits as one of his gifts to the community, so I didn't take very many shots of the people in my camp. Or of people in general--for me Burning Man is much more about participation than documentation and, besides, not everyone wants to be photographed all the damn time. However, there are some portraits that I took, and I'm pretty well pleased with the results.

This was Tony T. Tiger, a photographer I met at dawn on Thursday, trying to get the perfect shot of the Man.

I have no idea who this was, but her helmet was unutterably cool. We were at the Temple, and I hated to break the mood by saying, "Hey, mind if I take a photo?" but it was just too cool to miss.

These are a few of my campmates: the Burning Band, one of a few marching bands that come every year. In this photo everyone is in costume for the Little Black Dress Parade. Some day I hope to create an

amplification device that's loud enough for me to bring my electric violin and play along with them. I'll also need to learn how to play in B flat, of course.

One goal that I always have at Burning Man is to avoid being too pervy. Which is to say, there are a lot of pretty woman and a lot of good looking guys, and they aren’t always wearing a lot of clothing... but it's pretty important to remember that this doesn’t necessarily mean that they want me to ogle them.

And, in truth, after spending seven days surrounded by nudity, it becomes surprisingly easy to look folks in the eye, and not the cock. Still, it’s important to be on one’s best behavior, and there have been some real assholes in the past--in 2002 Girls Gone Wild snuck in a bunch of video cameras and sold tapes of the people they filmed. Without their permission, needless to say.

Not to sound too holier-than-thou, but I honestly try to be respectful of women in day-to-day life, regardless of how they're dressed, and there's no reason to change this attitude in the desert. Obviously plenty of people enjoy dressing up or stripping down, but regardless of how pretty people are, I just feel too uncomfortable to ask to take pictures when there's a lot of skin showing.

However, in this one instance these women asked me to take their photo. It was only after I’d pushed the button that I realized that I really had no way to give it to them, at which point they laughed and said it was a gift.

There are giant metal bowls stationed all over the playa as receptacles for burnable material, and by Friday night there are almost always bonfires in each one. I have no idea who this couple was, making out in front of the nearest bonfire to me, but they were sufficiently involved with each other that they didn't mind me documenting the event. Like I say, I believe that it is vital to ask permission for photographs where the subjects are clearly discernible, but I don't think these folks will mind.

Finally, speaking of someone who certainly had my permission, fellow camp mate BKos was kind enough to take the following for me:

(Photo by BKos)