Breaking News
There are still a few people whose pictures I would like to include in the project, but whom I still need to track down and get permissions from. If you know who any of these people are, please let me know, or have them contact me directly.
Burning Man 2008: A Photo Essay
Burning Man 2008: A Photo Essay by Matt Freedman is an interactive electronic media product being published by Magic Mouse Software of Inverness, CA. It features:
- Over 300 of my images from this year's Burning Man festival.
- Introductory material about the festival for those who have never been.
- An essay describing my own personal journey as an eight-time Burning Man attendee, along with my views on the evolution of the event over the years
- My brand new Photography at Burning Man how-to guide, covering rules and etiquette; what equipment to bring, and how to carry and protect it; and where/when/how to get the best shots at Burning Man.
- My own finely honed Burning Man packing list
More information will be available here soon. Be sure to get on my announcement list so you can be kept informed of the latest updates.
In the meantime, enjoy the preview images from the project available on this page, and these excerpts from the project text...
Introduction (Excerpt)
by Matt Freedman
There are as many reasons to come to Burning Man as there are attendees (around 50,000 at last count). Some people come because it is an open and welcoming community like no other; some because it is the greatest party on the planet; some are there because it is the largest most unique art gallery they will ever find; others find that hard work for a noble cause truly is its own reward – and when it is with a bunch of your best friends in the world, damn fun. I come for all those reasons, but primarily, I am there to take pictures.
Burning Man is my artistic muse – it is the place where I really discovered my love of photography, and realized that it was truly my calling in life. Burning Man represents every artistic opportunity that a photographer could want. It is a culture that is wildly foreign to many, with all the costumes and rituals one would expect in an exotic land. It is a culture that embraces the spectacles of both art and humanity – from the frivolity of furry costumes to the erotic beauty of a naked body in a barren desert landscape. The extreme natural environment beckons to be captured even when it defies being tamed. All of this makes Burning Man an ideal place not only for human artistic exploration, but for a photographer to capture the complexity of both man and nature, and the beguiling beauty that emerges when they come together.
The collection you hold in your hands is the very best of the 2500+ frames I shot over my ten days at Burning Man in 2008. It is a deeply personal view of how I see the event. Do not expect to find here a look at what you will see when you come to Burning Man – I strive to create beautiful images, not to document reality. I am very selective about what I will shoot, and draconian about what I will delete. And I use all the skills and tools I have at my disposable to turn my raw images into final pieces that reflect the idealized vision I still have of Burning Man, even after ten years and eight journeys to the playa. So no, these are not necessarily completely accurate renditions of what was there – but these images do represent what it looked like to me at the time, at least in my own mind and heart. In other words, yes, these are Photoshopped. Get over it.
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Photography at Burning Man (Excerpt)
By Matt Freedman
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The Light
Morning My favorite time to shoot at Burning Man is sunrise – which means being in position for your sunrise shots no later than about 6:15 AM. For one thing, unlike at sunset, you can get shots of the sun actually crossing the horizon. Due to the location of Burning Man, the actual sunset is blocked by the mountains, but sunrise is not. However the exact location of Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert sometimes changes from year to year, so don't count on this. Once the sun is up, the light is absolutely magical. This is generally the calmest time of the day, so there are few dust storms, and it is not hot yet. Though there are plenty of people around who have been up all night, there are far fewer than there are during the day, so it is easier to get shots of art pieces without people in the frame. This is definitely a time of day when you generally want to be shooting out on the open playa.
Daytime By 9AM the light is not nearly as good, and it is starting to get hot. Obviously great shots can be made any time during the day, but it is much harder to get them when the sun is high. Midday is a good time to be shooting indoors – at Center Camp, inside various other domes and structures, etc. This is also a good time to be scouting locations – where do you want to be for the next sunset and sunrise? What art pieces do you see that you love? What direction will the light look best on them, and when will that happen? You might consider giving yourself a break and leaving the DSLR at camp during midday outings, and just bring your small digicam.
On the other hand, you just never know when dust or bad weather is going to move in, so there is something to be said for going out at mid-day if it is calm, just to get some shots in the bag in case the weather goes to hell. For example, in 2000 it was overcast, windy, and dusty pretty much continually from Wednesday on.
Late Afternoon By 4PM the light is starting to get interesting again, by 5PM it is spectacular. Anything and everything looks good in this light. The major art pieces tend to get crowded with visitors this time of day, which can make them more challenging to shoot.
Dinner Interregnum At just after 7PM the sun slides behind the mountains, so you lose the "golden hour" light prematurely. The sky is suddenly much brighter than everything on the playa, which is no longer being lit, so you really have to be careful how you frame your shots. This can be a good time to take people portraits, because there is a nice even diffuse light, and your subjects will not have to wear sunglasses or squint into the sun, but again, be very aware of how bright the background is compared to your subject – you may need to use fill flash, or shoot in a different direction. This can also a good time to eat a quick dinner.
Sunset Around 8 the real sunset is starting to happen, even though you can not see it. However if there are clouds to the west there can be absolutely spectacular skies. You no doubt scoped out what you wanted to put against those clouds earlier in the day, so now you are in position to get your sunset sky shots. Experiment with silhouettes against the sky, as well as fill flash.
Twilight As the daylight starts to fade, the artificial lighting starts to come on. It is now dark enough to see the glowing lights, but light enough that you can still see the people, vehicles, art, etc that have the lights on them. This is a great time to break out the 2.8 zooms. It is a very technically challenging time to shoot – keep a close eye on your shutter speeds.
Night Nighttime at Burning Man is absolutely spectacular, and very challenging to shoot well. You can lug a tripod around which gets annoying very fast if you do not have an art car, or you can rely on a very fast lens (f1.4 preferably) and high iso. Ideally you have both. A flash can be helpful, but in my opinion, only if you are using it in slow synchro mode, and you have enough ambient light for that mode to be interesting. You also have to consider how irritating your flash might be to those around you.
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