Burning Man Evolution – Video

On the last day of Burning Man there was a strange feeling in the air. It felt like the morning after of a massive house party where there was little to do beyond clean up and try and figure out what just happened. The week was winding down and there was nothing me or anyone could do about it. The Man had burned and the Temple was set to go alight later that day, lost I walked from our camp and onto The Esplanade (the main street of Burning Man). In the morning haze and warming ambiance I saw my wife Sophie standing alone in the desert. She was lost in her thoughts and engaged in kinesthetic meditation. There is something simple, beautiful and wonderfully playful about hula-hooping. There she was lost in her thoughts when this song came on the stereo from the camp adjacent to ours. Teardrop by Massive Attack has always resonated at a deep level for me – there is something haunting about it that has always stuck to my soul. This version was a cover by a guy called Newton Faulkner and it just fit. It was the right song at the right moment with the right things happening right there and then. At that moment that song became the song of the trip – it is and maybe always will be my Burning Man song. When it came time to put together a film of my Burning Man photos and video – there was no need to even think about what song would back them.

This really was an amazing experience that affected me far more then I expected it to. I hope these images in some way convey what this experience was all about. Sit back and enjoy Burning Man through my eyes.

If you can't see this video - click HERE to go straight to the source.

Triplets!

When I arrived home the other day, after three months on the road, there was the usual stack of mail in the box. Junk mail, bills and the odd correspondence. Amongst the letters was a package from the folks at Lonely Planet. I knew exactly what was in there – three babies that have been gestating for quite some time. Fresh off the press and on the shelf at a bookstore near you – Lonely Planet’s Cycling New Zealand, Lonely Planet’s Honolulu, Waikiki & Oahu and Lonely Planet’s Hawaii Guide. Three guides that I put heaps of work into and I’m happy and proud to announce that they are now available and ready to check out! Click on the titles to see more about the books and order directly from the LP website.

Burning Man Photos - Drip-Feed Part II

Burning Man Photos – drip-feed part 1

Burning Man

It’s 3am on Wednesday night or I guess it would be Thursday morning. Days have lost their meaning. The desert air is cool and clear. The dust storm from earlier today has cleared to form a crystal sky. I can feel the structure swaying under the weight of all the people. I’m standing atop 10 meters of scaffolding with far too many people than what the manufacturer would have intended. I’ve just climbed a steep ramp to get to the top of an enormous slide. Like a kids’ slide from a playground reinvented by a mad scientist with no regard for public safety. In front of me the slide starts of at a reasonable angle before dropping away to near vertical for 25m and finally leveling out at the bottom. I should be scared that the whole contraption is going to implode. I should be scared that I’m going to get run over by some overzealous overindulged slider. But the truth is all that is the least of my worries. In truth I’m terrified that the catholic schoolgirl outfit I’m wearing – complete with micro-mini skirt - will offer me no protection from the inevitable rug burns from the Astroturf slide surface. Before I launch myself into oblivion I take one last look at the horizon. I can see fountains of fire bursting into the sky, full scale Spanish galleons sailing around the desert, the Thunderdome from Mad Max in full combat mode and countless other weird and wonderful things exploding around me. I tuck in my skirt, say a silent prayer to the god of rug-burn and go for it. Welcome to Burning Man.

Before I went to Burning Man all of my friends were asking what it was going to be like. In truth I didn’t have much I could tell them. Using the vernacular of the event I was a virgin – it was my first time. I was full of questions, unknowns and a genuine curiosity of what this thing was going to be all about.

So what was it all about? The week long event finished a fortnight ago and in many ways I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck it was all about. I look back on it now and it’s still a blur. Moments wrapped up in emotion, lit by fire and nurtured by love. People assume that Burning Man is some huge debaucherous party or some aged hippy love in. Or that it’s some raver thump-thump e-fest. Maybe it’s some oversized art festival with more cash spent on large scale art then I care to imagine. Maybe it’s just a huge social experiment with 40,000 people living together for a week in relative harmony. Maybe it’s normal people leaving normality behind for a week. Maybe it’s a playground for adults where flamethrowers, giant slides, contraptions with names like The Teeder-todder of Death are commonplace. Maybe it’s a place of unbridled creativity running wild for all to see. It’s a city, it’s a family, it’s anything you can imagine and some things you can’t. It’s all that. It’s none of that. It’s all a dream. It doesn’t exist. Don’t believe what you’ve heard. Run away. Forget what you think you know. It’s ok. Come closer. Sit a while and take it all in.

Burning Man is something that I will never forget and it’s something I’ll never really be able to fully explain.

have a look at this amazing time lapse video and get a taste...