Burn baby burn

Burn baby burn

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There is plenty to see at the Burning Man festival, an annual music and arts event in the Nevada desert, where each year a massive statue of a man is engulfed in flames.

But the philosophy of Burning Man states that nobody is here as a spectator. Instead, all attendees are active participants, helping to build a unique festival community in the wilderness.

. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Burning Man began in 1986 when the events’ founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James set fire to an 8-foot-high wooden man on Baker Beach in San Francisco. The act became an annual occurrence and over the years, with a few ups and downs, the crowds grew bigger, the statue of the man grew higher and the events were expanded until Burning Man had become a massive festival, with some 60,000 attendees in 2012.

. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

The location of the event shifted from its early years in San Francisco to its current home in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. One of the central principles held by the people who come to take part is “radical self-reliance”. This means that everyone attending Burning Man has to create their own means of survival – no shelter or food is provided, and nothing is sold on site aside from ice and coffee.

Burning Man takes place on a dried-up lakebed known as the “playa” and participants are supposed to leave no trace of themselves behind. There are no rubbish bins in the whole of the massive festival settlement, and those attending must collect and remove their own waste.

. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Festival-goers, known as “burners”, are supposed to immerse themselves completely in the culture of Burning Man, and many are even given new “playa names” while they are there – like “Mountain Spirit” (left) and “Shooting Star”, shown here dancing in the desert.

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Slideshow

Patrick Sperry dances at Burning Man 2012, which had the special theme "Fertility 2.0".
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Patrick Sperry dances at Burning Man 2012, which had the special theme "Fertility 2.0".

A man who gives his name as "Nick" rides across the desert.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

A man who gives his name as "Nick" rides across the desert.

A man with the playa name of "Shaft" rides his bike while taking part in an event named the “Unicorn Stampede.” Organisers describe bikes as vital for getting around the festival, and participants are encouraged to decorate their bicycles in their own distinctive way.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

A man with the playa name of "Shaft" rides his bike while taking part in an event named the “Unicorn Stampede.” Organisers describe bikes as vital for getting around the festival, and participants are encouraged to decorate their bicycles in their own distinctive way.

A man who goes by the playa name of "Ocram" is illuminated by the sunrise on the third day of the festival.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

A man who goes by the playa name of "Ocram" is illuminated by the sunrise on the third day of the festival.

A structure at the festival named the “Temple of Juno” is lit up by the morning sun.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

A structure at the festival named the “Temple of Juno” is lit up by the morning sun.

Hallie McConlogue, partially submerged in a fishbowl helmet, stays cool in the desert climate.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Hallie McConlogue, partially submerged in a fishbowl helmet, stays cool in the desert climate.

People at the festival gather around – and on top of – an art installation called "The Universe Revolves Around You".
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

People at the festival gather around – and on top of – an art installation called "The Universe Revolves Around You".

Festival-goers with the playa names of “Rainbow Fish” and “Ambidrextrous”, share a bottle of wine and a kiss at sunrise.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Festival-goers with the playa names of “Rainbow Fish” and “Ambidrextrous”, share a bottle of wine and a kiss at sunrise.

The Temple of Juno is lit up at night.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

The Temple of Juno is lit up at night.

Festival-goers dance at night.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Festival-goers dance at night.

Flames shoot up from an “art car”. Also known as “mutant vehicles” these adapted cars are one means of transport at the festival.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Flames shoot up from an “art car”. Also known as “mutant vehicles” these adapted cars are one means of transport at the festival.

Flames rise from a multi-building art installation titled "Burn Wall Street".
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Flames rise from a multi-building art installation titled "Burn Wall Street".

Ingelise Titheradge is brought to tears while the Temple of Juno burns.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Ingelise Titheradge is brought to tears while the Temple of Juno burns.

Libriel Padilla watches the sunrise, partially obscured by smoke from a western wildfire during the festival.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Libriel Padilla watches the sunrise, partially obscured by smoke from a western wildfire during the festival.

Two festival goers, who use the playa names “Cryptic” and “Rascal”, pick through the ashes of “the Man”, after the statue had been burnt.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Two festival goers, who use the playa names “Cryptic” and “Rascal”, pick through the ashes of “the Man”, after the statue had been burnt.

Two participants pull their suitcases through the sand as they leave Burning Man 2012.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

Two participants pull their suitcases through the sand as they leave Burning Man 2012.

An aerial view shows the Burning Man 2012 "Fertility 2.0" arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 30, 2012. More than 60,000 people from all over the world have gathered at the sold out festival, which is celebrating its 26th year, to spend a week in the remote desert cut off from much of the outside world to experience art, music and the unique community that develops.
. Black Rock City, United States. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

An aerial view shows the Burning Man 2012 "Fertility 2.0" arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 30, 2012. More than 60,000 people from all over the world have gathered at the sold out festival, which is celebrating its 26th year, to spend a week in the remote desert cut off from much of the outside world to experience art, music and the unique community that develops.

"The burners are welcoming you into their community, no questions asked. You have to be respectful and participate."
Jim Urquhart, Reuters Photographer

As I write this blog, I am sitting in my little camping trailer the morning after completing my Burning Man 2012 coverage. I am exhausted, a bit dehydrated, and sore. My hair has become matted like dreadlocks from the combination of sweat and fine dust, and I reek so horribly of body odor that I could make shame itself blush. But I am so aware of myself; I am alive and thriving. This is why I love what I do.

This was my second year covering the event and I really wanted to let go and participate more in the experience. Last year I was new to the festival – a “playa virgin”. This year I was no veteran in the dust, but I was more tuned in with what was happening around me.

Burning Man is an event that demands your participation. Just entering the gates this year, I watched new burning man attendees, or “virgin burners” being made to roll in the dirt. The dusty, middle-aged couple I saw will now have that sacred memory to pass on to their loved ones.

I myself was made to get out of my vehicle and asked how many times I had been to the burn. When I answered that this was my second year at the festival, I was greeted with a long, lingering, sensual hug and a soft whisper in my ear: “Welcome home.”

That was key to my experience. Often, the ethos of journalism means you are required to just be an observer and not participate in any form. But that would never fly at Burning Man. If you want to witness intimate moments in others’ lives, you have to let go of many of your own inhibitions. The burners are welcoming you into their community, no questions asked. You have to be respectful and participate.

Before coming out, I made a firm decision that if I was going to be working, I was sure as hell going to be somewhat comfortable when I edited, transited and slept. So I dragged a trusty “Burro” fiberglass trailer across the desert to base camp.

The Burro hasn’t failed me yet. It provided a great little spot to escape most of the dust. I also brought out a generator and installed a small air-conditioning unit. I bought a used child’s bike trailer to get the weight off my back and carry around my camera gear, beer and some water.

As cell phones are virtually useless out here, and I had to transmit photos out to the world several times a day, I also brought out a satellite Internet system.

That was one of the more important and successful decisions I made for this assignment. It was nice to be able to transmit images from camp and not go searching for somewhere to get a signal from. But it meant I also had to be a carpenter, electrician and communications technician to keep everything up and running.

The festival goes on for 24 hours a day with no breaks for a week, so the working hours are long. I decided to set a routine for myself that would provide me with some time to rest; I would get up and shoot in the cooler hours just before and after sunrise, rest and sleep in the heat of the day and then go out and shoot again before sunset, returning to camp several hours after dark to sleep one more time.

As a journalist, you have to be “radically self-reliant,” just like those around you. At the media mecca there was no Wi-Fi, no Internet and no muffins. Hell, your working press pass states you are entitled to absolutely nothing. In this way, Burning Man is a great social equaliser: the playa does not care if you are a mechanic from Scranton, a wannabe from Los Angeles or the Prince of Saudi Arabia.

Honestly, I really understand why some don’t want to leave and return to the “default world”, as life outside the playa is known. Yes, we all smell, the dust sucks and sharing port-a-potties with 60,000 people can be an adventure. But here they are making a community they define as they go along.