Burning Man 2023

10th Burn!!! We made it to double digits :) Woah nilly! How do we even begin to talk about this year's event. Think the one word that would sum it up would be...unique. After last year's intense week long heat, nature took a 180 and on Friday treated us to a nice little late August monsoon. But first we back up. Arriving on playa Thursday of build week it finally felt like we had figured this thing out...my burn experience, like everyone's, has been evolving over the years and the last few running our own camp and bringing art has finally seemed like our PRACTICE has been paying off. [For those that dont know; PRACTICE CAMP is us😎]. The goal of having everything ready to go by Sunday evening was a reality and our upgrades were looking fantastic.

Additionally, tickets seemed to be finally way less difficult to come by, which turned out to mean a smaller burn! This...is a good thing. The vibe all week definitely had a lower key feel to it and maybe even less influencer/tourist types. And then....the rain came.

The special nature of this storm cannot be understated. Storm day itself found us in full FAFO mode rolling around on a walkabout with a crew until the rain started...where we took shelter for 10+hours. HUGE shout out to French Maid Brigade. Not only did they put up with our shenanigans the entire time but were insanely hospitable. If anyone has someone's contact please pass along (my phone was awol for a couple of days). Super duper special afternoon/evening that included lots of laughing, incredible singing by a couple of people and an absolutely ridiculous rainbow.

And then the post storm excitement. The rain meant that NONE of the usual weekend-warrior/tourists could get in! Another huge boon for the event. That and, yes we were laughing muchly at the super exaggerated reports, the best group of people to have stuck some place is a bunch of burners ;) In fact, we had planned on being 'stuck' until after the event anyway...sooooo....was just a little mud to deal with. 😎

I will say it was surreal partying on Sunday instead of breaking down...and again on to Monday when the man finally burned. But the unique conditions made for super unique images! I did walking tours on Saturday and Sunday capturing as much as I could. While I'm always rooting for massive dust storms....the mud and reflections were super special and welcomed.

All in all by the time we left Tues pm (post temple burn) it was definitely time to go. My personal longest time on playa (12 days), combined with the added excitement made for some pretty tired humans. Truly special burn and hope you enjoy the images this year!

Fuck your mud ;)

#InDustWeTrust

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