The Burning Man is a unique event that started on a modest scale in 1986 when friends Larry Harvey and Jerry James burned a 8-feet high wooden man on the Baker beach just outside San Francisco. Initially a small gathering it grew to attract thousands that made an annual pilgrimage to the Nevada desert. The beach wasn’t big enough anymore, and by the 90s, it moved to the enormous empty space of the Black Rock Desert where it has been ever since.
Image Credit: 1990, C. Nick Lynch
A City Rises from the Dust
Each year, about 70,000 Burners flock to the desert, constructing a temporary “metropolis” based on radical self-expression and art. Last year, the festival brought a total of around 70,000 revelers and campers (organizers refuse to give exact figures) across seven days to this spot in Nevada’s remote Black Rock Desert, for an event turned experiment in community, self-reliance and gifting that culminates with the torching of “The Man” a towering effigy at its center.
A Decade Through the Lens
For more than a decade British photographer Philip Volkers has traveled to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert documenting the space of burning man. The resulting book, Dust to Dawn, attempts to capture the beauty of that raw spirit — from the stunning art installations dotting the playa to the alkaline dust storms our Burners have learned to live with. Volkers’ photos encapsulate the weird and wonderful transformation from hippie hangout to a must-attend circuit for the tech bro elite, all while being just as groovy and DIY.
Images Credit: Philip Volkers
A View from Above
In 2024, an image of Burning Man from space was taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite. Shot on August 26, the image offers a look at the vast camp of the desert festival from its tents and RVs to the sprawling sandy stretch of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. A festival visible from the stars.
Credit: esa