So I ran through the folders of photos at high speed. As always, the pix fall into basic categories:
1) Some good stuff.
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I think Tom looks just great there, I like the composition, and I caught the light at just the right time. Just like a real photographer. There's about three portraits this year I really like, in fact.
2) Some things I really like but could be better.
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I will probably photoshop the hell out of this one to get the actual feel I wanted. But I like the confused couple staring up at the creepy Der Mortenspiegel-looking sculpture, like young children in a mechanical fairy tale involving robots, evil witches, and cakes made out of copper wire and steel filing icing.
3) Photos that capture the vibe and are colorful (but aren't that good).
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That's the Serpent Mother fireworks show.
4) Funny Shit, of three kinds
a) that anyone could enjoy
b) that show naughty bits and probably won't be posted.
a) that employers or other authorities might or might not like.
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Those are the legs of Big Smokey, above, who came to our camp seriously drunk at 11AM, rabble roused, then passed out in our dome. And then rolled around in her sleep. (If her legs had been bare, we would have rolled her back in, but there was no fear of sunburn with those pants and boots.)
About b), it sometimes feels that taking picture at Burning Man that don't have a nipple or a penis in them is like taking Dubai shots without a crane in them. For example, I just looked at the shots of the top half of Big Smokey, inside the dome, and on the bigger screen than the camera playback, you can see how she had come clear of her dress. I'll probably post a version of that with her nipples and face blanked out. Or not.
5) Out of focus, or badly composed, or badly-lit, or plain wrong-headed shots, that I will still post.
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And finally, the category I actually like least, because it shows the least of my personality as a photographer:
6) Nicely-composed, well-lit, in-focus shots that could be the generic shots in any Burning Man brochure or website.
Like so:
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This one has all the elements: weird art car, stark-looking playa, mountains, lots of people bustling around, the wide blue sky. This is the kind of photo that is the equivalent of the picture postcard that absolutely anyone could take, and did, at any Burning Man, ever. Like shooting any picture of the Grand Canyon. Even a bozo with a disposable is going to get at least one postcard quality photo if they shoot the Grand Canyon, or a typical day in Black Rock City.
Here's a slightly better example:
7) Documentary shots of camp during the day and night
Some good, some bad, but all of interest to people who camped at 7:15 and Eager with the Liminal Labs / Liminal Lounge.
There's also just junk, of course, shots that have basicaly no redeeming qualities. More of all the above categories to come, but no junk, I hope.
A nice one to end this post on.
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Flaming Gong at Sunset!
So, the Year of Two Deserts has concluded. Got back late this afternoon from Reno. Not much sleep, not much coherence. But here's what I looked like in the Peppermill on Sunday night.
In the rear view mirror, I kept thinking I looked like Jesus after a 5 day communion wine bender. We left Black Rock City at 3PM and arrived in Reno at 7:30 (which is normally closer to a 2.5 hour drive). The 2 hour wait to leave Black Rock City didn't help. Luckily, Cap'n Jack was my navigator and DJ, and did an excellent job of saying things like, "Mo, you just fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. "
(This, in the middle of the "Leaving BRC Traffic Jam".)
To which I repsonded, "Hey, my foot never left the brake!"
Cap'n Jack: "You really need to stay awake."
A few minutes after that photo, I went through 3 disposable razors to shave off the beard, after a long, hot shower. In fact, I had to use the hotel key card to clear whiskers out of the razors to use them again. Thanks, Reno.
A lot more pictures to come. I just counted the directories, and if I leave out the Reno dusk and dawn pictures, and the two Beard Boy pictures (one of which is above), I took 485 pictures. It'll take me some time to sort through them. I'll probablt finally use my Flickr account for mosre than just testing for these suckers. More upload tools. The best of the best will make it to here, and to the final MoXmas pages.
Fantastic postings will include night time shots of blinky lights and day time shots of tired and sweaty folks sitting around a camp under a shade structure.
Plus! The return of "Jack Taylor, Art Lover!".
So, as I believe I have mentioned in many of the Dubai posts, this is the year of two deserts for me. Dos Desertes. Double Deserts. Dubai and not-beginning-with-a-D Nevada.
I flew into Reno Friday night, after surprisingly good travel karma. I had to make connecting flights in Denver AND San Francisco, and made them both with time for a bathroom break to spare.
Hertz couldn't have been more awful about a reserved car, but Avis at the counter next door gave me a car the same size car at the same rate, with no hassle.
Unfortunately, all my good travel karma must have been a zero sum game, because Cap'n jack had nothing but hassle getting out of NYC. He got rebooked from JFK-LAX-RNO, to LGA-ORD-RNO -- LaGuardia-O'Hare- Reno, that is. Unfortunately, his luggage stayed on the original flight schedule, which meant his tent, his clothes and a cooler full of 40 pounds of pork butt (for Jack's dinner night) did a layover in LA, and is only arriving in Reno around 1PM today (Sunday). So instead of a 6AM start, we're heading out around 1PM. Could be worse, I guess.
We'll still be in well before dark, which is the msot important thing. I hate setting up my tent in the dark on the first night. Plus, the sunset every night is one of the great things about being on the playa.
The other plus is, I got to repeat the phrase "40 pounds of pork butt" and just "pork butt" to Joey and Mattie all day while having breakfast and running errands.
BTW, personal to Nona: Jack's cooler is the heavy duty silver Coleman type whihc you like so well. With chunks of dry ice, and I think some extra sealing so the lid wouldn't open in flight, Jack is fully confident that 40 pounds of pork butt will barely even notice the hassle of an overnght at LAX.
Anyway, excitement adenaline and a vague sense of jet lag from all the plane flying over the last week meant I went to bed early and woke up the same. So here's Reno at night:
I'm staying in the other Circus Circus tower, so I got this nice view of the main tower lit up at night.
The Circus Circus is fine. But I have to admit, any pleasure from staying in Reno happens on the way back from the playa, where a shower, fresh clothes, and an all-you-can-eat buffett is the best return to society one could wish for. But before hand? I'd've been just as happy in the Motel 6 another night, and would've spent a bit less cash. And parking would have been more convenient.
Also, getting Jack a decent meal after all his travel hassles was not as easy as it should have been. The sushi joint looked a bit didgy, the micro-brewery stopped serving food right before we got there, and the basic diner we ate in served me a cup of coffee with a long red hair in it. Which I didn't notice until I spun the cup after drinking about half. Cap'n Jack's quote: "Every time I come to Reno, I hate it a little bit more."
Still: nice view. Here it is again at 5:45 AM, an insomniac special shot.
And yes, I am quite sure those are in the correct order.
OK, I'm going to try and get another couple hours of sleep before descending to the day.
