[All photos by Sam Wolson. Reporting by Seth Stevenson and Sam Wolson.]
Arriving at Burning Man
Burning Man is held on Labor Day weekend each year in an alkali desert not far from Gerlach, Nev. Once cars pull off the two-lane highway, they roll across the desert flats, kicking up dust storms.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Dust
Impulse (that’s his Burner name) and April (that’s her real name) met moments before this picture was taken. Impulse, on the left, is a water-rights attorney in Utah. April works for a nonprofit group in Oregon. They are shielding themselves from a dust storm while sitting in the middle of the "playa"—the open desert next to the makeshift city.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Giant Chair
A group of Burners hangs out on a massive wooden chair—one of many pieces of outsized art at Burning Man. The chair was set on fire at the end of the week.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Bike Shorts Optional
A nude man rides a bicycle on the Burning Man esplanade. Both the clothed and the unclothed are welcome at Burning Man.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Chair on Fire
A typical Burning Man scene: A giant chair is engulfed in flames, yet people barely notice.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Billion Bunny March
A bunny ringleader yells to crowds of bunnies—people in bunny costumes—during the Billion Bunny March. Bunnies unite!
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Art Car
Dozens of mobile sculptures rolled through the desert, often with revelers aboard.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Desert Bar
People gather to drink at an outpost on the Playa, one of dozens of carefully designed bars serving free drinks throughout the makeshift city.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Mysterious Box
A mysterious box in the middle of the desert, next to a unicorn sculpture.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Dangerous Chocolate
A sign found on the box next to the unicorn informed Burners that the treats inside were filled with "Theobromin" and that novice users should start by eating half.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Yoga Coupling
Two people sleep in center camp during a yoga class. Center camp is a focal point of the city, where folks congregate, get coffee, and attend musical and spoken-word performances.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Burning Man Injury
In the medical tent, a woman calling herself Princess Palmer gets her sprained ankle wrapped by Mike Seopa, a first-year Burning Man EMT. Palmer fell off an art car earlier in the day.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Breaking Camp
The peak population of Burning Man this year was 53,000. This shot was taken at the very end of the week, after many Burners had cleared out.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Radical Self-Expression
There's something happening all over Burning Man at every time of day—even if it's just impromptu self-expression.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Waiting for the Fire
A group of onlookers aboard an art car prepares to watch a giant wooden horse get set on fire by flaming arrows. The horse was so large that there was a bar inside it, serving drinks—though not once the arrows hit.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Thunderdome
At the Thunderdome, two people are put in harnesses and given padded sticks to fight with. Crowds climb the outside of the dome to watch and cheer. These two combatants were wearing furry rabbit costumes.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Rolling Peacock
This is a peacock art car. The bird's tail was 17 feet wide and could extend from lowered to fully fanned.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Burning Man at Night
At night the desert comes alive with lasers, neon, and flames.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
The Man Burns
On Saturday night, the festivities culminate with the burning of the colossal wooden man. Firefighters keep a watchful eye, making sure Burners don’t get too close to the flames.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Afterglow
Before the man burns hundreds of fire dancers perform in the inner circle for the crowds. After the man has burned, they bask in the heat.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
The Temple
On Sunday, the final night of the festival, the temple gets burned as well. Here the 120-foot structure looks otherworldly just a few minutes before it was set on fire. Over the course of the week people wrote messages on the temple walls about loved ones that had passed away.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Temple Ablaze
When the temple began to burn, the crowd fell completely silent, a stark contrast to the previous night’s boisterous burn.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Pagan Exultation
Firefighters and revelers near the flaming embers. Some people cry; others dance.
Photograph by Sam Wolson for CREDIT: Slate.
Marching Toward Flames
After the final structural elements of the temple fall, the crowd slowly walks toward the fire. The festival has ended; most will leave later that night.
