Notes on Kite Aerial Photography: Photo Gallery
A
couple stands within a misshapen sphere on the left and a multisectioned vehicle
that provided public transportation with a fire-breathing dragon motif (Canon 24-mm, August 2001).
Buckminster Fuller would have been
proud of the inventiveness and playfulness of some the structures at Burning
Man. Black Rock City was dotted by a score of geodesic domes with and without
coverings. And then there was this unusual example of having the structure complete
the entire sphere. It was an interesting object to encounter out on the playa.
Take a look at Bob Stahl's fine WWW page Temporary
Desert Structures and let your mind run wild. Bob works with the Black Rock
City Department of Public Works and knows how to get things done.
I have lately been mulling over what I would do differently should I return to Burning
Man -- and I am quite inclined to return. One change will be to focus more on
the art installations. as a subject. These endeavors reflect the dedicated,
creative energy that seems to be the lifeblood of the gathering. I think
that I will also make a more concerted effort to meet the people behind these
structures and to learn their stories.
A
quartet of images from the inner playa: on
the left is a thirty-foot-tall polychromatic tower erected just behind our camps
seen from above. To the right is a more abstracted oblique view of shadow play from
the tower. The base of this tower held a cushioned, circular lounge that was
frequently filled with friendly and snug people. Neil K. has a fine
nighttime shot of this tower on his site and it was indeed a useful landmark
on the dark horizon. (Canon 24-mm, August 2001)
The
lower pair of images shows the Plastic Chapel, where your author participated in
a wedding, with a bride and groom on the stage (I believe they were
photographer's models). On the right, a woman rides a large fish vehicle
(Canon 24-mm, August 2001)
The fish vehicle was great. I recall, on a previous occasion, watching a particularly enthusiastic young woman riding the fish's western saddle while vigorously whipping said fish with a leather bullwhip -- sort of a large desert fish dominatrix. This was surprisingly entertaining for the random audience she encountered on the playa and apparently for the dominatrix herself. The fish, being inanimate, did not seem worse for the wear.
Girl on a swing -- it is fun to find a swing in the middle of the desert.
Elsewhere in Black Rock City you could find a seesaw (aka teeter-totter) written
at a large scale. As I watched one woman, shown in the righthand image dressed
in red, reach the seesaw's apex with a large jolt and scream for more (Canon 24-mm, August 2001)
My Kite Aerial Photography site has been picked up by a surprising number of family-approved
outfits who note that kite aerial photograph seems an appropriately wholesome activity for
the youngsters. For instance, I learn from FamilyClick.com
where I have been listed in the TopSites category that I am also "Net-Mom
Approved" complete with a cute apple pie logo. Such a world we live in.
Truth be known, I have been thus inspired to maintain a high level of decorum on
this site. Therefore, I generally thought it was just as well that most of my human subjects were
clothed. One exception is the
'girl on a swing' (above) where I thought an ode to Maxfield Parrish was in order.
No, I didn't ask.
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Comments to author: crisp@socrates.berkeley.edu . All content,
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All rights reserved. Revised: Saturday, December 01, 2001
URL: http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/gallery/gal192.html
