Burning Man – Scott London

Burning Man is a week-long gathering devoted to art, creativity and self-expression. It’s held each summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. The event is difficult to describe. It’s not quite an art festival, not quite a desert rave, and not quite a social experiment, but something of all three.

I’ve been documenting Burning Man for many years, covering the event on assignment for Rolling Stone, CNN and other media outlets. My work has appeared in numerous books, magazines and newspapers.

My images from the event are featured in the book Burning Man: Art on Fire, a collaboration with Jennifer Raiser and Sidney Erthal. A comprehensively revised and expanded edition featuring more than 200 of my images was published by Quarto in July 2023. The book is currently a finalist for two 2024 Indie Book Awards.

You’ll find a selection of image galleries below. For more about the project, check out a talk I gave at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, or read some of the press and interviews at the bottom of this page. Thank you for visiting.

The Burning Man Series

This set brings together some of my better-known images from Burning Man taken over a period of many years. It’s tough to narrow down tens of thousands of images to just one or two hundred, so this is a snapshot view. For a deeper dive, have a look at the other sets on this page, or check out the press coverage and interviews in the links below.

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Burning Man 2023

2023 was the year torrential rains flooded the Black Rock Desert. The news media sensationalized the story, but spirits on the ground remained high and the event carried on. Many said afterwards that it was a uniquely memorable week and one of the best burns ever. Read my live report in Forbes magazine, or follow the link below for my complete set of images.

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Burning Man 2022

Burning Man 2022 was dominated by intense winds, daylong whiteouts and triple-digit temperatures for much of the week. Equipment failed, activities were canceled and systems broke down. While it was great to be back in Black Rock City after two years of pandemic-related cancelations, it was also a harsh reminder of how unforgiving the desert can be.

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Renegade Burn 2021

In 2021, Burning Man was canceled for the second year in a row due to the pandemic. But thousands of people flocked to the Black Rock Desert anyway for what turned out to be a huge free-form DIY gathering that—even without a wood-and-neon effigy to burn, large-scale art installations or much in the way of infrastructure, planning and organization—felt very much like the real thing.

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(Not) Burning Man 2020

Burning Man was canceled because of the pandemic, but some 3,500 people headed out to the desert anyway. The gathering offered a glimpse of what Burning Man might have been like in the early days before it became a thing. There were theme camps, artworks, mutant vehicles, and sunrise dance parties. But it was all self-organized, and free—no tickets required.

Burning Man 2019

For all the complaints about Burning Man going mainstream, about it being taken over by the rich and famous, and about it being ruined by Instagram and pesky “influencers,” 2019 turned out to be another banner year in Black Rock City. Along with a record number of art installations, it was a year of breathtaking performances, dreamy sunrise sets, and astonishing burns.

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If you’re looking for older picture galleries from Burning Man, I’ll have them back online soon. The page designs were extremely dated (I used to code them by hand). I’m working on a redesign. Please check back.

Press & Interviews

Burning Man Diaries: A Report From the Muddy Chaos of 2023 — Forbes Magazine

Scott London: Burning Man — Pocko Times

Meet the ‘Mutant Vehicles’ of Burning Man 2019 — San Francisco Chronicle

This Photographer’s Burning Man Pics Hum with Electric Energy — Uproxx

Burning Man Goes Rogue — Forbes Magazine

A Photographer Delves Into the Dust — Monterey County Weekly

Interview with Scott London — Professional Photographer Magazine

Artsy Autos at Burning Man — CNN

Rolling Stone’s Best Photos of 2015 — Rolling Stone

Absurd Automobile Photography — Trend Hunter

Can Attending Burning Man Change Your Life? — Discovery’s This Happened Here

Burning Man 2014’s Trippiest Photos — Rolling Stone

An Interview with Scott London — Arts Illustrated

Scott London: Burning Man — It’s Nice That