Bliss Dance is a 40' steel sculpture that was installed at Burning Man 2010. I shot this piece in various phases: as it was being installed on the playa, with no one around, with hundreds of people around....I'l get them up as fast as I can.
The first treatment of this image was nice, but I knew that I wanted more, so during a brutal dust storm I sat in my trailer and developed a new workflow technique that lets me pull more color out of the dark regions of photos while not inducing noise or what I like to call "crunk". This is made from 6 images, between .6 second and 10 seconds in length at f7.1 - See more pics on my site at www.michaelholden.com
YaniNation, Carol Brockman, .btezra, and 94 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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Jeff Robinson - TX 34 months ago | reply
This is a great photo! Among the best I have seen in this group!
Note: I am using Flickr Comment Tool to let you know I liked your picture because it allows me to view and comment on more pictures in my limited time. It allows me to spend time looking at your good work instead of scrolling through other people's comments and typing redundant messages. Please do not be offended that I chose this tool to let you know I liked your picture. :)
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tumelu 34 months ago | reply
Vivid
reut71 34 months ago | reply
Sweet!
Lalalaa Dolce Vita 34 months ago | reply
Wow. That whole 'turning your body clock around to shoot at sunrise' thing paid off in spades. Gorgeous work.
blackcatphotos 34 months ago | reply
Great Shots!!
Did you know that when Pat Monahan of Train was writing their hit song,"Hey, Soul Sister" , he was envisioning a bunch of beautiful women dancing around a fire at burning man?...
This bliss statue could have been named "Hey Soul Sister"!
I read on the Burning Man website that this is what she represents...
"She celebrates humanity and shows the feminine beauty, power and strength that emerges when women are safe and free to be themselves.
Standing 40 feet tall, she is dancing naked with her eyes closed; a sign that the spirit of the community is healthy and the balance between male and female is present"
Darius twin 34 months ago | reply
wow
alexjmurry83 34 months ago | reply
beautiful. There was so much to do at this event that I never got around to seeing things at sunrise. Kind of a shame but there is nothing I regret about my experience in the playa.
nym 33 months ago | reply
Thank you for machine tagging this!
You might want to use this to help find machine tags for other artworK:
tomlongson.com/burningflickr/
eliteforce 33 months ago | reply
Astonishing shot of Bliss Dance - amazing
PVM Crew 33 months ago | reply
Extremely amazing work - I've seen thousands of pictures after returning from my first burn and this collection definitely takes the cake.
moments & more (see you soon...very busy) [deleted] 33 months ago | reply
Cool, great artwork!
Seen in the "Your Best Photography" group!
luciaartigas84 32 months ago | reply
It really makes me ashamed to ask this, but I`m studying to be a graphic designer and I have to do a tp for my university, do you mind sharing this photo in high quiality please? please? please?! It has no profit, I promise, it´s just a work of university and really your picture is ideal for me. I hope you understand me! please! thanks.
luciaartigas84@yahoo.com
imagepeace 31 months ago | reply
wonderful image!
Imogen Spedding 30 months ago | reply
This Invitation counts as an award!
~hope2cu~ 29 months ago | reply
davolly59 29 months ago | reply
fireliz 27 months ago | reply
I love this photo! I'm using it on the cover of my free ebook, How to be Happy (No Fairy Dust or Moonbeams Required) (here if you want to see: 17000-days.com/how-to-be-happy)
Thank you very much for sharing this and licensing it under Creative Commons. It is ten kinds of awesome.
Cara Stein
Michael Holden 27 months ago | reply
@Cara -- thanks! I'm glad you liked it and used it in your book!
Jim Lafferty 27 months ago | reply
Wow, this is gorgeous.
FeralKid1 16 months ago | reply
Inspirational shot. Well done. Nice to see you had the dedication to get there for sunrise. It wasn't easy.