Wasteland: The Mad Max Festival That Makes Burning Man Look Lame

Photo by Tod Seelie for Wired

Chaos is the norm at Wasteland, the “world’s largest post-apocalyptic festival” that turns the Mojave Desert into a glorious vision of hell on earth. For four days each September, thousands of survivors maraud a patch of dirt and sand east of Bakersfield, California, in wild jalopies and wage epic bungee-battles in a two-story Thunderdome.

More info: Tod Seelie, Instagram, Facebook (h/t: wired)

Photo by Tod Seelie for Wired

Wasteland combines the coolest parts of Mad Max and Fallout with a dash of Dune in a simple premise: The end of civilization has left a scrappy band of survivors to pillage a scorched, dead planet. Some 2,500 people—the largest crowd in the event’s seven-year history—braved this brutal world last weekend, settling into themed tribes like Skulduggers and Vermin Vagabonds.

Photo by Tod Seelie for Wired

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

Spectacular Winning Photos from the 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards

UK Weather Photographer Of The Year 2016

Floriade 2012: World Horticulture Festival

Stunning Colorized Photos Show Child Laborers In Early 20th Century America

Handyman Makes Special Vehicle for Grandchildren

Photographer Took His Drone To Capture How People Are Dealing With Quarantine

Before Facebook: This Is How We Used to Unfriend People Back Then

Japanese Photographer Has Spent 15 Years Creating Vivid Portraits Of People Surrounded By Their Belongings

September 17: This Day in Photos from the Past

Aerial Images Of Salterns That Blur The Line Between Photograph And Painting

Liverpool In The 1980s: Photographer Dave Sinclair’s Stunning Images Show A City That Refused To Lie Down In The Face Of Adversity

A Real-Life Mermaid Who Swims With Sharks Using Her Fish Tail And Holds Breath For 2 Minutes

A Photographer Travels Across India To Show How Beautiful And Diverse Local People Are, And We’re Mesmerized

Magical Photos Of China Taken By The US Photographer Tristan Zhou

The Fifty Fifty Selfie Barber Shop

Beautiful Vintage Portraits of Björk in the 1980s

Photographer Brings Children’s Dreams To Life In Magical Photos

Extraordinary Aerial Photographs of London From the 1920s Taken by Alfred G Buckham

Bram Stoker's Chair Series by Sam Taylor-Wood

Amazing Portrait Photos Of Iranian Women From Between The 1920s And '50s

"Eternal Monuments in The Dark": Photograher Captures Brutalist Beauty Of Fragments of The Socialist Era

Stunning Wildlife Photos from the Monochrome Photography Awards

Haunting Photographic Self-Portraits by Francesca Woodman From the 1970s

Striking Black And White Portraits Of Celebrities At The Golden Globes 2017

Bar Refaeli - Passionata Spring/Summer 2012

Photographer Mohamed Taher Documents Egyptian Dancers Making The Streets Of Cairo Their Stage

Beautiful And Never Seen Vintage Soviet 'Antonov' Plane Ads

Stunning Portrait Photos Capturing the Iconic Style of Young People in the 1980s

"The North American Indian" - One Man's Vision Of A Continent Of Cultures

Photographer Radosław Kaźmierczak Captures The Urban Surrealism Of Poland In Great Details

Wasteland: The Mad Max Festival That Makes Burning Man Look Lame

More Inspiring Stories

Spectacular Winning Photos from the 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards

UK Weather Photographer Of The Year 2016

Floriade 2012: World Horticulture Festival

Stunning Colorized Photos Show Child Laborers In Early 20th Century America

Handyman Makes Special Vehicle for Grandchildren

Photographer Took His Drone To Capture How People Are Dealing With Quarantine

Before Facebook: This Is How We Used to Unfriend People Back Then

Japanese Photographer Has Spent 15 Years Creating Vivid Portraits Of People Surrounded By Their Belongings

September 17: This Day in Photos from the Past

Aerial Images Of Salterns That Blur The Line Between Photograph And Painting

Liverpool In The 1980s: Photographer Dave Sinclair’s Stunning Images Show A City That Refused To Lie Down In The Face Of Adversity

A Real-Life Mermaid Who Swims With Sharks Using Her Fish Tail And Holds Breath For 2 Minutes

A Photographer Travels Across India To Show How Beautiful And Diverse Local People Are, And We’re Mesmerized

Magical Photos Of China Taken By The US Photographer Tristan Zhou

The Fifty Fifty Selfie Barber Shop

Beautiful Vintage Portraits of Björk in the 1980s

Photographer Brings Children’s Dreams To Life In Magical Photos

Extraordinary Aerial Photographs of London From the 1920s Taken by Alfred G Buckham

Bram Stoker's Chair Series by Sam Taylor-Wood

Amazing Portrait Photos Of Iranian Women From Between The 1920s And '50s

"Eternal Monuments in The Dark": Photograher Captures Brutalist Beauty Of Fragments of The Socialist Era

Stunning Wildlife Photos from the Monochrome Photography Awards

Haunting Photographic Self-Portraits by Francesca Woodman From the 1970s

Striking Black And White Portraits Of Celebrities At The Golden Globes 2017

Bar Refaeli - Passionata Spring/Summer 2012

Photographer Mohamed Taher Documents Egyptian Dancers Making The Streets Of Cairo Their Stage

Beautiful And Never Seen Vintage Soviet 'Antonov' Plane Ads

Stunning Portrait Photos Capturing the Iconic Style of Young People in the 1980s

"The North American Indian" - One Man's Vision Of A Continent Of Cultures

Photographer Radosław Kaźmierczak Captures The Urban Surrealism Of Poland In Great Details