Photos of Africa, taken from a flying lawn chair | George Steinmetz

翻译人员: Thomas Tam 校对人员: Grace Lyu

I have to tell you,

我必须告诉你们，

it's more than a little intimidating being up here,

在这台上不止是有点吓人，

an old American guy trying to tell Africans

一个老美国人 试图告诉非洲人

something new about your own continent.

关于你自己大陆的新事物。

But sometimes, an outsider can see things in a different way,

但有时候，局外人 可以用不同的方式看待事物，

like from the air.

比如在空中。

That's what I found by flying low and slow all over the African continent

这就是我在非洲大陆上 低空低速飞行所发现的，

as I photographed the spectacle of its diversity.

因为我拍到了它 多样性的奇观。

And I wasn't always an old guy.

而我并不一直是一个老人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This is me in 1979,

这是 1979 年的我，

a kid from California backpacking his way through the Ituri Forest of Zaire.

一个来自加利福尼亚州的孩子 正在穿过扎伊尔的伊图里森林。

I was on a yearlong hitchhiking trip.

我当时正在进行 为期一年的搭便车旅行。

I had just dropped out of Stanford University,

我刚刚从斯坦福大学退学，

从突尼斯到基桑加尼，再到开罗，

and I went from Tunis to Kisangani to Cairo

and learned how to live on 10 dollars a day.

我学会了如何每天 用 10 美元生活。

It was an amazing experience for me.

这是一个了不起的经验。

I spent about a week in this Dinka cattle camp

我在南苏丹的尼罗河畔

on the banks of the Nile in South Sudan.

的丁卡牛营里度过了一个星期。

The Dinka taught me how to tie papyrus into a shelter,

丁卡人教会了我 如何把纸莎草纸绑在避难所里，

and also I observed how they had adapted their way of life

我还观察了他们是 如何适应了这样的生活方式，

around the migratory needs of their beloved cattle.

围绕着他们心爱的 牛的迁徙需求。

It was a like a graduate course in ecological ethnography,

这就像一个 生态民族志研究生课程，

and I got busy taking notes with a camera.

我忙着用相机做记录。

With no money for rides,

没有钱搭便车，

they often made the Mzungu ride on the roof of the trucks,

他们经常坐在卡车的车顶上，

or in this case, on the top of the train going across South Sudan.

或者像这样，蜷缩在 穿过南苏丹的列车的车顶。

I felt like I was riding on the back of an insect

我感觉像是骑在昆虫的背上

going across the enormous tapestry of Africa.

穿越了巨大的非洲挂毯。

It was an incredible view from up there,

这是一番令人难以置信的景象，

but I couldn't help but think,

但我忍不住想，

wouldn't it be even more amazing if I could fly over that landscape

如果我能像一只鸟一样飞过那片风景，

like a bird?

岂不是更令人激动？

Well, that notion stayed with me,

那个想法一直伴随着我，

and 20 years later,

20 年后，

after becoming a professional photographer,

我成为了专业的摄影师，

I was able to talk National Geographic

对美国国家地理杂志提议

into doing a big story in the central Sahara,

在撒哈拉中部做一个大故事，

and I came back with a new kind of flying machine.

我回来时带了一种 新的飞行器。

This is me piloting the world's lightest and slowest aircraft.

这是我在驾驶世界上 最轻，最慢的飞机。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's called a motorized paraglider.

它被称为机动滑翔伞。

It consists of a backpack motor and a parachute-style wing,

它由一个背包发动机 和一个降落伞式机翼组成，

and it flies at about 30 miles an hour.

它每小时能飞行约 30 英里。

With 10 liters of fuel, I can fly for about two hours,

用 10 公升燃油 就可以飞行大概两小时，

but what's really amazing about it is it gives me an unobstructed view,

但是真正令人惊奇的是 它给了我一个自由的视野，

both horizontally and vertically,

无论水平还是垂直，

like a flying lawn chair.

仿佛躺在了一张飞翔的草坪椅。

My hitchhiker's dream of flying over Africa came true

当我看到这两个骆驼商队

在撒哈拉沙漠中经过的时候， 我搭便车飞越非洲的梦想成真了。

when I spotted these two camel caravans passing out in the middle of the Sahara.

The one in the foreground is carrying salt out of the desert,

靠近镜头的那个商队 正在运盐离开沙漠，

而远处的那个正在携带着

while the one in the background is carrying fodder

for the animals heading back in.

动物饲料返回。

I realized you couldn't take this kind of picture

我意识到，利用传统的飞机，

你无法拍摄到这种图片。

with a conventional aircraft.

飞机移动得太快，

An airplane moves too fast,

a helicopter would be too loud with too much downdraft,

直升机太响了， 产生了太多的下沉气流。

and it dawned on me that this crazy little aircraft I was flying

我突然意识到， 我在驾驶的这架“小飞机”

would open up a new way of seeing remote parts of the African landscape

将以前所未有的方式开辟一条看到

in a way that had never really been possible before.

非洲偏远地区风景的新途径。

Let me show you how it works.

我来展示一下它是如何工作的。

（掌声）

(Applause)

Thanks.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

This may seem a bit dangerous, but I am not some kind of adventure dude.

这似乎有点危险， 但我不是那种喜欢冒险的家伙。

I'm a photographer who flies, and I only fly to take pictures.

我是一名飞行摄影师， 飞行仅是为拍照。

My favorite altitude is between 200 and 500 feet,

我最喜欢的高度 在 200 到 500 英尺之间，

where I can see the world three-dimensionally,

让我可以看到三维的世界，

but also at a human scale.

而且是在人的尺度上。

I find that a lot of what I'd done over the years in Africa,

我发现我在非洲多年 来所做的很多拍摄

you could try to do with a drone,

都可以尝试使用无人机来完成，

but drones aren't really made for exploration.

但是无人机的问题 并不是为了探索。

They only fly for about 20 minutes of battery life

它们的电池寿命 只能维持在 3 公里范围内

and about three kilometers of range,

约 20 分钟的飞行，

and all you get to see is what's on a little screen.

你只能透过一个小屏幕 看到它拍摄到的景象。

But I like to explore.

但我喜欢探索。

I want to go over the horizon and find new things, find weird stuff,

我想飞离地平线， 找到新的，奇怪的东西，

like this volcanic caldera in Niger.

比如尼日尔的这个火山口。

If you look at the altimeter on my left leg,

如果你看着 我左腿的高度表，

you'll see that I'm about a mile above takeoff.

你会看到我是在 起飞地点上方一英里处。

Flying that high really freaked me out,

飞得那么高，真吓到我了，

but if you talk to a pro pilot,

但如果你跟专业飞行员谈话，

they'll tell you that altitude is actually your friend,

他们会告诉你，高度 实际上是你的朋友，

because the higher you are,

因为你越高，

the more time you have to figure out your problems.

你就有更多的时间 来找出你的问题。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

As a rank amateur, I figured this gave me more time

作为业余爱好者， 我觉得这只能给我更多的时间

to scream on the way back down.

在下落时尖叫。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

To calm myself down, I started taking pictures,

为了让自己冷静下来， 我开始拍照，

and as I did, I became rational again,

正如我所愿，人变得理性了，

and I was getting buffeted by a Harmattan wind

而我正受到哈马坦风的冲击，

which was coming out of the upper right hand corner of this picture,

是从这张照片的右上角吹来的，

我开始察觉到沙子 是如何填满整个火山口的。

and I started to notice how it had filled the entire crater with sand.

当我到达乍得北部时， 我发现了另一种火山。

When I got to the north of Chad, I found a different kind of volcano.

These had had their entire exteriors stripped away,

这些火山的外皮已经被侵蚀掉了，

剩下了旧的核心，

and all that was left was the old core,

and in the middle of the Sahara,

在撒哈拉沙漠中，

我觉得我看到了 被剥掉皮肤的地球。

I felt like I was seeing the earth with its living skin stripped away.

Much of the Sahara is underlain by an enormous freshwater aquifer.

撒哈拉沙漠的大面积地区都由 一个巨大的地下蓄水层所支撑。

When you go to the basin, sometimes you can see it leaking out.

当你去盆地时，有时候 你可以看到有谁渗漏出来。

If you were to walk through those palm groves,

如果你要穿过那些棕榈树林，

you could drink fresh water out of your footsteps.

你可以喝脚底下的淡水。

But that green lake water?

但那绿色的湖水？

Due to extreme evaporation, it's saltier than seawater

由于极端的蒸发， 比海水更咸，

and virtually lifeless.

几乎没有生命。

In Niger, I was amazed to see

在尼日尔，我很惊讶地看到

how the locals learned how to exploit a different kind of desert spring.

当地人如何学习利用 不同类型的沙漠春天。

Here, they mix the salty mud with spring water

他们把咸泥和 泉水混合在一起，

and spread it out in shallow ponds,

并散播在浅水池塘，

and as it evaporated, it turned into a spectacle of color.

自然蒸发让这里变成了一个奇观。

My rig is also amazing for looking at agriculture.

我的成套器械 在拍摄农业方面也很棒。

This picture was taken in southern Algeria,

这张照片是在 阿尔及利亚南部拍摄的，

where the locals have learned how to garden in a mobile dune field

当地人学会了 如何利用浅层地下水

by tapping into shallow groundwater.

开辟流动沙丘区。

I also loved looking at how animals have adapted to the African landscape.

我也喜欢观察动物 如何适应非洲的地域环境。

This picture was taken in Lake Amboseli,

这张照片是在安博塞利湖拍摄的，

just across the border from here in Kenya.

就在肯尼亚这一侧的边界上。

The elephants have carved the shallow lake water up

大象在浅浅的湖水表面“雕刻”出了

into a network of little pathways,

一个交错密布的路径网络，

and they're spaced just enough apart

这些路径之间的距离足够大

只有大象可以用那长长的鼻子

that only elephants, with their long trunks,

挖掘最多汁的草。

can tap into the most succulent grasses.

In Namibia, the zebra have learned how to thrive in an environment

在纳米比亚，斑马已经学会 如何在完全没有降雨

that gets no rainfall at all.

的环境中茁壮成长。

These grasses are irrigated by the dense coastal fog

这些草是由每天早晨覆盖该地区

that blankets the area every morning.

的沿海浓雾灌溉的。

And those bald patches out there?

那些秃斑

They call them fairy circles,

被称为“仙界”，

and scientists still struggle to understand what causes them.

科学家仍在试图找到它们的成因。

This is Mount Visoke, with a small crater lake in its summit at 3,700 meters.

这是 Visoke 山，3700 米高的顶部 有一个小火山口湖。

It forms the roof of the Great Rift Valley

它形成了东非大裂谷的屋顶，

and also the border between Rwanda and Congo.

也是卢旺达和刚果的边界。

It's also the center of the reserve for the fabled mountain gorilla.

这里也是传说中 山地大猩猩保护区的中心。

They're actually the big money-maker in Rwanda,

它们实际上为 卢旺达赚了许多钱，

and on this side of the border, conservation has become a huge success.

在边界的这一边，保护区 已经取得了巨大的成功。

Rwanda has the highest rural population density in Africa,

卢旺达是非洲农村 人口密度最高的国家，

and I saw it in almost every corner of the country I went to.

我几乎在去过的 每个角落都看到了它。

I've heard it said that competition for land

我听说过土地竞争

was one of the things that led to the tensions

是引发导致了 1990 年

种族灭绝的紧张局势的原因之一。

that caused the genocide of the 1990s.

I went back to South Sudan a few years ago,

几年前我回到南苏丹，

and it was amazing to see how much things had changed.

使我吃惊的是，眼前的一切 发生了惊人的变化。

The Dinka were still in love with their cattle,

丁卡人仍然 爱着他们的牛，

but they had turned in their spears for Kalashnikovs.

但他们已经在 用冲锋枪代替了矛。

The cattle camps from above were even more spectacular

上面的牛营 比我想象的更壮观，

than I could have imagined, but things had changed there too.

那里的情况也发生了变化。

看到那些小蓝点了吗？

You see those little blue dots down there?

丁卡人已经适应了新的现实，

The Dinka had adapted to the new reality,

现在他们用来自 联合国食品车队

and now they covered their papyrus shelters

的防水油布盖住了 他们的纸莎草帐篷。

with the tarps from UN food convoys.

In Mali, the Bozo people have learned how to thrive

在马里，博佐人 学会了如何在尼日尔河

in the pulsating rhythms of the Niger River.

的脉动节奏中茁壮成长。

As the rainy season ends and the water subsides,

随着雨季结束，水位下降，

they plant their rice in the fertile bottoms.

他们在肥沃的水底淤泥中种植大米。

And that village in the lower right corner,

而在右下角的那个村庄，

that's Gao, one of the jumping off points for the major trade routes

那就是加奥（Gao）， 撒哈拉沙漠主要贸易路线

的起点之一。

across the Sahara.

At the end of the harvest,

在收获结束时，

the Bozo take the leftover rice straw

博若人拿剩下的稻草

and they mix it with mud to reinforce their roofs and the village mosque.

与泥浆混合，以加固屋顶 和村庄的清真寺。

I must have flown over a dozen villages like this along the Niger River,

我一定沿着尼日尔河 飞过了十几个这样的村庄，

and each one was unique, it had a different pattern.

每一个都是独一无二， 有着不同的格局。

And each mosque was like a sculptural masterpiece,

每座清真寺都像 一尊雕塑般的杰作，

and no two were alike.

没有两个是相同的。

I've flown all over the world, and nothing can really compare

我飞遍了世界各地， 没有什么可以媲美

to the cultural diversity of Africa.

非洲文化的多样性。

在每个国家都能看到，

You see it in every country,

from Morocco

从摩洛哥

to Ethiopia,

到埃塞俄比亚，

to South Africa,

南非，

to Mozambique,

莫桑比克，

to South Sudan,

南苏丹，

to Mali.

再到马里。

The array of environments and cultural adaptations to them

他们的一系列 环境和文化适应

is really extraordinary,

真是令人惊叹，

and the history is pretty cool too.

历史也很酷。

From the air, I have a unique window into the earliest waves

从空中，我有一个独特 的窗口进入殖民史上

最早的浪潮。

of colonial history.

这是利比亚 沿海山脉上的昔兰尼，

This is Cyrene on the coastal mountains of Libya,

这是希腊人在公元前 700 年建立的学习中心，

that was founded by the Greeks, in 700 BC, as a learning center,

and Timgad, which was founded in what's now Algeria

提姆加德，在公元 100 年由罗马人

在今天的阿尔及利亚建立。

by the Romans in 100 AD.

This was built as a retirement community for old Roman soldiers,

这是一个为罗马老兵 建造的退休社区，

and it amazed me to think

一想到北非

that North Africa was once the breadbasket for the Roman Empire.

曾经是罗马帝国的粮仓， 我就感到很惊讶。

But 700 years after Timgad was built, it was buried in sand,

但是在提姆加德建造 的 700 年后，它已被尘土掩埋，

and even then, the African climate was wetter than it is today.

甚至在那时，非洲的气候 比今天更潮湿。

The African climate continues to change,

非洲气候不断变化，

and you see it everywhere,

你到处都会看到，

like here in the Gorges de Ziz,

就像在 Gorges de Ziz，

where a freak rainstorm came barreling out of the Sahara

撒哈拉沙漠中发生了 一场反常的暴风雨，

and blanketed the mountains in snow.

并为山峦披上了银装。

I never thought I would see date palms in snow,

我从来没有想过我会看到 在雪中的枣椰树，

but the kids that day had a great time throwing snowballs at each other.

但那天孩子们互相扔雪球， 玩得很开心。

But it made me wonder, how are Africans going to adapt

但是，这让我不禁好奇， 非洲人怎么去适应

to this rapidly changing climate going forward?

将来快速变化的气候？

In a continent as dynamic and diverse as Africa,

在非洲这样一个 充满活力和多样性的大陆，

sometimes it seems that the only constant is change.

有时似乎 唯一不变的是变化。

But one thing I've learned

但是我所学到的一件事是，

is that Africans are the ultimate improvisers,

非洲人是最终的 即兴创造者，

always adapting and finding a way forward.

总是能适应并找到前进的方向。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）