The passing of time, caught in a single photo | Stephen Wilkes

翻译人员: Amanda Yao 校对人员: Hong Li

I'm driven by pure passion

我创作有故事的照片

to create photographs that tell stories.

是出于纯粹的热忱。

Photography can be described as the recording of a single moment

摄影是对瞬间的记录，

frozen within a fraction of time.

凝固了永恒的某一个瞬间。

Each moment or photograph represents a tangible piece

随着时间流逝，每个瞬间或照片

of our memories as time passes.

都将我们的回忆化作实体。

But what if you could capture more than one moment in a photograph?

但是如果你可以在一张照片中, 捕捉不止一个瞬间呢？

What if a photograph could actually collapse time,

假如照片可以解构并重组时间，

compressing the best moments of the day and the night

浓缩日夜中最佳的时刻，

seamlessly into one single image?

并将其在一张图片上完美呈现呢？

I've created a concept called "Day to Night"

我创造了“昼夜之间”这个概念，

and I believe it's going to change

我深信它将改变

the way you look at the world.

人们看待世界的方式。

I know it has for me.

至少它已改变了我。

My process begins by photographing iconic locations,

我的创作始于对地标的记录，

places that are part of what I call our collective memory.

我将这些地方看作大家“记忆中的共鸣”。

I photograph from a fixed vantage point, and I never move.

我大多取景于固定的至高点， 而且从不移动。

I capture the fleeting moments of humanity and light as time passes.

随着时间流动，我捕捉 人类活动与光影变幻。

Photographing for anywhere from 15 to 30 hours

每个地点我都连续拍摄15至30小时，

and shooting over 1,500 images,

单次素材超过1500张，

I then choose the best moments of the day and night.

之后我挑选出最佳的瞬间， 从白昼到黑夜。

Using time as a guide,

以时间为轴，

I seamlessly blend those best moments into one single photograph,

将这些美妙的瞬间 融合到一张照片中，

visualizing our conscious journey with time.

将时间的流逝以具象的方式呈现。

I can take you to Paris

我可以带你们去巴黎，

for a view from the Tournelle Bridge.

在托内尔桥上看风景。

And I can show you the early morning rowers

你们能看到清晨的桨手，

along the River Seine.

自塞纳河上掠过。

And simultaneously,

与此同时，

I can show you Notre Dame aglow at night.

也能看到巴黎圣母院夜晚的灯光。

And in between, I can show you the romance of the City of Light.

晨昏之间，还能感受巴黎的浪漫气氛。

I am essentially a street photographer from 50 feet in the air,

我是一个常年悬空15米的街头摄影师，

and every single thing you see in this photograph

这张照片中的一切，

actually happened on this day.

都是在当天真实发生的。

Day to Night is a global project,

“昼夜之间”是一个环球项目，

and my work has always been about history.

而我的作品一直以历史为核心。

I'm fascinated by the concept of going to a place like Venice

我着迷于像威尼斯这样的地方，

and actually seeing it during a specific event.

也曾在特殊的日子造访过它。

And I decided I wanted to see the historical Regata,

我去看当地传统的划船比赛，

an event that's actually been taking place since 1498.

它的历史可追溯到1498年。

The boats and the costumes look exactly as they did then.

船只和选手服饰的样子， 与旧时一模一样。

And an important element that I really want you guys to understand is:

有一点很重要，我想特别强调一下：

this is not a timelapse,

这并不是延时拍摄，

this is me photographing throughout the day and the night.

而是我夜以继日的（连续）拍摄。

I am a relentless collector of magical moments.

对于捕捉那些惊艳的刹那，我从不倦怠。

And the thing that drives me is the fear of just missing one of them.

我唯恐错失任何精彩瞬间， 这是我最大的动力。

The entire concept came about in 1996.

整个“昼夜之间”的概念始于1996年。

LIFE Magazine commissioned me to create a panoramic photograph

当时《LIFE》杂志委任我 为巴兹·鲁曼导演的电影

of the cast and crew of Baz Luhrmann's film Romeo + Juliet.

《罗密欧与朱丽叶》的全体 演职人员拍摄一张全景照。

I got to the set and realized: it's a square.

我去了才发现，现场搭的景是方形的。

So the only way I could actually create a panoramic was to shoot a collage

我能想到的拍摄全景图的唯一方法， 就是拍摄250张照片，

of 250 single images.

然后再进行拼贴。

So I had DiCaprio and Claire Danes embracing.

于是我让迪卡普里奥和丹尼斯相拥。

And as I pan my camera to the right,

当我将镜头移至场景右侧时，

I noticed there was a mirror on the wall

我发现墙上有面镜子，

and I saw they were actually reflecting in it.

而他们的身影恰好被反射在镜中。

And for that one moment, that one image

为了那个瞬间，那幅画面，

I asked them, "Would you guys just kiss

我问他们 ，“为了这张照片，

for this one picture?"

你们能亲吻对方吗？”

And then I came back to my studio in New York,

之后我回到了纽约的工作室，

and I hand-glued these 250 images together

把250张照片一张张拼在一起，

and stood back and went, "Wow, this is so cool!

我后退一步，发出赞叹： “哇，这太酷了！

I'm changing time in a photograph."

我改变了照片中的时间。”

And that concept actually stayed with me for 13 years

之后13年间，这个理念 一直贯穿于我的作品之中，

until technology finally has caught up to my dreams.

直到技术终于赶上了我的梦想。

This is an image I created of the Santa Monica Pier, Day to Night.

这是一张圣莫妮卡码头昼夜之间的照片。

And I'm going to show you a little video

下面我要放一个小短片

that gives you an idea of what it's like being with me

让你们感受一下

when I do these pictures.

我的创作过程。

To start with, you have to understand that to get views like this,

首先你们得知道，要拍出这样的照片，

most of my time is spent up high, and I'm usually in a cherry picker

我大部分时间都得待在半空中， 通常是在升降台

or a crane.

或者吊车上。

So this is a typical day, 12-18 hours, non-stop

这是很普通的一天， 连续拍摄12-18个小时，

capturing the entire day unfold.

记录下完整的一天。

One of the things that's great is I love to people-watch.

我喜欢观察人，所以我很享受这个过程。

And trust me when I tell you,

相信我，

this is the greatest seat in the house to have.

半空中绝对是全场最好的位子。

But this is really how I go about creating these photographs.

不过这就是我进行创作的真实场景。

So once I decide on my view and the location,

一旦确认好取景范围和位置，

I have to decide where day begins and night ends.

我就要决定照片中的一天 何时开始，何时结束。

And that's what I call the time vector.

我把这叫做时间矢量。

Einstein described time as a fabric.

爱因斯坦把时间比作一块布料。

Think of the surface of a trampoline:

你们想象一下蹦床的表面：

it warps and stretches with gravity.

它会在重力的作用下弯曲和拉伸。

I see time as a fabric as well,

我也把时间看做布料，

except I take that fabric and flatten it, compress it into single plane.

只不过我把它平摊到一个二维平面上。

One of the unique aspects of this work is also,

我的工作还有个特别的方面，

if you look at all my pictures,

如果你细看我所有的照片，

the time vector changes:

你会发现我的时间矢量是变化的：

sometimes I'll go left to right,

有时从左往右，

sometimes front to back, up or down, even diagonally.

有时从近到远，从上到下， 有时甚至沿对角线。

I am exploring the space-time continuum

我在平面的静态照片中，

within a two-dimensional still photograph.

探索空间与时间的统一。

Now when I do these pictures,

当我在创作这些作品时，

it's literally like a real-time puzzle going on in my mind.

就像在脑中同步拼一幅拼图。

I build a photograph based on time,

我以时间为轴创作照片，

and this is what I call the master plate.

称之为模板。

This can take us several months to complete.

整个创作过程通常花费数月完成。

The fun thing about this work is

其有趣之处在于

I have absolutely zero control when I get up there

我一旦踏上拍摄点

on any given day and capture photographs.

对拍摄对象就完全无法掌控。

So I never know who's going to be in the picture,

我既不知道谁会被拍到

if it's going to be a great sunrise or sunset -- no control.

也不知道日出或日落 是否迷人——完全控制不了。

It's at the end of the process,

只有等拍摄完成，

if I've had a really great day and everything remained the same,

我才知道当天拍得怎么样， 有没有好的素材，

that I then decide who's in and who's out,

然后我才能进行取舍，

and it's all based on time.

这一切都取决于时间。

I'll take those best moments that I pick over a month of editing

经过一个多月的编辑挑选， 我选出最棒的瞬间，

and they get seamlessly blended into the master plate.

将它们无缝地拼接于模板之中。

I'm compressing the day and night

我把自己眼中的白天和黑夜

as I saw it,

置于同一张图像中，

creating a unique harmony between these two very discordant worlds.

让这两个截然不同的世界和谐交融。

Painting has always been a really important influence in all my work

绘画一直对我的作品有着深远影响，

and I've always been a huge fan of Albert Bierstadt,

我很喜欢阿尔伯特·比茲塔特，

the great Hudson River School painter.

他是一位哈德逊河画派的画家 。

He inspired a recent series that I did on the National Parks.

他启发了我最近拍摄的 国家公园系列作品。

This is Bierstadt's Yosemite Valley.

这是他画的《优胜美地河谷》。

So this is the photograph I created of Yosemite.

而这张是我在优胜美地河谷创作的图片。

This is actually the cover story of the 2016 January issue

这张照片后来被《国家地理》杂志甄用

of National Geographic.

作为2016年1月刊的封面。

I photographed for over 30 hours in this picture.

我为这张照片持续拍摄了 超过30个小时。

I was literally on the side of a cliff,

当时我真的就站在悬崖边上

capturing the stars and the moonlight as it transitions,

捕捉星月交辉的变化，

the moonlight lighting El Capitan.

和洒在酋长岩上的月光。

And I also captured this transition of time throughout the landscape.

同时我也在固定的景致中 捕捉时间的流动。

The best part is obviously seeing the magical moments of humanity

其中最棒的，无疑是在 时光的流转中见证人类活动的

as time changed --

一个个美好瞬间——

from day into night.

从早到晚，从不间断。

And on a personal note,

在我的笔记本里，

I actually had a photocopy of Bierstadt's painting in my pocket.

一直夹着一张比兹塔特作品的副本。

And when that sun started to rise in the valley,

当太阳从河谷中渐渐升起时，

I started to literally shake with excitement

我为眼前的美景激动到颤抖，

because I looked at the painting and I go,

我看着他的画，意识到，

"Oh my god, I'm getting Bierstadt's exact same lighting

“天啊，我眼前的光线效果， 跟一百年前比兹塔特看到的，

100 years earlier."

简直一模一样。”

Day to Night is about all the things,

“昼夜之间”的主题覆盖了所有事物，

it's like a compilation of all the things I love

在摄影这种媒介中

about the medium of photography.

我所热爱的一切。

It's about landscape,

它关乎风景，

it's about street photography,

关乎街头摄影，

it's about color, it's about architecture,

关乎色彩，也关乎建筑，

perspective, scale -- and, especially, history.

关乎透视，比例，特别是历史。

This is one of the most historical moments

这张照片，在我所有的照片里，

I've been able to photograph,

是最具历史意义的，

the 2013 Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama.

这是2013年奥巴马总统就职仪式。

And if you look closely in this picture,

如果你细看这张照片，

you can actually see time changing

你其实可以在这些大屏幕中

in those large television sets.

看到时间的变化。

You can see Michelle waiting with the children,

你可以看到米歇尔和孩子在等待，

the president now greets the crowd,

总统向观众致意，

he takes his oath,

然后他进行宣誓，

and now he's speaking to the people.

之后他再向民众致辞。

There's so many challenging aspects when I create photographs like this.

在拍摄这类题材的照片时， 遇到的挑战不计其数。

For this particular photograph,

我拍这张照片时，

I was in a 50-foot scissor lift up in the air

是在离地15米的 一台剪叉式升降机里，

and it was not very stable.

而且它不是很稳。

So every time my assistant and I shifted our weight,

所以每次助手和我在升降机里移动，

our horizon line shifted.

我们的水平线也跟着变化。

So for every picture you see,

你们看到的每一张照片，

and there were about 1,800 in this picture,

这里面一共有差不多1800张，

we both had to tape our feet into position

我们每次按下快门前，

every time I clicked the shutter.

都必须把脚用胶带固定住。

(Applause)

（掌声）

I've learned so many extraordinary things doing this work.

从这份工作之中，我收获无数。

I think the two most important are patience

其中我认为最重要的是耐心，

and the power of observation.

和观察的力量。

When you photograph a city like New York from above,

当我俯拍纽约这样的大都会时，

I discovered that those people in cars

我发现坐在车里的人，

that I sort of live with everyday,

那些原本我很熟悉的人群，

they don't look like people in cars anymore.

在我看来已经面目全非了。

They feel like a giant school of fish,

他们像是庞大的鱼群，

it was a form of emergent behavior.

像一种新的行为模式。

And when people describe the energy of New York,

人们常常说起纽约所蕴含的活力，

I think this photograph begins to really capture that.

我认为这张图片确实有捕捉到这一点。

When you look closer in my work,

如果你仔细看这张图，

you can see there's stories going on.

你会发现这里面是有故事的。

You realize that Times Square is a canyon,

你会觉得时代广场其实是个峡谷，

it's shadow and it's sunlight.

有阴影，也有阳光。

So I decided, in this photograph, I would checkerboard time.

于是我决定，在这一张照片中， 把时间排成棋盘状。

So wherever the shadows are, it's night

有阴影的地方是黑夜，

and wherever the sun is, it's actually day.

而有阳光的地方就是白天。

Time is this extraordinary thing

时间是个太过神奇的东西

that we never can really wrap our heads around.

我们永远无法真正理解它。

But in a very unique and special way,

但是这些照片以一种独一无二的形式

I believe these photographs begin to put a face on time.

描绘出了时间的一种面貌。

They embody a new metaphysical visual reality.

它们将抽象的视觉现实具体化了。

When you spend 15 hours looking at a place,

当你用整整15个小时观察一个地方，

you're going to see things a little differently

你会发现一些特别之处，

如果你我拿着相机走过去，

than if you or I walked up with our camera,

拍张照片，然后离开，是无法发现的。

took a picture, and then walked away.

This was a perfect example.

这张照片就是一个典型的例子。

I call it "Sacré-Coeur Selfie."

我把它叫作“圣心大教堂旁的自拍”。

I watched over 15 hours

我观察了不止15个小时

all these people not even look at Sacré-Coeur.

照片里的这些人，根本没看圣心大教堂。

They were more interested in using it as a backdrop.

他们只是把它当作一块背景板。

They would walk up, take a picture,

他们走上前去，拍张照片，

and then walk away.

然后就走了。

And I found this to be an absolutely extraordinary example,

这一幕简直太典型了，

a powerful disconnect between what we think the human experience is

它完美展现了我们自认为的亲身体验

versus what the human experience is evolving into.

与现实中亲身体验的演变 之间的巨大差异。

The act of sharing has suddenly become more important

分享自己的体验突然变得比体验本身

than the experience itself.

更为重要了。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

And finally, my most recent image,

最后，这是我最近所拍摄的一张照片，

which has such a special meaning for me personally:

它对我个人而言有着特别的意义：

this is the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

照片中是坦桑尼亚的塞伦盖蒂国家公园。

And this is photographed in the middle of the Seronera,

是在塞罗勒那拍摄的，

this is not a reserve.

它不在保护区内。

I went specifically during the peak migration

我特地选在动物迁徙的高峰期前往

to hopefully capture the most diverse range of animals.

就是为了拍摄尽可能多种类的动物。

Unfortunately, when we got there,

但很不巧，当我们抵达的时候，

迁徙高峰期伴随着一场旱灾，

there was a drought going on during the peak migration,

a five-week drought.

持续了整整5周。

So all the animals were drawn to the water.

所有动物都跑向了有水的地方。

I found this one watering hole,

我发现了照片中的这处水源，

and felt if everything remained the same way it was behaving,

心想如果一切正常的话，

I had a real opportunity to capture something unique.

我可能会拍到一些精彩的画面。

We spent three days studying it,

我们花了3天时间熟悉情况，

and nothing could have prepared me

而拍摄当天我见到的一切，

for what I witnessed during our shoot day.

却完全出乎我的意料。

I photographed for 26 hours

拍摄持续了26个小时，

in a sealed crocodile blind, 18 feet in the air.

在离地5.5米的一个鳄鱼掩体中。

What I witnessed was unimaginable.

我见到的情形简直超出想象。

Frankly, it was Biblical.

就像《圣经》里的场景。

We saw, for 26 hours,

在这为期26小时的拍摄中，

all these competitive species share a single resource called water.

我们亲眼见证了这些本该 相互竞争的动物，分享了唯一的水源。

The same resource that humanity is supposed to have wars over

而人类，却有可能为了争夺水源，

during the next 50 years.

在未来50年内发动战争。

The animals never even grunted at each other.

而这些动物甚至都没有 吼叫以驱赶对方。

They seem to understand something that we humans don't.

它们似乎懂得一些 我们还不懂的道理。

That this precious resource called water

那就是水，这一珍贵的资源，

is something we all have to share.

不应该被独占。

When I created this picture,

在创作这张图片的过程中，

I realized that Day to Night is really a new way of seeing,

我意识到“昼夜之间” 是一种认识世界的新方法，

compressing time,

它压缩了时间，

exploring the space-time continuum within a photograph.

在照片中探索时空的连续性。

As technology evolves along with photography,

科技在不断发展，摄影也随之进步，

photographs will not only communicate a deeper meaning of time and memory,

照片不仅仅能传达 时间和回忆中更深层的意义，

but they will compose a new narrative of untold stories,

它还能书写出生活中尘封的故事，

creating a timeless window into our world.

为我们的世界开启了一个永恒的窗口。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

（鼓掌） 非常感谢！