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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Adrienne Lin

I have to tell you,

我得告訴各位，

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

站在這裡讓我有點恐懼，

an old American guy trying to tell Africans

因為我這個美國老人 竟然想在這裡告訴非洲人

something new about your own continent.

非洲大陸的新事物。

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

但有時候，局外人反而 能用不同的角度來看事物，

like from the air.

比如，從空中看。

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

當我慢速低空飛過整個非洲大陸，

並拍攝其壯觀的多樣性時， 了解到了這一點。

as I photographed the spectacle of its diversity.

And I wasn't always an old guy.

還有，其實我也年輕過。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

This is me in 1979,

這是 1979 年的我，

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

一個來自加州的小伙子， 背著背包穿越薩伊的伊圖里森林。

我當時在進行一年的搭便車旅行。

I was on a yearlong hitchhiking trip.

I had just dropped out of Stanford University,

我剛從史丹佛大學畢業，

and I went from Tunis to Kisangani to Cairo

我從突尼斯到基桑加尼再到開羅，

and learned how to live on 10 dollars a day.

學會如何用十塊美金過一天。

It was an amazing experience for me.

對我來說，那是很棒的經驗。

I spent about a week in this Dinka cattle camp

我在這個丁卡小牛集中地 待了大約一週，

on the banks of the Nile in South Sudan.

它位在南蘇丹的尼羅河河岸。

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

丁卡人教我如何綁紙草蓋房子，

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

此外，我觀察他們如何根據 他們心愛小牛的遷移需求，

around the migratory needs of their beloved cattle.

來調整他們的生活方式。

It was a like a graduate course in ecological ethnography,

那就像是研究所的 一堂生態人種學課程，

and I got busy taking notes with a camera.

而我忙著用照相機做筆記。

With no money for rides,

沒有錢乘車，

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

他們通常都會坐在卡車頂上，

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

在這裡則是坐在橫越 南蘇丹的火車頂上。

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

我感覺我好像騎在昆蟲的背上，

going across the enormous tapestry of Africa.

橫越一幅巨大的非洲織錦。

It was an incredible view from up there,

上頭的視野真棒，

but I couldn't help but think,

但我忍不住會想，

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

如果我能像鳥一樣飛在那地景上方， 會不會更不可思議？

like a bird?

Well, that notion stayed with me,

那想法揮之不去，

and 20 years later,

二十年後，

after becoming a professional photographer,

成為職業攝影師之後，

I was able to talk National Geographic

我得以說服國家地理雜誌，

into doing a big story in the central Sahara,

做一篇撒哈拉沙漠中部的大報導，

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

我帶著一種新的飛行機器回到非洲。

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

這是我駕駛世界上最輕 且最慢的飛行機的模樣。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's called a motorized paraglider.

它叫做動力滑翔傘。

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

它包含一個裝在背後的馬達 以及像降落傘的機翼，

and it flies at about 30 miles an hour.

它的時速大約是三十英哩。

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

用十公升的燃料， 我就可以飛大約兩小時，

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

但它真正了不起的地方是， 它讓我的視野完全沒有障礙阻擋，

both horizontally and vertically,

垂直面和水平面都是，

like a flying lawn chair.

就像一張飛行躺椅。

My hitchhiker's dream of flying over Africa came true

我看到這兩支駱駝商隊 在撒哈拉沙漠中部行進時，

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

我這個搭便車旅行者想要 飛越非洲的夢想成真了。

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

在前景的那支商隊要把鹽帶離沙漠，

while the one in the background is carrying fodder

背景的那支商隊則是帶著飼料，

for the animals heading back in.

是給要回到沙漠的動物吃的。

I realized you couldn't take this kind of picture

我發現，用普通的飛行機 無法拍攝這種照片。

with a conventional aircraft.

An airplane moves too fast,

飛機的移動速度太快，

a helicopter would be too loud with too much downdraft,

直升機太吵且會造成太多下降氣流，

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

我漸漸發現，我在空中 駕駛的這台瘋狂小飛行器

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

能夠開啟一種新方式， 來看非洲地景的偏遠部分，

in a way that had never really been possible before.

這是以前完全不可能做到的。

Let me show you how it works.

耳聞不如一見。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thanks.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

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

這可能看起來有點危險， 但我並不是冒險型的人。

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

我是個會飛的攝影師， 我只為了拍照而飛。

My favorite altitude is between 200 and 500 feet,

我最喜歡的高度 約是 60 到 150 公尺，

where I can see the world three-dimensionally,

在那裡我能用 3D 的方式看世界，

but also at a human scale.

同時也還能看得清楚底下的人。

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

我發現，這些年來 我在非洲所做的很多事，

you could try to do with a drone,

很可能你可以試著用無人機來做。

but drones aren't really made for exploration.

但無人機設計的目的並非探索。

They only fly for about 20 minutes of battery life

根據電池生命， 它們只能飛二十分鐘，

and about three kilometers of range,

飛行範圍約三公里，

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

你所能看到的只有小螢幕上的影像。

But I like to explore.

但我喜歡探索，

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

我想要越過地平線， 發現新事物，發現奇特的東西，

like this volcanic caldera in Niger.

就像尼日的這個巨火山口。

If you look at the altimeter on my left leg,

如果你們看我左腿上的高度計，

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

可以看到我大約在 比起飛點高 1.6 公里的高度。

Flying that high really freaked me out,

飛那麼高真的讓我嚇壞了，

but if you talk to a pro pilot,

但如果你和專業飛行員談談，

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

他們會告訴你， 高度其實是你的朋友，

because the higher you are,

因為你飛得越高，

the more time you have to figure out your problems.

就越有多時間想辦法解決你的問題。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

身為完全業餘的人， 我認為這會給我更多時間

to scream on the way back down.

一路尖叫到落地。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

To calm myself down, I started taking pictures,

為了讓自己冷靜下來，我開始拍照，

and as I did, I became rational again,

當我這麼做時，理智又回來了，

and I was getting buffeted by a Harmattan wind

我不斷被乾燥的熱風吹打，

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

風來自這張照片的右上角方向，

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

我開始注意到這風如何 將沙子帶到火山口中。

當我到查德北部時， 我發現了一種不同的火山。

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

These had had their entire exteriors stripped away,

這些火山的外部都被剝去了，

and all that was left was the old core,

僅存的只有古老的核心，

and in the middle of the Sahara,

且在撒哈拉沙漠中，

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

我覺得我好像看到 地球的皮被活剝了。

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

撒哈拉絕大部分區域是由底下的 巨大淡水地下蓄水層支撐。

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

當你到盆地時， 有時可以看見水漏出來。

If you were to walk through those palm groves,

如果你走路穿過那些棕櫚樹叢，

you could drink fresh water out of your footsteps.

你可以喝從你的腳印滲出來的淡水。

But that green lake water?

但那綠色湖泊的水呢？

Due to extreme evaporation, it's saltier than seawater

因為極端的蒸發， 它比海水還要多鹽份，

and virtually lifeless.

湖裡幾乎沒有生命。

In Niger, I was amazed to see

在尼日，讓我驚訝的是

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

當地人如何學會利用 各種類的沙漠泉水。

Here, they mix the salty mud with spring water

在這裡，他們把鹹泥巴和泉水混合，

and spread it out in shallow ponds,

然後把它散佈到淺池塘中，

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

等它蒸發，就會出現壯觀的顏色。

My rig is also amazing for looking at agriculture.

用我的裝備來看他們的農業也好棒。

This picture was taken in southern Algeria,

這張照片是在南阿爾及利亞拍攝的，

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

當地人學會如何在會動的 沙丘原野中從事園藝，

by tapping into shallow groundwater.

靠的是淺層地下水。

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

我也很喜歡看動物 如何去適應非洲的地景。

This picture was taken in Lake Amboseli,

這張照片是在安博塞利湖拍攝的，

just across the border from here in Kenya.

就在肯亞邊境旁邊。

The elephants have carved the shallow lake water up

大象彷彿在雕刻，讓淺湖水變成

into a network of little pathways,

一套網狀的通路，

and they're spaced just enough apart

且距離取得剛好，

that only elephants, with their long trunks,

只有大象能用牠們的長鼻子

can tap into the most succulent grasses.

取用最多水份的青草。

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

在納米比亞，斑馬學會

在一個完全沒有降雨的環境中茁壯成長。

that gets no rainfall at all.

These grasses are irrigated by the dense coastal fog

灌溉這些草的是海岸濃霧，

that blankets the area every morning.

每天早晨，濃霧都會籠罩這個區域。

And those bald patches out there?

那些光禿的小區域呢？

They call them fairy circles,

當地人稱這是妖精圓圈，

and scientists still struggle to understand what causes them.

科學家仍然在努力了解它們的成因。

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

這是比蘇奇火山，高度 3700公尺的 頂峰上有個火山口湖。

It forms the roof of the Great Rift Valley

它形成了東非大裂谷的屋頂，

and also the border between Rwanda and Congo.

以及盧安達與剛果之間的邊界。

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

它也是神話中的山地 大猩猩的保護區中心。

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

牠們其實是盧安達的搖錢樹，

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

在邊界的這一邊，保育十分成功。

Rwanda has the highest rural population density in Africa,

盧安達有非洲最高的農村人口密度。

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

不論我走到盧安達的 哪個角落，幾乎都會看到。

I've heard it said that competition for land

我聽說，土地競爭

was one of the things that led to the tensions

是導致緊繃狀況的原因之一，

that caused the genocide of the 1990s.

後來導致了九○年代的大屠殺。

I went back to South Sudan a few years ago,

幾年前，我回到南蘇丹，

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

看到一切都改變了好多， 很讓我吃驚。

The Dinka were still in love with their cattle,

丁卡人仍然熱愛他們的小牛，

but they had turned in their spears for Kalashnikovs.

但他們已經把長矛 換成卡拉希尼科夫槍。

The cattle camps from above were even more spectacular

從上方看到的小牛集中地更壯觀了，

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

遠超過我的想像， 但那裡也變了。

You see those little blue dots down there?

你們有看到下面的藍點嗎？

The Dinka had adapted to the new reality,

丁卡人得要適應新的現實，

and now they covered their papyrus shelters

他們在紙草屋上覆蓋了

with the tarps from UN food convoys.

聯合國食物救援隊的防水布。

In Mali, the Bozo people have learned how to thrive

在馬利，博佐族人學會如何在

in the pulsating rhythms of the Niger River.

尼日河的搏動節奏中茁壯成長。

As the rainy season ends and the water subsides,

當雨季節束，水消退之後，

they plant their rice in the fertile bottoms.

他們把稻米種植在肥沃的底部。

And that village in the lower right corner,

在照片右下角有個村落，

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

那是加歐，橫越撒哈拉沙漠 主要貿易路線的出發點之一。

across the Sahara.

At the end of the harvest,

在收穫結束時，

the Bozo take the leftover rice straw

博佐族會把殘存的稻草拿來用，

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

將它們和泥巴混合，來強化 他們的屋頂和村落的清真寺。

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

我大概飛越了十多個 像這樣的尼日河延岸村落，

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

每一個都獨一無二，有不同的模式。

And each mosque was like a sculptural masterpiece,

每座清真寺都像是個雕塑傑作，

and no two were alike.

沒有任何兩座是相似的。

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

我已經飛過全世界，沒有什麼比得上

to the cultural diversity of Africa.

非洲的文化多樣性。

You see it in every country,

在每個國家都看得到，

from Morocco

從摩洛哥，

to Ethiopia,

到衣索比亞，

to South Africa,

到南非，

to Mozambique,

到莫三比克，

to South Sudan,

到南蘇丹，

to Mali.

到馬利。

The array of environments and cultural adaptations to them

各式各樣的環境以及 對環境所做出的文化適應

is really extraordinary,

實在很不凡，

and the history is pretty cool too.

歷史也相當酷。

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

從空中，我有個獨特的視野 可以看見最早的殖民歷史浪潮。

of colonial history.

這是昔蘭尼， 在利比亞的海岸山脈上，

This is Cyrene on the coastal mountains of Libya,

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

在西元前 700 年由希臘人建造， 做為學習中心用，

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

還有提姆加德，它的所在地 現在是阿爾及利亞，

by the Romans in 100 AD.

由羅馬人在西元 100 年建立。

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

它本來的用途是當 老羅馬士兵的退休社區，

and it amazed me to think

光是想到北非曾經是

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

羅馬帝國的糧倉，就讓我感到驚奇。

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

但提姆加德在建立之後七百年， 就被掩埋在沙中，

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

即使是當時，非洲氣候也比現在還濕。

The African climate continues to change,

非洲氣候持續在改變，

and you see it everywhere,

在各處都可以看到，

like here in the Gorges de Ziz,

比如在濟茲峽谷這裡，

where a freak rainstorm came barreling out of the Sahara

一場反常的暴風雨 快速掃過撒哈拉沙漠，

and blanketed the mountains in snow.

讓山上被雪覆蓋。

I never thought I would see date palms in snow,

我從來沒有想過 我會看到雪中的棗椰樹，

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

但那天，孩子們都 開心地向彼此丟雪球。

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

但這現象讓我納悶， 非洲人要如何適應

to this rapidly changing climate going forward?

正在快速變遷的氣候？

In a continent as dynamic and diverse as Africa,

在像非洲這樣動態且多元的大陸，

sometimes it seems that the only constant is change.

有時似乎唯一不變的事 就是一切在變。

But one thing I've learned

但我學到了一件事，

is that Africans are the ultimate improvisers,

非洲人非常會即興做出應變，

always adapting and finding a way forward.

他們總是在適應並找到前進的路。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）