ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stephen Wilkes - Narrative photographer
By blending up to 100 still photographs into a seamless composite that captures the transition from day to night, Stephen Wilkes reveals the stories hidden in familiar locations.

Why you should listen

Since opening his studio in New York City in 1983, photographer Stephen Wilkes has built an unprecedented body of work and a reputation as one of America's most iconic photographers, widely recognized for his fine art, editorial and commercial work.

His photographs are included in the collections of the George Eastman Museum, James A. Michener Art Museum, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Dow Jones Collection, Griffin Museum of Photography, Jewish Museum of NY, Library of Congress, Snite Museum of Art, The Historic New Orleans Collection, Museum of the City of New York, 9/11 Memorial Museum and numerous private collections. His editorial work has appeared in, and on the covers of, leading publications such as the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, TIME, Fortune, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and many others.

In 1998, a one-day assignment to the south side of Ellis Island led to a 5-year photographic study of the island's long abandoned medical wards where immigrants were detained before they could enter America. Through his photographs and video, Wilkes helped secure $6 million toward the restoration of the south side of the island.

Day to Night, Wilkes' most defining project, began in 2009. These epic cityscapes and landscapes, portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours capture fleeting moments of humanity as light passes in front of his lens over the course of full day. Blending these images into a single photograph takes months to complete. Day to Night has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning as well as dozens of other prominent media outlets and, with a grant from the National Geographic Society, was recently extended to include America's National Parks in celebration of their centennial anniversary. The series will be published by TASCHEN as a monograph in 2017.

Wilkes, who lives and maintains his studio in Westport, CT, is represented by Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York; Peter Fetterman Gallery, Los Angeles; Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe; and ARTITLEDContemporary, The Netherlands.

More profile about the speaker
Stephen Wilkes | Speaker | TED.com
TED2016

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

史蒂芬·威爾克思: 用一張相片捕捉流逝的時間

Filmed:
1,953,319 views

攝影師史蒂芬·威爾克思用巧手拍攝景色從白天到黑夜的轉變,並用二維靜物攝影探索時空連續統。讓我們跟著他到著名的地標,如巴黎的托內爾橋、優勝美地的伊爾酋長岩,以及位於塞倫蓋提國家公園中心、賦予生命的水坑,一同觀看他的藝術及製作過程。
- Narrative photographer
By blending up to 100 still photographs into a seamless composite that captures the transition from day to night, Stephen Wilkes reveals the stories hidden in familiar locations. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
I'm driven驅動 by pure passion
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純粹的熱情驅使著我
00:15
to create創建 photographs照片 that tell stories故事.
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創作會說故事的照片。
00:18
Photography攝影 can be described描述
as the recording記錄 of a single moment時刻
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攝影可以說是
把某一個瞬間記錄下來,
00:23
frozen凍結的 within a fraction分數 of time.
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凍結那片刻。
00:26
Each moment時刻 or photograph照片
represents代表 a tangible有形 piece
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每一個瞬間,或說每一張照片,
都將我們時間長河中的記憶
00:30
of our memories回憶 as time passes通行證.
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以有形的物體表現出來。
00:33
But what if you could capture捕獲 more
than one moment時刻 in a photograph照片?
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但是,如果你在照片中捕捉到的
不只是某個片斷會怎麼樣呢?
00:37
What if a photograph照片
could actually其實 collapse坍方 time,
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如果攝影能瓦解時間,
00:41
compressing壓縮 the best最好 moments瞬間
of the day and the night
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將白天黑夜中最好的各個瞬間
都壓縮起來,
00:44
seamlessly無縫 into one single image圖片?
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合成為一張影像,會怎樣呢?
00:47
I've created創建 a concept概念
called "Day to Night"
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我創造了一種稱為
「從白晝到黑夜」的概念,
00:50
and I believe it's going to change更改
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我相信這會改變
00:51
the way you look at the world世界.
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你看世界的方式。
00:53
I know it has for me.
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至少對我的確如此。
00:55
My process處理 begins開始 by photographing拍攝
iconic標誌性的 locations地點,
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整個過程從拍攝
幾個著名的地標景點開始,
00:59
places地方 that are part部分 of what I call
our collective集體 memory記憶.
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我把這幾個地方稱為
「我們的集體記憶」。
01:03
I photograph照片 from a fixed固定 vantage華帝 point,
and I never move移動.
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我從一個固定的有利據點拍攝,
而且我不移動。
01:07
I capture捕獲 the fleeting流年 moments瞬間
of humanity人性 and light as time passes通行證.
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隨著時間推移,
我捕捉轉瞬即逝的人性及光影。
01:11
Photographing拍照 for anywhere隨地
from 15 to 30 hours小時
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在每個地方都拍攝
約 15 到 30 小時,
01:14
and shooting射擊 over 1,500 images圖片,
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拍超過 1,500 張影像,
01:17
I then choose選擇 the best最好 moments瞬間
of the day and night.
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然後我選幾個
白天及黑夜最好的瞬間。
01:21
Using運用 time as a guide指南,
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用時間作指標,
01:23
I seamlessly無縫 blend混合 those best最好 moments瞬間
into one single photograph照片,
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我將這幾個瞬間的影像
合成一張相片,
01:27
visualizing可視化 our conscious意識
journey旅程 with time.
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將我們隨著時間
而產生的意識旅程視覺化。
01:31
I can take you to Paris巴黎
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我可以帶你到巴黎
01:33
for a view視圖 from the TournelleTournelle Bridge.
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從托內爾橋上賞景。
01:36
And I can show顯示 you the
early morning早上 rowers賽艇運動員
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我還可以秀出清晨的槳手
01:38
along沿 the River Seine.
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沿著塞納河划船。
01:40
And simultaneously同時,
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同時,
01:42
I can show顯示 you Notre巴黎 Dame貴婦人 aglow發紅的 at night.
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我還可以讓大家看
夜裡閃耀的巴黎聖母院。
01:45
And in between之間, I can show顯示 you
the romance浪漫 of the City of Light.
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在之間,我還可以展示
這座光城的浪漫。
01:51
I am essentially實質上 a street photographer攝影師
from 50 feet in the air空氣,
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基本上我就是街頭攝影師,
不過是在 50 呎高的空中,
01:55
and every一切 single thing you see
in this photograph照片
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你在這張相片中看到的每一樣東西
01:57
actually其實 happened發生 on this day.
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都是當天發生的事。
02:02
Day to Night is a global全球 project項目,
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「從白晝到黑夜」是全球性計畫,
02:04
and my work has always been about history歷史.
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而且我的工作總是跟歷史有關。
02:07
I'm fascinated入迷 by the concept概念
of going to a place地點 like Venice威尼斯
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我著迷於一種概念,
就是去某個地方,比如說威尼斯,
02:11
and actually其實 seeing眼看 it during
a specific具體 event事件.
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然後從某個特別的活動
來觀察這個地方。
02:13
And I decided決定 I wanted to see
the historical歷史的 RegataRegata,
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我決定我要去看
歷史悠久的貢多拉船比賽,
02:17
an event事件 that's actually其實 been
taking服用 place地點 since以來 1498.
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這項活動從 1498 年就開始了。
02:21
The boats and the costumes服裝
look exactly究竟 as they did then.
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船隻與服裝都與當年一模一樣。
02:26
And an important重要 element元件 that I really
want you guys to understand理解 is:
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我真的很想讓大家明白
一個很重要的因素:
02:30
this is not a timelapse延時,
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這不是縮時,
02:31
this is me photographing拍攝
throughout始終 the day and the night.
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這是我從白天到黑夜所拍的相片。
02:37
I am a relentless collector集電極
of magical神奇 moments瞬間.
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我持續不懈地收集神奇的時刻。
02:40
And the thing that drives驅動器 me
is the fear恐懼 of just missing失踪 one of them.
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驅使我的是害怕自己
錯失任何神奇瞬間。
02:48
The entire整個 concept概念 came來了 about in 1996.
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整個概念大約在 1996 年成形。
02:52
LIFE Magazine雜誌 commissioned委託 me
to create創建 a panoramic全景 photograph照片
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生活雜誌 LIFE 委託我
製作一張全景相片,
02:57
of the cast and crew船員 of Baz巴茲 Luhrmann's魯爾曼的
film電影 Romeo羅密歐 + Juliet朱麗葉.
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拍攝巴茲·魯曼影片
《羅密歐與茱麗葉》中的全體劇組員。
03:02
I got to the set and realized實現:
it's a square廣場.
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我到了片場才發現:它是方形的。
03:06
So the only way I could actually其實 create創建
a panoramic全景 was to shoot射擊 a collage大學
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我要做全景相片唯一的辦法就是
拍 250 張相片,然後拼貼起來。
03:10
of 250 single images圖片.
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03:13
So I had DiCaprio迪卡普里奧 and Claire克萊爾 Danes丹麥人
embracing擁抱.
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所以我叫李奧納多·狄卡皮歐
及克萊兒·丹妮絲抱在一起。
03:16
And as I pan my camera相機 to the right,
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在我向右平移鏡頭時,
03:19
I noticed注意到 there was a mirror鏡子 on the wall
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我注意到牆上有面鏡子,
03:22
and I saw they were
actually其實 reflecting反映 in it.
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我看到鏡子上正反映著他們的樣子。
03:24
And for that one moment時刻, that one image圖片
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為了那一剎那,那個影像,
03:26
I asked them, "Would you guys just kiss
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我要求他們:「你們親一下吧?
03:28
for this one picture圖片?"
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我要拍這張相片。」
03:30
And then I came來了 back
to my studio工作室 in New York紐約,
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然後我回到在紐約的工作室,
03:32
and I hand-glued手膠 these 250 images圖片 together一起
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親手把這 250 張相片黏在一起,
03:36
and stood站在 back and went,
"Wow, this is so cool!
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退後看了一看,
然後說:「哇!好酷!
03:39
I'm changing改變 time in a photograph照片."
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我正在改變照片的時間。」
03:42
And that concept概念 actually其實
stayed with me for 13 years年份
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那個概念其實跟了我 13 年,
03:46
until直到 technology技術 finally最後
has caught抓住 up to my dreams.
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直到科技終於趕上我的夢想。
03:51
This is an image圖片 I created創建
of the Santa聖誕老人 Monica莫妮卡 Pier碼頭, Day to Night.
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這張影像是我在加州聖塔莫尼卡碼頭
創作出的「從白晝到黑夜」作品。
03:54
And I'm going to show顯示 you a little video視頻
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我要給大家看一小段影片,
03:56
that gives you an idea理念 of what
it's like being存在 with me
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讓你們了解
我在製作這些照片時的狀況。
03:59
when I do these pictures圖片.
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04:01
To start開始 with, you have to understand理解
that to get views意見 like this,
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首先,你得明白
要得到像這樣的景觀,
04:04
most of my time is spent花費 up high,
and I'm usually平時 in a cherry櫻桃 picker選擇器
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大部分的時間都要待在高處,
通常我會用活動吊車
04:08
or a crane起重機.
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或起重機。
04:09
So this is a typical典型 day,
12-18 hours小時, non-stop馬不停蹄
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所以這是很典型的一天,
12 至 18 小時,不休息,
04:13
capturing捕獲 the entire整個 day unfold展開.
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一整天都在照相。
04:16
One of the things that's great
is I love to people-watch人觀看.
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有一件事很棒,就是我喜歡看人。
04:19
And trust相信 me when I tell you,
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而且你一定要相信我,只要我說
04:20
this is the greatest最大 seat座位
in the house to have.
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這裡是整個廳裡最棒的位置。
04:24
But this is really how I go about
creating創建 these photographs照片.
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但是我真的是這樣做出這些相片的。
04:27
So once一旦 I decide決定 on my view視圖
and the location位置,
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一旦我選好了景觀及地點,
04:31
I have to decide決定 where day begins開始
and night ends結束.
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我就要決定白天從哪裡開始,
黑夜從哪裡結束。
04:34
And that's what I call the time vector向量.
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這就是我說的時間向量。
04:37
Einstein愛因斯坦 described描述 time as a fabric.
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愛因斯坦說時間就像布一樣。
04:41
Think of the surface表面 of a trampoline蹦床:
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把表面想像成一張彈簧床:
04:43
it warps經線 and stretches舒展 with gravity重力.
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它會隨重力扭曲和延伸。
04:46
I see time as a fabric as well,
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我也把時間看成一塊布,
04:49
except I take that fabric and flatten弄平 it,
compress壓縮 it into single plane平面.
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但是我把布弄平,壓縮成單一平面。
04:55
One of the unique獨特 aspects方面
of this work is also,
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這份工作有個獨特之處,
04:57
if you look at all my pictures圖片,
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如果你看我所有的照片,
04:58
the time vector向量 changes變化:
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會發現時間向量也會改變:
05:00
sometimes有時 I'll go left to right,
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有時候是從左到右,
05:02
sometimes有時 front面前 to back,
up or down, even diagonally對角線.
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有時候是前到後,上或下,
甚至是斜角的。
05:07
I am exploring探索 the space-time時空 continuum連續
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我用二維靜物攝影探索時空連續統。
05:10
within a two-dimensional二維 still photograph照片.
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05:13
Now when I do these pictures圖片,
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我做這些照片時,
05:15
it's literally按照字面 like a real-time即時的 puzzle難題
going on in my mind心神.
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真的就像有塊即時拼圖
在我的腦海中。
05:18
I build建立 a photograph照片 based基於 on time,
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我以時間為基礎來建構一張相片,
05:21
and this is what I call the master plate盤子.
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這個是我說的母版。
05:23
This can take us several一些
months個月 to complete完成.
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我們要花好幾個月來完成這個。
05:27
The fun開玩笑 thing about this work is
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這個工作好玩的地方是
05:29
I have absolutely絕對 zero control控制
when I get up there
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無論我在哪天上去照相,
都沒有任何控制權。
05:32
on any given特定 day and capture捕獲 photographs照片.
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05:35
So I never know who's誰是
going to be in the picture圖片,
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所以我不知道誰會出現在照片裡,
05:37
if it's going to be a great
sunrise日出 or sunset日落 -- no control控制.
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那天的日出日落好不好看
都無法控制。
05:40
It's at the end結束 of the process處理,
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只有到了攝影最後,
05:42
if I've had a really great day
and everything remained保持 the same相同,
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如果那天我真的運氣很好,
每件事都還保持原樣,
05:45
that I then decide決定 who's誰是 in and who's誰是 out,
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我才會決定誰入選誰出局,
05:48
and it's all based基於 on time.
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這些都以時間為基礎。
05:49
I'll take those best最好 moments瞬間 that I pick
over a month of editing編輯
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我會在費時一個月以上的編輯中,
選出最好的幾個時刻,
05:53
and they get seamlessly無縫 blended混合
into the master plate盤子.
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然後把他們合成進母版。
05:58
I'm compressing壓縮 the day and night
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我把白天黑夜壓縮起來,
06:00
as I saw it,
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照我看到的樣子,
06:02
creating創建 a unique獨特 harmony和諧 between之間
these two very discordant不和諧 worlds世界.
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在這兩種非常不協調的世界之間
做出一種獨特的和諧感。
06:07
Painting繪畫 has always been a really
important重要 influence影響 in all my work
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繪畫一直都對我的工作
有很重要的影響,
06:11
and I've always been a huge巨大 fan風扇
of Albert阿爾伯特 Bierstadt比爾史伯特,
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我一直是阿爾伯特·比爾施塔特
(Albert Bierstadt) 的大粉絲,
06:13
the great Hudson哈德森 River School學校 painter畫家.
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他是哈德遜河派的偉大畫家。
06:15
He inspired啟發 a recent最近 series系列
that I did on the National國民 Parks公園.
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他啟發我做出最近的系列作品
──國家公園。
06:19
This is Bierstadt's比斯塔特的 Yosemite優勝美地 Valley.
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這是比爾施塔特的優勝美地;
06:22
So this is the photograph照片
I created創建 of Yosemite優勝美地.
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這是我做出的優勝美地照片。
06:25
This is actually其實 the cover story故事
of the 2016 January一月 issue問題
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這其實是 2016 年一月
國家地理雜誌的封面故事。
06:29
of National國民 Geographic地理.
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06:31
I photographed拍照 for over
30 hours小時 in this picture圖片.
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這張相片裡我拍了超過
30 小時的照片。
06:34
I was literally按照字面 on the side of a cliff懸崖,
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我真的就在懸崖的一邊,
06:37
capturing捕獲 the stars明星
and the moonlight月光 as it transitions過渡,
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在星月交際時拍攝星星月亮,
06:41
the moonlight月光 lighting燈光 El薩爾瓦多 Capitan.
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月光照亮伊爾酋長岩 (El Capitan)。
06:42
And I also captured捕獲 this transition過渡
of time throughout始終 the landscape景觀.
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我也捕捉到整個景觀
時間轉換之際。
06:47
The best最好 part部分 is obviously明顯 seeing眼看
the magical神奇 moments瞬間 of humanity人性
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最棒的部分,很明顯,
就是看到人文的神奇時刻
06:51
as time changed --
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隨著時間轉變,
06:54
from day into night.
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從白晝到黑夜。
06:58
And on a personal個人 note注意,
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在我的私人筆記本裡,
06:59
I actually其實 had a photocopy複印件
of Bierstadt's比斯塔特的 painting繪畫 in my pocket口袋.
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我其實在夾層中塞了一張
比爾施塔特的畫作影印。
07:03
And when that sun太陽 started開始
to rise上升 in the valley,
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那天山谷日出時,
07:06
I started開始 to literally按照字面 shake
with excitement激動
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我真的興奮到發抖,
07:08
because I looked看著 at the painting繪畫 and I go,
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因為我看著那張畫作然後大叫:
07:10
"Oh my god, I'm getting得到 Bierstadt's比斯塔特的
exact精確 same相同 lighting燈光
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「不得了,我取得跟
比爾施塔特一樣的光線,
07:14
100 years年份 earlier."
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跟一百年前一樣!」
07:17
Day to Night is about all the things,
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「從白晝到黑夜」包羅萬象,
07:20
it's like a compilation彙編 of all
the things I love
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它就像我心所愛的攝影媒介全集。
07:22
about the medium of photography攝影.
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07:25
It's about landscape景觀,
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它跟景觀有關,
07:26
it's about street photography攝影,
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跟街頭攝影有關,
07:28
it's about color顏色, it's about architecture建築,
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跟顏色、建築、
07:30
perspective透視, scale規模 --
and, especially特別, history歷史.
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角度、比例都有關,
還跟歷史特別有關。
07:34
This is one of the most historical歷史的 moments瞬間
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這是我能夠拍攝的東西裡
極具歷史性的時刻,
07:36
I've been able能夠 to photograph照片,
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07:37
the 2013 Presidential總統 Inauguration就職典禮
of Barack巴拉克 Obama奧巴馬.
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2013 年巴拉克·歐巴馬
總統就職典禮。
07:41
And if you look closely密切 in this picture圖片,
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如果你仔細看這張照片,
07:43
you can actually其實 see time changing改變
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你其實可以在這幾個大電視裡
看到時間的變化。
07:45
in those large television電視 sets.
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07:47
You can see Michelle米歇爾
waiting等候 with the children孩子,
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你可以看到蜜雪兒與孩子一起等待,
07:50
the president主席 now greets招呼 the crowd人群,
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總統現在與群眾打招呼,
07:52
he takes his oath誓言,
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他宣誓,
07:53
and now he's speaking請講 to the people.
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發表就職演說。
07:56
There's so many許多 challenging具有挑戰性的 aspects方面
when I create創建 photographs照片 like this.
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我在做像這樣的照片時
其實有多方面的挑戰。
08:01
For this particular特定 photograph照片,
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就拿這張照片來說,
08:03
I was in a 50-foot-腳丫子 scissor剪刀 lift電梯
up in the air空氣
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我待在一部 50 呎高的
剪刀式起降機上,
08:06
and it was not very stable穩定.
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還不太穩。
08:08
So every一切 time my assistant助理 and I
shifted our weight重量,
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所以每次我的助手和我移位時,
08:11
our horizon地平線 line shifted.
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我們的水平線就跟著移位。
08:12
So for every一切 picture圖片 you see,
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所以你看到的每張相片,
08:14
and there were about
1,800 in this picture圖片,
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這張裡約有 1,800 張照片,
08:16
we both had to tape膠帶 our feet into position位置
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每次我按下快門,我們兩個都得把腳
08:19
every一切 time I clicked點擊 the shutter快門.
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牢牢黏在位置上不動。
08:22
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
08:26
I've learned學到了 so many許多 extraordinary非凡
things doing this work.
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在這份工作中我學到很多厲害的事。
08:30
I think the two most important重要
are patience忍耐
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我想最重要的兩點就是耐心
08:34
and the power功率 of observation意見.
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及觀察的力量。
08:36
When you photograph照片 a city
like New York紐約 from above以上,
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你從上方拍攝像紐約這樣的城市時,
08:40
I discovered發現 that those people in cars汽車
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我發現在車子裡的人,
08:42
that I sort分類 of live生活 with everyday每天,
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可以說是每天和我一起生活的人,
08:44
they don't look like people
in cars汽車 anymore.
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他們看起來一點都不像
車子裡的人了。
08:46
They feel like a giant巨人 school學校 of fish,
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他們感覺像一大群魚,
08:49
it was a form形成 of emergent應急 behavior行為.
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以一種湧現的行為模式存在。
08:52
And when people describe描述
the energy能源 of New York紐約,
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有時候大家在說紐約的能量,
08:55
I think this photograph照片 begins開始
to really capture捕獲 that.
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我想這張影像抓住了精髓。
08:58
When you look closer接近 in my work,
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如果你仔細看我的作品,
09:00
you can see there's stories故事 going on.
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你會看到裡面在說故事。
09:02
You realize實現 that Times Square廣場 is a canyon峽谷,
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你會發現時代廣場是座峽谷,
09:05
it's shadow陰影 and it's sunlight陽光.
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它的陰影、它的陽光。
09:07
So I decided決定, in this photograph照片,
I would checkerboard棋盤 time.
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所以我決定在這張影像中,
要以棋盤格表現時間。
09:11
So wherever哪裡 the shadows陰影 are, it's night
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所以只要有陰影的地方就是晚上,
09:13
and wherever哪裡 the sun太陽 is,
it's actually其實 day.
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有陽光的地方就是白天。
09:16
Time is this extraordinary非凡 thing
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時間是很厲害的東西,
09:18
that we never can really
wrap our heads around.
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我們永遠也無法完全理解。
09:21
But in a very unique獨特 and special特別 way,
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但是以這種非常獨特和特別的方法,
09:23
I believe these photographs照片
begin開始 to put a face面對 on time.
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我相信這些相片
能讓我們更了解時間。
09:28
They embody體現 a new
metaphysical抽象的 visual視覺 reality現實.
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他們體現了一種新的、
形而上的視覺現實。
09:34
When you spend 15 hours小時
looking at a place地點,
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當你花 15 小時看一個地方,
09:38
you're going to see things
a little differently不同
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你看事情會有一點點不一樣,
09:41
than if you or I walked up
with our camera相機,
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比你或我背著相機去某處,
09:43
took a picture圖片, and then walked away.
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照張相,然後就離開不一樣。
09:45
This was a perfect完善 example.
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我有個很棒的例子,
09:47
I call it "SacrSACRé-Coeur-Coeur Selfie自拍."
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我稱為「聖心堂自拍」。
09:49
I watched看著 over 15 hours小時
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我觀察了 15 個小時以上,
09:51
all these people
not even look at SacrSACRé-Coeur-Coeur.
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這些人連看都沒看聖心堂一眼。
09:54
They were more interested有興趣
in using運用 it as a backdrop背景.
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他們比較想用它當布景。
09:57
They would walk步行 up, take a picture圖片,
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他們會走到前面,照張相,
09:59
and then walk步行 away.
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然後走開。
10:02
And I found發現 this to be an absolutely絕對
extraordinary非凡 example,
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我發現這是個絕妙的例子,
10:07
a powerful強大 disconnect斷開 between之間
what we think the human人的 experience經驗 is
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非常強大的脫節感,
存在於我們以為的人類經驗
10:11
versus what the human人的 experience經驗
is evolving進化 into.
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及人類經驗演變的結局之間。
10:15
The act法案 of sharing分享 has suddenly突然
become成為 more important重要
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「分享」這種行為突然間變得
比經驗本身更為重要。
10:20
than the experience經驗 itself本身.
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10:23
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
10:26
And finally最後, my most recent最近 image圖片,
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最後,我最新的影像,
10:29
which哪一個 has such這樣 a special特別 meaning含義
for me personally親自:
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對我個人有特別的意義:
10:33
this is the Serengeti塞倫蓋蒂 National國民
Park公園 in Tanzania坦桑尼亞.
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這是位於坦尚尼亞的
塞倫蓋提國家公園。
10:36
And this is photographed拍照
in the middle中間 of the Seronera塞羅勒,
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這張是在塞羅勒那中央拍的,
10:39
this is not a reserve保留.
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這裡不是保留區。
10:41
I went specifically特別 during
the peak migration移民
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我特別挑在
動物遷徙高峰時期去那裡,
10:44
to hopefully希望 capture捕獲
the most diverse多種 range範圍 of animals動物.
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希望能捕捉到最多種動物。
10:48
Unfortunately不幸, when we got there,
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可惜,我們到達的時候,
10:50
there was a drought乾旱 going on
during the peak migration移民,
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那裡正面臨乾旱,
就在遷徙高峰時期,
10:52
a five-week五週 drought乾旱.
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為期五週的乾旱。
10:53
So all the animals動物
were drawn to the water.
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所以動物都被吸引到水邊。
10:56
I found發現 this one watering灑水 hole,
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我發現這個水坑,
10:58
and felt if everything remained保持
the same相同 way it was behaving行為,
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而且覺得如果一切的表現
都保持原樣,
11:02
I had a real真實 opportunity機會
to capture捕獲 something unique獨特.
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我的確有機會捕捉到獨特的東西。
11:06
We spent花費 three days studying研究 it,
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我們花了三天研究它,
11:08
and nothing could have prepared準備 me
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然而什麼都比不上
11:09
for what I witnessed目擊 during our shoot射擊 day.
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我在攝影當天親眼目睹的現象。
11:12
I photographed拍照 for 26 hours小時
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我照了 26 個小時,
11:15
in a sealed密封 crocodile鱷魚 blind,
18 feet in the air空氣.
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躲在一個離地 18 呎高、
密不通風的鱷魚偽裝裡。
11:19
What I witnessed目擊 was unimaginable不可思議.
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我目睹的現象令人想像不到。
11:21
Frankly坦率地說, it was Biblical聖經.
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坦白說,還真符合聖經原則。
11:23
We saw, for 26 hours小時,
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這 26 個小時,我們看到
11:25
all these competitive競爭的 species種類
share分享 a single resource資源 called water.
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這些競爭性物種
共享一種資源,就叫水。
11:31
The same相同 resource資源 that humanity人性
is supposed應該 to have wars戰爭 over
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人類應該會在未來 50 年
為同樣的資源打仗,
11:34
during the next下一個 50 years年份.
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11:37
The animals動物 never even
grunted哼了一聲 at each other.
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這些動物卻從未彼此吼叫半聲。
11:41
They seem似乎 to understand理解 something
that we humans人類 don't.
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牠們好像都明白
我們人類不明白的道理。
11:45
That this precious珍貴 resource資源 called water
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這種稱為水的珍貴資源
11:48
is something we all have to share分享.
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是我們必須共享的。
11:51
When I created創建 this picture圖片,
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我做這張照片時,
11:55
I realized實現 that Day to Night
is really a new way of seeing眼看,
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我了解到「從白晝到黑夜」
真的是觀看的新方法,
12:00
compressing壓縮 time,
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壓縮時間,
12:02
exploring探索 the space-time時空 continuum連續
within a photograph照片.
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在照片中探索時空連續統。
12:06
As technology技術 evolves演變
along沿 with photography攝影,
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當科技隨著攝影演進,
12:11
photographs照片 will not only communicate通信
a deeper更深 meaning含義 of time and memory記憶,
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照片不只拿來溝通
時間與記憶的深層意義,
12:15
but they will compose撰寫 a new narrative敘述
of untold數不清 stories故事,
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還是一種新的方法
敘述不為人知的故事,
12:22
creating創建 a timeless永恆 window窗口 into our world世界.
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為我們的世界開啟一扇
不受時間限制的窗口。
12:27
Thank you.
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謝謝。
12:28
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Regina Chu
Reviewed by Marssi Draw

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stephen Wilkes - Narrative photographer
By blending up to 100 still photographs into a seamless composite that captures the transition from day to night, Stephen Wilkes reveals the stories hidden in familiar locations.

Why you should listen

Since opening his studio in New York City in 1983, photographer Stephen Wilkes has built an unprecedented body of work and a reputation as one of America's most iconic photographers, widely recognized for his fine art, editorial and commercial work.

His photographs are included in the collections of the George Eastman Museum, James A. Michener Art Museum, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Dow Jones Collection, Griffin Museum of Photography, Jewish Museum of NY, Library of Congress, Snite Museum of Art, The Historic New Orleans Collection, Museum of the City of New York, 9/11 Memorial Museum and numerous private collections. His editorial work has appeared in, and on the covers of, leading publications such as the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, TIME, Fortune, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and many others.

In 1998, a one-day assignment to the south side of Ellis Island led to a 5-year photographic study of the island's long abandoned medical wards where immigrants were detained before they could enter America. Through his photographs and video, Wilkes helped secure $6 million toward the restoration of the south side of the island.

Day to Night, Wilkes' most defining project, began in 2009. These epic cityscapes and landscapes, portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours capture fleeting moments of humanity as light passes in front of his lens over the course of full day. Blending these images into a single photograph takes months to complete. Day to Night has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning as well as dozens of other prominent media outlets and, with a grant from the National Geographic Society, was recently extended to include America's National Parks in celebration of their centennial anniversary. The series will be published by TASCHEN as a monograph in 2017.

Wilkes, who lives and maintains his studio in Westport, CT, is represented by Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York; Peter Fetterman Gallery, Los Angeles; Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe; and ARTITLEDContemporary, The Netherlands.

More profile about the speaker
Stephen Wilkes | Speaker | TED.com