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

斯蒂芬·威尔克斯: 在一张照片中感受时间的流逝

Filmed:
1,953,319 views

摄影师斯蒂芬·威尔克斯创作了许多惊艳的景观合成图片,展现它们从白天到黑夜的变化,在二维静态照片中,探索时间空间的连续体。他的旅程包括许多地标性景点,例如巴黎的托内尔桥,优胜美地国家公园的酋长石,以及坦桑尼亚的塞伦盖蒂国家公园中心的一处生命水源。
- 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驱动 by pure passion
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我创作有故事的照片
是出于纯粹的热忱。
00:15
to create创建 photographs照片 that tell stories故事.
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00:18
Photography摄影 can be described描述
as the recording记录 of a single moment时刻
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摄影是对瞬间的记录,
凝固了永恒的某一个瞬间。
00:23
frozen冻结的 within a fraction分数 of time.
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00:26
Each moment时刻 or photograph照片
represents代表 a tangible有形 piece
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随着时间流逝,每个瞬间或照片
00:30
of our memories回忆 as time passes通行证.
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都将我们的回忆化作实体。
00:33
But what if you could capture捕获 more
than one moment时刻 in a photograph照片?
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但是如果你可以在一张照片中,
捕捉不止一个瞬间呢?
00:37
What if a photograph照片
could actually其实 collapse坍方 time,
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假如照片可以解构并重组时间,
00:41
compressing压缩 the best最好 moments瞬间
of the day and the night
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浓缩日夜中最佳的时刻,
00:44
seamlessly无缝 into one single image图片?
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并将其在一张图片上完美呈现呢?
00:47
I've created创建 a concept概念
called "Day to Night"
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我创造了“昼夜之间”这个概念,
00:50
and I believe it's going to change更改
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我深信它将改变
人们看待世界的方式。
00:51
the way you look at the world世界.
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至少它已改变了我。
00:53
I know it has for me.
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00:55
My process处理 begins开始 by photographing拍摄
iconic标志性的 locations地点,
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我的创作始于对地标的记录,
00:59
places地方 that are part部分 of what I call
our collective集体 memory记忆.
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我将这些地方看作大家“记忆中的共鸣”。
01:03
I photograph照片 from a fixed固定 vantage华帝 point,
and I never move移动.
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我大多取景于固定的至高点,
而且从不移动。
01:07
I capture捕获 the fleeting流年 moments瞬间
of humanity人性 and light as time passes通行证.
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随着时间流动,我捕捉
人类活动与光影变幻。
01:11
Photographing拍照 for anywhere随地
from 15 to 30 hours小时
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每个地点我都连续拍摄15至30小时,
01:14
and shooting射击 over 1,500 images图片,
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单次素材超过1500张,
01:17
I then choose选择 the best最好 moments瞬间
of the day and night.
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之后我挑选出最佳的瞬间,
从白昼到黑夜。
01:21
Using运用 time as a guide指南,
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以时间为轴,
01:23
I seamlessly无缝 blend混合 those best最好 moments瞬间
into one single photograph照片,
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将这些美妙的瞬间
融合到一张照片中,
01:27
visualizing可视化 our conscious意识
journey旅程 with time.
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将时间的流逝以具象的方式呈现。
01:31
I can take you to Paris巴黎
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我可以带你们去巴黎,
01:33
for a view视图 from the TournelleTournelle Bridge.
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在托内尔桥上看风景。
01:36
And I can show显示 you the
early morning早上 rowers赛艇运动员
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你们能看到清晨的桨手,
01:38
along沿 the River Seine.
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自塞纳河上掠过。
01:40
And simultaneously同时,
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与此同时,
01:42
I can show显示 you Notre巴黎 Dame贵妇人 aglow发红的 at night.
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也能看到巴黎圣母院夜晚的灯光。
01:45
And in between之间, I can show显示 you
the romance浪漫 of the City of Light.
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晨昏之间,还能感受巴黎的浪漫气氛。
01:51
I am essentially实质上 a street photographer摄影师
from 50 feet in the air空气,
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我是一个常年悬空15米的街头摄影师,
01:55
and every一切 single thing you see
in this photograph照片
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这张照片中的一切,
01:57
actually其实 happened发生 on this day.
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都是在当天真实发生的。
02:02
Day to Night is a global全球 project项目,
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“昼夜之间”是一个环球项目,
02:04
and my work has always been about history历史.
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而我的作品一直以历史为核心。
02:07
I'm fascinated入迷 by the concept概念
of going to a place地点 like Venice威尼斯
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我着迷于像威尼斯这样的地方,
02:11
and actually其实 seeing眼看 it during
a specific具体 event事件.
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也曾在特殊的日子造访过它。
02:13
And I decided决定 I wanted to see
the historical历史的 RegataRegata,
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我去看当地传统的划船比赛,
02:17
an event事件 that's actually其实 been
taking服用 place地点 since以来 1498.
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它的历史可追溯到1498年。
02:21
The boats and the costumes服装
look exactly究竟 as they did then.
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船只和选手服饰的样子,
与旧时一模一样。
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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有一点很重要,我想特别强调一下:
02:30
this is not a timelapse延时,
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这并不是延时拍摄,
02:31
this is me photographing拍摄
throughout始终 the day and the night.
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而是我夜以继日的(连续)拍摄。
02:37
I am a relentless collector集电极
of magical神奇 moments瞬间.
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对于捕捉那些惊艳的刹那,我从不倦怠。
02:40
And the thing that drives驱动器 me
is the fear恐惧 of just missing失踪 one of them.
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我唯恐错失任何精彩瞬间,
这是我最大的动力。
02:48
The entire整个 concept概念 came来了 about in 1996.
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整个“昼夜之间”的概念始于1996年。
02:52
LIFE Magazine杂志 commissioned委托 me
to create创建 a panoramic全景 photograph照片
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当时《LIFE》杂志委任我
为巴兹·鲁曼导演的电影
02:57
of the cast and crew船员 of Baz巴兹 Luhrmann's鲁尔曼的
film电影 Romeo罗密欧 + Juliet朱丽叶.
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《罗密欧与朱丽叶》的全体
演职人员拍摄一张全景照。
03:02
I got to the set and realized实现:
it's a square广场.
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我去了才发现,现场搭的景是方形的。
03:06
So the only way I could actually其实 create创建
a panoramic全景 was to shoot射击 a collage大学
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我能想到的拍摄全景图的唯一方法,
就是拍摄250张照片,
03:10
of 250 single images图片.
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然后再进行拼贴。
03:13
So I had DiCaprio迪卡普里奥 and Claire克莱尔 Danes丹麦人
embracing拥抱.
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于是我让迪卡普里奥和丹尼斯相拥。
03:16
And as I pan my camera相机 to the right,
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当我将镜头移至场景右侧时,
03:19
I noticed注意到 there was a mirror镜子 on the wall
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我发现墙上有面镜子,
03:22
and I saw they were
actually其实 reflecting反映 in it.
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而他们的身影恰好被反射在镜中。
03:24
And for that one moment时刻, that one image图片
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为了那个瞬间,那幅画面,
03:26
I asked them, "Would you guys just kiss
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我问他们 ,“为了这张照片,
你们能亲吻对方吗?”
03:28
for this one picture图片?"
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03:30
And then I came来了 back
to my studio工作室 in New York纽约,
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之后我回到了纽约的工作室,
03:32
and I hand-glued手胶 these 250 images图片 together一起
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把250张照片一张张拼在一起,
03:36
and stood站在 back and went,
"Wow, this is so cool!
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我后退一步,发出赞叹:
“哇,这太酷了!
03:39
I'm changing改变 time in a photograph照片."
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我改变了照片中的时间。”
03:42
And that concept概念 actually其实
stayed with me for 13 years年份
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之后13年间,这个理念
一直贯穿于我的作品之中,
03:46
until直到 technology技术 finally最后
has caught抓住 up to my dreams.
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直到技术终于赶上了我的梦想。
03:51
This is an image图片 I created创建
of the Santa圣诞老人 Monica莫妮卡 Pier码头, Day to Night.
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这是一张圣莫妮卡码头昼夜之间的照片。
03:54
And I'm going to show显示 you a little video视频
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下面我要放一个小短片
03:56
that gives you an idea理念 of what
it's like being存在 with me
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让你们感受一下
03:59
when I do these pictures图片.
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我的创作过程。
04:01
To start开始 with, you have to understand理解
that to get views意见 like this,
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首先你们得知道,要拍出这样的照片,
04:04
most of my time is spent花费 up high,
and I'm usually平时 in a cherry樱桃 picker选择器
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我大部分时间都得待在半空中,
通常是在升降台
04:08
or a crane起重机.
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或者吊车上。
04:09
So this is a typical典型 day,
12-18 hours小时, non-stop马不停蹄
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这是很普通的一天,
连续拍摄12-18个小时,
04:13
capturing捕获 the entire整个 day unfold展开.
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记录下完整的一天。
04:16
One of the things that's great
is I love to people-watch人观看.
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我喜欢观察人,所以我很享受这个过程。
04:19
And trust相信 me when I tell you,
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相信我,
半空中绝对是全场最好的位子。
04:20
this is the greatest最大 seat座位
in the house to have.
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04:24
But this is really how I go about
creating创建 these photographs照片.
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不过这就是我进行创作的真实场景。
04:27
So once一旦 I decide决定 on my view视图
and the location位置,
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一旦确认好取景范围和位置,
04:31
I have to decide决定 where day begins开始
and night ends结束.
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我就要决定照片中的一天
何时开始,何时结束。
04:34
And that's what I call the time vector向量.
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我把这叫做时间矢量。
04:37
Einstein爱因斯坦 described描述 time as a fabric.
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爱因斯坦把时间比作一块布料。
04:41
Think of the surface表面 of a trampoline蹦床:
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你们想象一下蹦床的表面:
04:43
it warps经线 and stretches舒展 with gravity重力.
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它会在重力的作用下弯曲和拉伸。
04:46
I see time as a fabric as well,
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我也把时间看做布料,
04:49
except I take that fabric and flatten弄平 it,
compress压缩 it into single plane平面.
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只不过我把它平摊到一个二维平面上。
04:55
One of the unique独特 aspects方面
of this work is also,
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我的工作还有个特别的方面,
04:57
if you look at all my pictures图片,
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如果你细看我所有的照片,
04:58
the time vector向量 changes变化:
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你会发现我的时间矢量是变化的:
05:00
sometimes有时 I'll go left to right,
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有时从左往右,
05:02
sometimes有时 front面前 to back,
up or down, even diagonally对角线.
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有时从近到远,从上到下,
有时甚至沿对角线。
05:07
I am exploring探索 the space-time时空 continuum连续
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我在平面的静态照片中,
05:10
within a two-dimensional二维 still photograph照片.
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探索空间与时间的统一。
05:13
Now when I do these pictures图片,
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当我在创作这些作品时,
05:15
it's literally按照字面 like a real-time即时的 puzzle难题
going on in my mind心神.
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就像在脑中同步拼一幅拼图。
05:18
I build建立 a photograph照片 based基于 on time,
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我以时间为轴创作照片,
05:21
and this is what I call the master plate盘子.
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称之为模板。
05:23
This can take us several一些
months个月 to complete完成.
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整个创作过程通常花费数月完成。
05:27
The fun开玩笑 thing about this work is
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其有趣之处在于
05:29
I have absolutely绝对 zero control控制
when I get up there
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我一旦踏上拍摄点
05:32
on any given特定 day and capture捕获 photographs照片.
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对拍摄对象就完全无法掌控。
05:35
So I never know who's谁是
going to be in the picture图片,
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我既不知道谁会被拍到
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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也不知道日出或日落
是否迷人——完全控制不了。
05:40
It's at the end结束 of the process处理,
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只有等拍摄完成,
05:42
if I've had a really great day
and everything remained保持 the same相同,
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我才知道当天拍得怎么样,
有没有好的素材,
05:45
that I then decide决定 who's谁是 in and who's谁是 out,
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然后我才能进行取舍,
05:48
and it's all based基于 on time.
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这一切都取决于时间。
05:49
I'll take those best最好 moments瞬间 that I pick
over a month of editing编辑
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经过一个多月的编辑挑选,
我选出最棒的瞬间,
05:53
and they get seamlessly无缝 blended混合
into the master plate盘子.
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将它们无缝地拼接于模板之中。
05:58
I'm compressing压缩 the day and night
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我把自己眼中的白天和黑夜
06:00
as I saw it,
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置于同一张图像中,
06:02
creating创建 a unique独特 harmony和谐 between之间
these two very discordant不和谐 worlds世界.
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让这两个截然不同的世界和谐交融。
06:07
Painting绘画 has always been a really
important重要 influence影响 in all my work
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绘画一直对我的作品有着深远影响,
06:11
and I've always been a huge巨大 fan风扇
of Albert阿尔伯特 Bierstadt比尔史伯特,
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我很喜欢阿尔伯特·比茲塔特,
06:13
the great Hudson哈德森 River School学校 painter画家.
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他是一位哈德逊河画派的画家 。
06:15
He inspired启发 a recent最近 series系列
that I did on the National国民 Parks公园.
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他启发了我最近拍摄的
国家公园系列作品。
06:19
This is Bierstadt's比斯塔特的 Yosemite优胜美地 Valley.
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这是他画的《优胜美地河谷》。
06:22
So this is the photograph照片
I created创建 of Yosemite优胜美地.
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而这张是我在优胜美地河谷创作的图片。
06:25
This is actually其实 the cover story故事
of the 2016 January一月 issue问题
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这张照片后来被《国家地理》杂志甄用
06:29
of National国民 Geographic地理.
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作为2016年1月刊的封面。
06:31
I photographed拍照 for over
30 hours小时 in this picture图片.
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我为这张照片持续拍摄了
超过30个小时。
06:34
I was literally按照字面 on the side of a cliff悬崖,
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当时我真的就站在悬崖边上
06:37
capturing捕获 the stars明星
and the moonlight月光 as it transitions过渡,
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捕捉星月交辉的变化,
06:41
the moonlight月光 lighting灯光 El萨尔瓦多 Capitan.
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和洒在酋长岩上的月光。
06:42
And I also captured捕获 this transition过渡
of time throughout始终 the landscape景观.
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同时我也在固定的景致中
捕捉时间的流动。
06:47
The best最好 part部分 is obviously明显 seeing眼看
the magical神奇 moments瞬间 of humanity人性
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其中最棒的,无疑是在
时光的流转中见证人类活动的
06:51
as time changed --
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一个个美好瞬间——
06:54
from day into night.
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从早到晚,从不间断。
06:58
And on a personal个人 note注意,
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在我的笔记本里,
06:59
I actually其实 had a photocopy复印件
of Bierstadt's比斯塔特的 painting绘画 in my pocket口袋.
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一直夹着一张比兹塔特作品的副本。
07:03
And when that sun太阳 started开始
to rise上升 in the valley,
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当太阳从河谷中渐渐升起时,
07:06
I started开始 to literally按照字面 shake
with excitement激动
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我为眼前的美景激动到颤抖,
07:08
because I looked看着 at the painting绘画 and I go,
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我看着他的画,意识到,
07:10
"Oh my god, I'm getting得到 Bierstadt's比斯塔特的
exact精确 same相同 lighting灯光
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“天啊,我眼前的光线效果,
跟一百年前比兹塔特看到的,
07:14
100 years年份 earlier."
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简直一模一样。”
07:17
Day to Night is about all the things,
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“昼夜之间”的主题覆盖了所有事物,
07:20
it's like a compilation汇编 of all
the things I love
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在摄影这种媒介中
07:22
about the medium of photography摄影.
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我所热爱的一切。
07:25
It's about landscape景观,
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它关乎风景,
07:26
it's about street photography摄影,
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关乎街头摄影,
07:28
it's about color颜色, it's about architecture建筑,
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关乎色彩,也关乎建筑,
07:30
perspective透视, scale规模 --
and, especially特别, history历史.
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关乎透视,比例,特别是历史。
07:34
This is one of the most historical历史的 moments瞬间
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这张照片,在我所有的照片里,
07:36
I've been able能够 to photograph照片,
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是最具历史意义的,
这是2013年奥巴马总统就职仪式。
07:37
the 2013 Presidential总统 Inauguration就职典礼
of Barack巴拉克 Obama奥巴马.
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07:41
And if you look closely密切 in this picture图片,
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如果你细看这张照片,
07:43
you can actually其实 see time changing改变
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你其实可以在这些大屏幕中
07:45
in those large television电视 sets.
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看到时间的变化。
07:47
You can see Michelle米歇尔
waiting等候 with the children孩子,
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你可以看到米歇尔和孩子在等待,
07:50
the president主席 now greets招呼 the crowd人群,
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总统向观众致意,
07:52
he takes his oath誓言,
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然后他进行宣誓,
07:53
and now he's speaking请讲 to the people.
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之后他再向民众致辞。
07:56
There's so many许多 challenging具有挑战性的 aspects方面
when I create创建 photographs照片 like this.
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在拍摄这类题材的照片时,
遇到的挑战不计其数。
08:01
For this particular特定 photograph照片,
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我拍这张照片时,
08:03
I was in a 50-foot-脚丫子 scissor剪刀 lift电梯
up in the air空气
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是在离地15米的
一台剪叉式升降机里,
08:06
and it was not very stable稳定.
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而且它不是很稳。
08:08
So every一切 time my assistant助理 and I
shifted our weight重量,
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所以每次助手和我在升降机里移动,
08:11
our horizon地平线 line线 shifted.
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我们的水平线也跟着变化。
08:12
So for every一切 picture图片 you see,
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你们看到的每一张照片,
08:14
and there were about
1,800 in this picture图片,
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这里面一共有差不多1800张,
08:16
we both had to tape胶带 our feet into position位置
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我们每次按下快门前,
08:19
every一切 time I clicked点击 the shutter快门.
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都必须把脚用胶带固定住。
08:22
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
08:26
I've learned学到了 so many许多 extraordinary非凡
things doing this work.
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从这份工作之中,我收获无数。
08:30
I think the two most important重要
are patience忍耐
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其中我认为最重要的是耐心,
08:34
and the power功率 of observation意见.
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和观察的力量。
08:36
When you photograph照片 a city
like New York纽约 from above以上,
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当我俯拍纽约这样的大都会时,
08:40
I discovered发现 that those people in cars汽车
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我发现坐在车里的人,
08:42
that I sort分类 of live生活 with everyday每天,
168
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那些原本我很熟悉的人群,
08:44
they don't look like people
in cars汽车 anymore.
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在我看来已经面目全非了。
08:46
They feel like a giant巨人 school学校 of fish,
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他们像是庞大的鱼群,
08:49
it was a form形成 of emergent应急 behavior行为.
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像一种新的行为模式。
08:52
And when people describe描述
the energy能源 of New York纽约,
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人们常常说起纽约所蕴含的活力,
08:55
I think this photograph照片 begins开始
to really capture捕获 that.
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我认为这张图片确实有捕捉到这一点。
08:58
When you look closer接近 in my work,
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如果你仔细看这张图,
09:00
you can see there's stories故事 going on.
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你会发现这里面是有故事的。
09:02
You realize实现 that Times Square广场 is a canyon峡谷,
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你会觉得时代广场其实是个峡谷,
09:05
it's shadow阴影 and it's sunlight阳光.
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有阴影,也有阳光。
09:07
So I decided决定, in this photograph照片,
I would checkerboard棋盘 time.
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于是我决定,在这一张照片中,
把时间排成棋盘状。
09:11
So wherever哪里 the shadows阴影 are, it's night
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有阴影的地方是黑夜,
09:13
and wherever哪里 the sun太阳 is,
it's actually其实 day.
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而有阳光的地方就是白天。
09:16
Time is this extraordinary非凡 thing
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时间是个太过神奇的东西
09:18
that we never can really
wrap our heads around.
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我们永远无法真正理解它。
09:21
But in a very unique独特 and special特别 way,
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但是这些照片以一种独一无二的形式
09:23
I believe these photographs照片
begin开始 to put a face面对 on time.
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描绘出了时间的一种面貌。
09:28
They embody体现 a new
metaphysical抽象的 visual视觉 reality现实.
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它们将抽象的视觉现实具体化了。
09:34
When you spend 15 hours小时
looking at a place地点,
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当你用整整15个小时观察一个地方,
09:38
you're going to see things
a little differently不同
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你会发现一些特别之处,
如果你我拿着相机走过去,
09:41
than if you or I walked up
with our camera相机,
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拍张照片,然后离开,是无法发现的。
09:43
took a picture图片, and then walked away.
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09:45
This was a perfect完善 example.
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这张照片就是一个典型的例子。
09:47
I call it "SacrSACRé-Coeur-Coeur Selfie自拍."
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我把它叫作“圣心大教堂旁的自拍”。
09:49
I watched看着 over 15 hours小时
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我观察了不止15个小时
09:51
all these people
not even look at SacrSACRé-Coeur-Coeur.
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照片里的这些人,根本没看圣心大教堂。
09:54
They were more interested有兴趣
in using运用 it as a backdrop背景.
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他们只是把它当作一块背景板。
09:57
They would walk步行 up, take a picture图片,
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他们走上前去,拍张照片,
09:59
and then walk步行 away.
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然后就走了。
10:02
And I found发现 this to be an absolutely绝对
extraordinary非凡 example,
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这一幕简直太典型了,
10:07
a powerful强大 disconnect断开 between之间
what we think the human人的 experience经验 is
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它完美展现了我们自认为的亲身体验
10:11
versus what the human人的 experience经验
is evolving进化 into.
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与现实中亲身体验的演变
之间的巨大差异。
10:15
The act法案 of sharing分享 has suddenly突然
become成为 more important重要
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分享自己的体验突然变得比体验本身
10:20
than the experience经验 itself本身.
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更为重要了。
10:23
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
10:26
And finally最后, my most recent最近 image图片,
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最后,这是我最近所拍摄的一张照片,
10:29
which哪一个 has such这样 a special特别 meaning含义
for me personally亲自:
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它对我个人而言有着特别的意义:
10:33
this is the Serengeti塞伦盖蒂 National国民
Park公园 in Tanzania坦桑尼亚.
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照片中是坦桑尼亚的塞伦盖蒂国家公园。
10:36
And this is photographed拍照
in the middle中间 of the Seronera塞罗勒,
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是在塞罗勒那拍摄的,
10:39
this is not a reserve保留.
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它不在保护区内。
10:41
I went specifically特别 during
the peak migration移民
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我特地选在动物迁徙的高峰期前往
10:44
to hopefully希望 capture捕获
the most diverse多种 range范围 of animals动物.
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就是为了拍摄尽可能多种类的动物。
10:48
Unfortunately不幸, when we got there,
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但很不巧,当我们抵达的时候,
迁徙高峰期伴随着一场旱灾,
10:50
there was a drought干旱 going on
during the peak migration移民,
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10:52
a five-week五周 drought干旱.
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持续了整整5周。
所有动物都跑向了有水的地方。
10:53
So all the animals动物
were drawn to the water.
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10:56
I found发现 this one watering洒水 hole,
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我发现了照片中的这处水源,
10:58
and felt if everything remained保持
the same相同 way it was behaving行为,
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心想如果一切正常的话,
11:02
I had a real真实 opportunity机会
to capture捕获 something unique独特.
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我可能会拍到一些精彩的画面。
11:06
We spent花费 three days studying研究 it,
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我们花了3天时间熟悉情况,
11:08
and nothing could have prepared准备 me
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而拍摄当天我见到的一切,
11:09
for what I witnessed目击 during our shoot射击 day.
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却完全出乎我的意料。
11:12
I photographed拍照 for 26 hours小时
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拍摄持续了26个小时,
11:15
in a sealed密封 crocodile鳄鱼 blind,
18 feet in the air空气.
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在离地5.5米的一个鳄鱼掩体中。
11:19
What I witnessed目击 was unimaginable不可思议.
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我见到的情形简直超出想象。
11:21
Frankly坦率地说, it was Biblical圣经.
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就像《圣经》里的场景。
11:23
We saw, for 26 hours小时,
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在这为期26小时的拍摄中,
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。
11:25
all these competitive竞争的 species种类
share分享 a single resource资源 called water.
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11:31
The same相同 resource资源 that humanity人性
is supposed应该 to have wars战争 over
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而人类,却有可能为了争夺水源,
11:34
during the next下一个 50 years年份.
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在未来50年内发动战争。
11:37
The animals动物 never even
grunted哼了一声 at each other.
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而这些动物甚至都没有
吼叫以驱赶对方。
11:41
They seem似乎 to understand理解 something
that we humans人类 don't.
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它们似乎懂得一些
我们还不懂的道理。
11:45
That this precious珍贵 resource资源 called water
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那就是水,这一珍贵的资源,
11:48
is something we all have to share分享.
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不应该被独占。
11:51
When I created创建 this picture图片,
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在创作这张图片的过程中,
11:55
I realized实现 that Day to Night
is really a new way of seeing眼看,
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我意识到“昼夜之间”
是一种认识世界的新方法,
12:00
compressing压缩 time,
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它压缩了时间,
12:02
exploring探索 the space-time时空 continuum连续
within a photograph照片.
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在照片中探索时空的连续性。
12:06
As technology技术 evolves演变
along沿 with photography摄影,
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科技在不断发展,摄影也随之进步,
照片不仅仅能传达
时间和回忆中更深层的意义,
12:11
photographs照片 will not only communicate通信
a deeper更深 meaning含义 of time and memory记忆,
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12:15
but they will compose撰写 a new narrative叙述
of untold数不清 stories故事,
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它还能书写出生活中尘封的故事,
12:22
creating创建 a timeless永恒 window窗口 into our world世界.
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为我们的世界开启了一个永恒的窗口。
谢谢大家。
12:27
Thank you.
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12:28
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
(鼓掌)
非常感谢!
Translated by Yini Yao
Reviewed by Alvin Lee

▲Back to top

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

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