ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Levon Biss - Photographer
With his "Microsculpture" series, Levon Biss photographs the incredible details of insects.

Why you should listen

Levon Biss is a British photographer who works across many genres, including reportage, sport and portraiture. His passion for nature and photography have come together to create Microsculpture. For the project, a unique photographic process composites thousands of images using multiple lighting setups to create the final insect portraits. Each specimen was mounted on an adapted microscope stage, allowing close control over the position of the specimen in front of the camera lens. Most insects were photographed in about 30 sections, each section lit differently with strobe lights to accentuate the microsculpture of that particular area of the body. Each insect portrait is created from more than 8,000 separate images. In between his insect projects, Biss continues to photograph humans.

More profile about the speaker
Levon Biss | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Levon Biss: Mind-blowing, magnified portraits of insects

Levon Biss: 令人兴奋的,放大的昆虫肖像

Filmed:
1,226,599 views

摄影师Levon Biss正在寻找全新的,独特的项目,直至有天下午,跟他小孩通过显微镜看了土鳖虫的图像,自从开启了昆虫的神奇世界。通过运用他的摄影知识于只有5毫米的昆虫摄影中,Biss开创了以难以置信的显微精度拍摄昆虫细节的流程。在这个演讲中,他将分享他的作品——每张由8-10,000张独立摄影合成的昆虫肖像,以及一个来自无法想象地方的启发灵感的故事
- Photographer
With his "Microsculpture" series, Levon Biss photographs the incredible details of insects. Full bio

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

00:12
So, I had been a photographer摄影师
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在开始昆虫微拍项目前
00:15
for 18 years年份
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我作为摄影师
00:17
before I began开始 the MicrosculptureMicrosculpture Project项目.
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已有18个年头
00:19
And in that time,
I had shot射击 global全球 ad广告 campaigns活动,
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当时,我曾为很多国际品牌拍摄广告
00:23
I had the opportunity机会 to photograph照片
some of my generation's一代 icons图标,
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我拥有机会拍下我时代的符号
00:27
and I was traveling旅行 the world世界.
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并环游着世界
00:29
I got to a point in my career事业
that I dreamed梦见 of getting得到 to,
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我的职业生涯真如我所梦想的
00:33
and yet然而, for some reason原因,
I still felt a little bit unfulfilled未了.
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然而,因为某些原因,我仍然不满足
00:36
Despite尽管 the extraordinary非凡 things
I was shooting射击 and experiencing经历,
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尽管我拍摄和体验的事物如此特别
00:41
they'd他们会 started开始 to feel
a little bit ordinary普通 to me.
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但他们开始变得平淡
00:44
I was also getting得到 concerned关心
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我也开始有些担心
00:45
about how disposable一次性 photography摄影
had started开始 to feel in the digital数字 world世界,
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在数字世界中,一次性的摄影将如何生存
00:49
and I really wanted to produce生产 images图片
that had a sense of worth价值 again.
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我真是很想去生产那种有价值感的照片
00:53
And I needed需要 a subject学科
that felt extraordinary非凡.
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我需要一种独特的项目
00:57
Sometimes有时 I wish希望
I had the eyes眼睛 of a child儿童.
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有时候,我希望我拥有儿童之眼
01:00
And by that I mean,
I wish希望 I could look at the world世界
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这意思是,我希望我看待世界的方式
01:02
in the same相同 as I did
when I was a small boy男孩.
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如同我小时候那般
01:05
I think there is a danger危险,
as we get older旧的,
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我感觉随着我们年纪渐长
01:07
that our curiosity好奇心 becomes
slightly muted静音 or dulled迟钝 by familiarity熟悉.
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我门的好奇心开始因为熟悉的东西而变得麻木
01:13
And as a visual视觉 creator创造者,
one of the challenges挑战 for me
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而作为视觉创作者,我的一大挑战是
01:15
is to present当下 the familiar
in a new and engaging way.
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如何以一种新的更具沉浸式的方式去展现熟悉景象
01:20
Fortunately幸好 for me, though虽然,
I've got two great kids孩子
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庆幸的是,我有两个孩子
01:23
who are still curious好奇 about the world世界.
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仍然对世界充满好奇
01:25
Sebastian塞巴斯蒂安 -- he's still curious好奇
about the world世界, and in 2014, in spring弹簧,
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塞巴斯蒂安,他仍然对世界抱有好奇,2014年的春天
01:31
he brought in a ground地面 beetle甲虫
from the garden花园.
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他从花园里带回来一只土鳖虫
01:34
There was nothing particularly尤其 special特别
about this insect昆虫 --
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这昆虫并无特别之处
01:36
you know, it was a common共同 species种类.
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就是普普通通那种
01:38
But he was still curious好奇,
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但他仍然非常好奇
01:40
and he brought it up to my office办公室,
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他带到了我的办公室
01:42
and we decided决定 to look at it
under his microscope显微镜.
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所以我们决定来看看这只昆虫
用他的显微镜
01:45
He had a little science科学 kit套件 for Christmas圣诞.
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圣诞节的科学套件礼物
01:48
And this is what we saw.
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这就是我们那个时候看到的
01:51
Now, when I first saw this,
it blew自爆 me away.
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当我第一眼看到时,真是出乎所料
01:53
Up here -- this is the back
of the ground地面 beetle甲虫.
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这里,是土鳖虫的背部
01:56
When I first saw it,
it reminded提醒 me of a galaxy星系.
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当我第一次见到时,我想到的是银河
01:59
And all the time, this had just
been outside our window窗口.
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一直以来,这就在我们的窗外
02:02
You know, I was looking
for this extraordinary非凡 subject学科,
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而我一直在寻找这种独特的项目
02:05
and it took Seb'sSeb 的 eyes眼睛 and curiosity好奇心
to bring带来 it in to me.
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而他通过塞巴的眼睛和好奇带到我面前
02:09
So I decided决定 to photograph照片 it for him,
and this is what I produced生成.
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所以我决定为他拍摄,而这就是我所拍摄的
02:13
I basically基本上 asked myself
two simple简单 questions问题.
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我大体上问了我自己两个简单的问题
02:16
The first one:
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第一个问题是
02:17
Could I take all my knowledge知识 and skill技能
of photographic摄影 lighting灯光
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我能否用我所有关于拍摄和光影的知识和技能
02:21
and take that onto a subject学科
that's five millimeters毫米 long?
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去拍摄这类5毫米的物体
02:24
But also: Could I keep
creative创作的 control控制 over that lighting灯光
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但同时,我能否对这种大小的物体
02:27
on a subject学科 that size尺寸?
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保持光影的创造性控制
02:29
So I practiced
on some other found发现 specimens标本,
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所以我摸索着另外一些发现的样本
02:32
and I approached接近 the Oxford牛津 University大学
Museum博物馆 of Natural自然 History历史
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并来到牛津大学自然历史博物馆
02:36
to see if I could have access访问
to their collection采集,
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看能否拍摄他们的收藏
02:39
to progress进展 the project项目.
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以推进这个项目
02:41
And I went up there for a meeting会议,
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我在那跟他们开了个会
02:43
and I showed显示 them some of the images图片
that I'd been shooting射击,
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并向他们展示我所拍摄的照片
02:46
and they could see
the kind of detail详情 I was able能够 to get.
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他们看到了我当时所拍摄的细节
02:49
I don't think they'd他们会 ever really seen看到
anything quite相当 like it before,
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我相信他们过去从没有看过这样的细节
02:53
and from that point forward前锋,
they gave me open打开 access访问
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从那以后,他们向我开放了
02:55
to their entire整个 collection采集
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所有的馆藏
02:56
and the assistance帮助 of Dr博士. James詹姆士 Hogan霍根,
their entomologist昆虫学者.
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并得到了昆虫学家詹姆斯·迪恩博士的协助
03:02
Now, over the next下一个 two-and-a-half两个半 years年份,
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在过去两年半的时间里
03:04
I shot射击 37 insects昆虫 from their collection采集.
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我从他们的馆藏中拍摄了37中昆虫
03:07
And the way I work
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我拍摄的方式
03:09
is that I essentially实质上 split分裂 the insect昆虫
up into multiple sections部分,
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基本上是把昆虫分为不同的部分
03:13
and I treat对待 each one of those sections部分
like a small still life.
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并将这一个个部分视为小静生物进行拍摄
03:17
So for example, if I was photographing拍摄
the eye of the insect昆虫,
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例如,我拍摄了昆虫的眼睛
03:21
which哪一个 is normally一般 quite相当 smooth光滑
and dome-shaped圆顶状,
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它们通常圆润光滑
03:24
then I'd use a light source资源
that is large and soft柔软的 and diffuse扩散,
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我就使用宽大,柔和,扩散的光源
03:28
so I don't get any harsh苛刻 hot spots斑点
on that surface表面.
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这样就不会在表面留下任何热燥点
03:33
But once一旦 my attention注意
turns over to a hairy毛茸茸 leg,
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但一旦转向毛茸茸的腿时
03:35
that lighting灯光 setup建立
will change更改 completely全然.
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光影的设定就完全不同了
03:38
And so I make that one tiny section部分
look as beautiful美丽 as I possibly或者 can,
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我让每一个细节都尽可能地漂亮
03:42
and I work my way across横过 the insect昆虫
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于是我绕着昆虫开始了工作
03:44
until直到 I have about 20 or 25
different不同 sections部分.
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直至拍完20或25个不同的细节部分
03:48
The issue问题 with photography摄影
at high magnification放大
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当时有个问题是高放大比例的摄影照片
03:52
is that there is inherently本质
a very shallow depth深度 of field领域.
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天生具有非常浅的景深
03:55
So to get around that, what I do is,
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为了解决这个问题,我的做法是
03:58
I put my camera相机 on a rail
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我把镜头放在摄影轨道上
03:59
that I can automate自动化
to move移动 10 microns微米 in between之间 each shot射击.
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这样我就可以在每一次拍摄时移动10微米
04:03
That's about one-seventh七分之一 the width宽度
of a human人的 hair头发.
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这相当于人类头发1/7大小
04:06
And then that provides提供 me
with a deep stack of images图片.
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这样我就得到了深栈的图像
04:10
Each has a tiny sliver裂片 of focus焦点
all the way through通过.
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每一处都是一个个小的聚焦点
04:13
And I can squash壁球 that down
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所以我可以把它们
04:15
to produce生产 one image图片
that is fully充分 focused重点 from front面前 to back.
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去合成一张从前到后都是完全聚焦的照片
04:18
So essentially实质上, that gives me
25 sections部分 that are fully充分 focused重点
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所以实际上,我拍了25个全面聚焦的部分
04:22
and beautifully精美 lit发光的.
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漂亮地发光
04:25
Now, each one of my images图片
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现在,我的每一张照片
04:26
is made制作 up of anywhere随地
between之间 8- and 10,000 separate分离 shots镜头.
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由8-10千张独立的拍摄组成
04:31
They take about three-and-a-half三和半
weeks to create创建,
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需要历时3.5周的时间去创作
04:34
and the file文件 sizes大小 on average平均
are about four gigabytes千兆字节.
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文件的平均大小有4GB
04:38
So I've got plenty丰富 of information信息
to play with when I'm printing印花.
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所以我打印的时候拥有丰富的信息
04:41
And the prints版画 at the exhibition展览
are around the three-meter三米 mark标记.
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展览的印刷作品大约3米
04:45
In fact事实, I had a show显示
in Milan米兰 two weeks ago,
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实际上,两周以前,我在米兰有个展览
04:47
and we had some prints版画 there
that were nine meters long.
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那边有一些印刷作品长达9米
04:52
But, you know, I realize实现
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但你知道, 我意识到
04:53
that these images图片 still have to work
in the digital数字 world世界.
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这些照片同样应该展示在数字世界中
04:56
There's no point in me putting
all my blood血液, sweat and tears眼泪
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我没有必要把我的心血和汗水
04:59
into these pictures图片
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倾注在这些照片中
05:00
if they're only going to be showing展示
500 pixels像素 on a screen屏幕.
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如果他们只是在500像素的屏幕中展示
05:03
So with the help of Rob Chandler钱德勒
and Will Cookson库克森,
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在罗伯钱德勒和威尔库克森的帮助下
05:07
we developed发达 a website网站
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我们开发了个网站
05:09
that enables使 the viewer观众
to immerse沉浸 themselves他们自己
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可以让观看者沉浸式地体验
05:11
into the full充分 four-gigabyte四千兆字节 files,
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高达4GB的版本
05:14
and they can explore探索
all that microscopic显微 detail详情.
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他们可以探索显微镜级别的细节
05:17
So if you have the time,
and I encourage鼓励 you,
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如果大伙有空,我建议你们
05:19
please visit访问 microsculpturemicrosculpture.net
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访问microsculpture.net
05:21
and go and have a play.
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去使用和体验
05:23
It's good fun开玩笑.
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非常有趣
05:26
I first showed显示 the work at Oxford牛津,
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我最早是在牛津展示我的作品
05:28
and since以来 then, it's moved移动 on
to the Middle中间 East.
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那之后,就去了中东
05:30
It's now back in Europe欧洲
and goes to Copenhagen哥本哈根 this month.
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现在又回到欧洲,这个月在哥本哈根(丹麦首都)
05:34
And the feedback反馈 has been great.
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反馈非常令人振奋
05:36
You know, I get emails电子邮件, actually其实,
from all over the world世界 --
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我收到了来自全球各地的邮件
05:41
from teachers教师, at the moment时刻,
who are using运用 the website网站 in school学校.
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有在学校中使用网页访问的老师
05:44
The kids孩子 are using运用 them on the tablet片剂.
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在平板上使用的小孩
05:46
They're zooming缩放 into the pictures图片
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他们缩放着照片
05:48
and using运用 it for art艺术 class, biology生物学 class.
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用在艺术,生物课上
05:50
And that's not something I planned计划.
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这些都超乎我的计划
05:52
That's just a beautiful美丽 offshoot支脉
of the project项目.
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这些都是这个项目的美丽衍生
05:56
In fact事实, one of the things
I like to do at the exhibitions展览
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实际上,我在展览中喜欢做的一件事是
05:59
is actually其实 look at
the kiddies'小子 reactions反应.
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看着孩子们的反应
06:01
And, you know, standing常设
in front面前 of a three-meter三米 insect昆虫,
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你知道,站在三米高的昆虫面前
06:03
they could have been horrified吓坏了.
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他们可能会被吓坏
06:05
But they're not. They look in wonder奇迹.
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但实际上,他们并没有,他们好奇地打量着
06:07
This little chap皴裂 here, he stood站在 there
for five minutes分钟, motionless不动.
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这个小伙子,他就这样站在五分钟,一动不动的
06:10
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
06:12
And at the end结束 of the day, actually其实,
at the end结束 of the day at the exhibitions展览,
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展览结束那天
06:16
we have to wipe擦拭 down
the lower降低 third第三 of the big prints版画 --
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我不得不擦拭这些大画展的下面1/3部分
06:19
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
06:20
just to remove去掉
all those sticky handprints手印,
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以清除这些手印
06:22
because all they want to do
is touch触摸 those big bugs虫子.
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因为他们都想触摸这些大虫子
06:27
I do want to leave离开 you
with one final最后 image图片, if that's OK.
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我真想给你们留下最后一张照片,如果可以的化
06:29
This has to do with Charles查尔斯 Darwin达尔文.
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这与查尔斯达尔文有关
06:32
One of the recent最近 images图片
that I photographed拍照
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我最近的拍摄的照片之一
06:35
was this one here.
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是这一张
06:37
I'm talking about the creature生物
in the box, not my cat.
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我说的是盒子里面的生物,不是我的猫
06:40
And this is a shield屏蔽 bug窃听器
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这是一只盾虫
06:43
that Charles查尔斯 Darwin达尔文
brought back from Australia澳大利亚
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是1836年达尔文乘坐小猎犬号
06:46
on the HMSHMS Beagle比格尔 in 1836.
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从澳洲带回来的盾虫
06:49
And when I got it home,
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那时当我回到家时
06:51
I stood站在 in my kitchen厨房
and stared盯着 at it for about 20 minutes分钟.
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我站在厨房,看了它又20分钟
06:54
I couldn't不能 believe I was in possession所有权
of this beautiful美丽 creature生物.
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难以置信我会拥有如此漂亮的生物
06:58
And at that moment时刻, I kind of realized实现
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而那一刻,我多少意识到
07:00
that this validated验证 the project项目 for me.
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这验证了我的项目
07:02
The fact事实 that the museum博物馆
was willing愿意 to risk风险 me playing播放 with this
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事实上博物馆冒得被我折腾这些的风险
07:06
kind of showed显示 me
that my images图片 had worth价值 --
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多少向我表明了我的照片一定值得
07:08
you know, they weren't disposable一次性.
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并不会让他们失望
07:10
That's the image图片 that I produced生成.
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这就是我的作品
07:12
I often经常 wonder奇迹, still,
when I look at this:
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看着这些,我常常好奇
07:15
What would Charles查尔斯 Darwin达尔文
make of these images图片?
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达尔文会如何看待这些图片
07:17
Do you think he'd他会 like his picture图片
of his shield屏蔽 bug窃听器? I hope希望 so.
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你觉得他会喜欢盾虫这种照片吗?我希望如何
07:21
So --
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所以
07:22
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
07:26
You know, I think it's strange奇怪 in a way.
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这多少有点奇怪
07:28
I'm a visual视觉 person,
I'm a creative创作的 person,
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我是一个视觉人员,我是一个创意人员
07:30
but I still needed需要 the eyes眼睛 of a child儿童
to find my extraordinary非凡 subject学科.
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但我仍然需要儿童的眼睛去寻找我的独特项目
07:35
That's the way it was.
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事情就是如此
07:36
So all I can say is,
thank you very much, Sebastian塞巴斯蒂安;
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所以我只能说,非常谢谢,塞巴斯蒂安
07:39
I am very, very grateful感激.
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非常,非常感激
07:40
Thank you.
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谢谢
07:41
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by edukm ps
Reviewed by Amy Fann

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Levon Biss - Photographer
With his "Microsculpture" series, Levon Biss photographs the incredible details of insects.

Why you should listen

Levon Biss is a British photographer who works across many genres, including reportage, sport and portraiture. His passion for nature and photography have come together to create Microsculpture. For the project, a unique photographic process composites thousands of images using multiple lighting setups to create the final insect portraits. Each specimen was mounted on an adapted microscope stage, allowing close control over the position of the specimen in front of the camera lens. Most insects were photographed in about 30 sections, each section lit differently with strobe lights to accentuate the microsculpture of that particular area of the body. Each insect portrait is created from more than 8,000 separate images. In between his insect projects, Biss continues to photograph humans.

More profile about the speaker
Levon Biss | Speaker | TED.com

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