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
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.
as the recording of a single moment
把某一個瞬間記錄下來,
represents a tangible piece
都將我們時間長河中的記憶
than one moment in a photograph?
不只是某個片斷會怎麼樣呢?
could actually collapse time,
of the day and the night
都壓縮起來,
called "Day to Night"
「從白晝到黑夜」的概念,
iconic locations,
幾個著名的地標景點開始,
our collective memory.
「我們的集體記憶」。
and I never move.
而且我不移動。
of humanity and light as time passes.
我捕捉轉瞬即逝的人性及光影。
from 15 to 30 hours
約 15 到 30 小時,
of the day and night.
白天及黑夜最好的瞬間。
into one single photograph,
合成一張相片,
journey with time.
而產生的意識旅程視覺化。
early morning rowers
夜裡閃耀的巴黎聖母院。
the romance of the City of Light.
這座光城的浪漫。
from 50 feet in the air,
不過是在 50 呎高的空中,
in this photograph
of going to a place like Venice
就是去某個地方,比如說威尼斯,
a specific event.
來觀察這個地方。
the historical Regata,
歷史悠久的貢多拉船比賽,
taking place since 1498.
look exactly as they did then.
want you guys to understand is:
一個很重要的因素:
throughout the day and the night.
of magical moments.
is the fear of just missing one of them.
錯失任何神奇瞬間。
to create a panoramic photograph
製作一張全景相片,
film Romeo + Juliet.
《羅密歐與茱麗葉》中的全體劇組員。
it's a square.
a panoramic was to shoot a collage
embracing.
及克萊兒·丹妮絲抱在一起。
actually reflecting in it.
to my studio in New York,
"Wow, this is so cool!
然後說:「哇!好酷!
stayed with me for 13 years
has caught up to my dreams.
of the Santa Monica Pier, Day to Night.
創作出的「從白晝到黑夜」作品。
it's like being with me
that to get views like this,
要得到像這樣的景觀,
and I'm usually in a cherry picker
通常我會用活動吊車
12-18 hours, non-stop
12 至 18 小時,不休息,
is I love to people-watch.
in the house to have.
creating these photographs.
and the location,
and night ends.
黑夜從哪裡結束。
compress it into single plane.
of this work is also,
up or down, even diagonally.
甚至是斜角的。
going on in my mind.
在我的腦海中。
months to complete.
when I get up there
都沒有任何控制權。
going to be in the picture,
sunrise or sunset -- no control.
都無法控制。
and everything remained the same,
每件事都還保持原樣,
over a month of editing
選出最好的幾個時刻,
into the master plate.
these two very discordant worlds.
做出一種獨特的和諧感。
important influence in all my work
有很重要的影響,
of Albert Bierstadt,
(Albert Bierstadt) 的大粉絲,
that I did on the National Parks.
──國家公園。
I created of Yosemite.
of the 2016 January issue
30 hours in this picture.
30 小時的照片。
and the moonlight as it transitions,
of time throughout the landscape.
時間轉換之際。
the magical moments of humanity
就是看到人文的神奇時刻
of Bierstadt's painting in my pocket.
比爾施塔特的畫作影印。
to rise in the valley,
with excitement
exact same lighting
比爾施塔特一樣的光線,
the things I love
and, especially, history.
還跟歷史特別有關。
極具歷史性的時刻,
of Barack Obama.
總統就職典禮。
看到時間的變化。
waiting with the children,
when I create photographs like this.
其實有多方面的挑戰。
up in the air
剪刀式起降機上,
shifted our weight,
1,800 in this picture,
things doing this work.
are patience
like New York from above,
in cars anymore.
車子裡的人了。
the energy of New York,
to really capture that.
I would checkerboard time.
要以棋盤格表現時間。
it's actually day.
wrap our heads around.
begin to put a face on time.
能讓我們更了解時間。
metaphysical visual reality.
形而上的視覺現實。
looking at a place,
a little differently
with our camera,
not even look at Sacré-Coeur.
in using it as a backdrop.
extraordinary example,
what we think the human experience is
存在於我們以為的人類經驗
is evolving into.
become more important
for me personally:
Park in Tanzania.
塞倫蓋提國家公園。
in the middle of the Seronera,
the peak migration
動物遷徙高峰時期去那裡,
the most diverse range of animals.
during the peak migration,
就在遷徙高峰時期,
were drawn to the water.
the same way it was behaving,
都保持原樣,
to capture something unique.
18 feet in the air.
密不通風的鱷魚偽裝裡。
share a single resource called water.
共享一種資源,就叫水。
is supposed to have wars over
為同樣的資源打仗,
grunted at each other.
that we humans don't.
我們人類不明白的道理。
is really a new way of seeing,
真的是觀看的新方法,
within a photograph.
along with photography,
a deeper meaning of time and memory,
時間與記憶的深層意義,
of untold stories,
敘述不為人知的故事,
不受時間限制的窗口。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stephen Wilkes - Narrative photographerBy 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.
Stephen Wilkes | Speaker | TED.com