龍先生的攝影日記: 英國攝影師台灣生活點滴紀錄

騎了一天雖很美但需要專注力一百的曲沿山路, 我疲累的身軀非常期待來到太魯閣晶英酒店. 太魯閣晶英酒店在我心中有個很特別的位置. 我第一次到台灣旅遊就跟龍太太來這裡住了幾晚. 在那之後我也很幸運的回來太魯閣遊玩, 住了晶英幾次. 所以真的蠻期待快點到, check in, 好好休息一下, 回顧這兩天的經歷, 並規劃後續路程.

Having ridden all day and over some challenging roads which demanded constant and complete concentration, I was feeling tired and very much looking forward to arriving at Silks Place Taroko. Silks Place holds a special place in my heart, Mrs.L and I stayed there during my first ever visit to Taiwan. I have been fortunate enough to return a number of times since, and was looking forward to some peace, a rest from the road and a chance to contemplate the journey past, and ahead.

就騎在太魯閣山路中, 我遇到了兩個也正在機車環島的英國人. 在交談的過程中一台載著遊客的遊覽巴士停在我們旁邊, 然後我們三個外國人就被要求一起入鏡……真搞不懂在這麼雄偉的風景區竟然不拍風景要拍我們這三隻? 然後被他們亂了一下也忘記三個人一起自拍, 慶祝我們的緣分. 但我跟JJ 與 Jamie 現在在臉書上已經是好朋友, 常常聯繫.

我必須承認及道歉這篇文章整整拖了一年才開始寫. 原因除了其它工作忙之外, 還有因為這次用重型機車(大綿羊)環美麗的台灣旅程真的需要一些時間來消化, 吸收. 這次的環島不只是藉由英國國家地理雜誌旅遊家(National Geographic Traveller UK) 與幫SYM三陽機車出任務的機會騎在台灣大大小小美麗蜿蜒的路上, 沿路欣賞旖旎風景, 也是一個自我啟發思索的一場旅行. 發現自己一個人在一個不是出生地的國家, 些許突然閃過的認知及學習活在當下的領悟.

I have to confess and apologise as this has taken me over a year to get around to writing. The reason for this is that it has taken me this long to really absorb the wonderful journey that I went on, a journey that took me all around Taiwan. The journey was not just about riding beautiful roads on my scooter and seeing amazing things, making a photographic essay for Nat Geo Traveller or shooting a campaign for SYM. It was a journey for me too, one of discovery, discovery about myself, being alone in a foreign country, the thoughts and realisations that come to you in these moments, and most importantly learning to be in that moment. 

這是我的三陽MaxSYM600iABS 大綿羊. 在這環島的13天中, 我們總共騎超過2000英里, 從海邊到超過海面3000公尺山上, 騎過各種路況的旅程. 她雖然不算是最纖細, 但真的是一台舒適, 可靠及穩固的大速克達. 車座椅下的置物處也有很多空間, 加上外加的行李廂, 足足讓我可以裝旅程的行李及相機設備.

很久很久以前,在恐龍紀元....好吧，不完全是,但當時我們還是用傳統底片攝影,Adobe剛剛發布了Photoshop,其實那時不是這麼想成為一個攝影師。我想為電影制作特效,所以在學校選修了電影和媒體,我應該意識到的是Adobe剛剛發布了Photoshop，而這個世界即將因此而改變。簡單來說就是我後來進入攝影行業、離開電影和動態影視,然後再次回到全職攝影,到目前為止幾乎就是這樣了。

A long long time ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth....well, not quite, but we were all still shooting on film, Adobe had just given birth to Photoshop and I had no real desire to be a Photographer. That's right, no real desire to be a Photographer. I wanted to make special effects for film, as a result, I studied Film and Media, what I should have realised was Adobe had just given birth to Photoshop and this world was about to change. Anyway, to cut the story short I moved into photography, away from film and photography, and then back into photography again full time, and that brings us almost up to date.

我說差不多就是這樣，但是科技發展成大家都習慣用手機、平板和電腦查看圖片。印刷媒體, 雖然質感較高, 但相對來說就很落後了。但我相信不久印刷媒體將會再次回到我們生活,這一次會是在頁面上可以移動的圖像。我從不曾認為,攝影已經過了最鼎盛的時期,它是不斷進化和持續成長的,我學習電影制作使我的技能錦上添花,更能為我的客戶提供另一層的服務,當然這也是我客戶曾經詢問過我的服務項目。

I say almost as there has been a development. We all watch and view images on our phones, tablets and computers these days, print media, although some of it is still lovely, is mostly falling behind now. Soon I believe there will be animated paper and magazines will live again, but this time with moving images on the pages. I don't think for one second that photography has had its day, it is evolving and continuing to grow, but I am adding film making to my skill set, something more to offer my clients, and something I have been asked for.

前陣子我們有一次時尚拍攝,我問我當時的助理可不可以幫我拍一些影片,他是一名獲過獎的影片圖像監導，所以我想他會是一個很適合的人。另一點是因為他熟悉我的作品，我想他的拍攝會比較接近我的風格。從這一次經驗我學會了兩件事, 第一，要麼集中精力拍攝，要麼集中精力影片錄制。 第二,如果你想要某個鏡頭用一個特定的方式拍攝,你必須自己動手或直接更緊密關注指導,確保你拍到了你想要的。我可以說第三點, 但其實是我已經知道的, 別人無法從你的角度看相同的事物。最後一點就是我為什麼我會被客戶選上拍攝某些東西, 而另一個攝影師會被選上拍別的東西。 我們都是獨一無二的, 創造和開發屬於自己個人的風格,是每個攝影師的籌碼。

在英國的時候一直聽到 “你必須選一個領域專業, 找出你的獨特特點”. 顯然的你不可以同時當一個商業, 旅遊, 美食, 時尚及其他跨領域的攝影師, 你只可以當一種領域的攝影師? 不可否認的是, 我可以了解像紐約, 巴黎, 倫敦等這些大城市, 這樣的分類可能是因為實在有太多攝影師了. 我在倫敦的時候專心於編輯的肖像, 也探索了一下時尚攝影. 這樣的專心對我來說還蠻有幫助的, 因為我覺得我在肖像攝影這一塊變得蠻強的. 當然我也同時努力在美食與產品攝影, 但大多數的時間還是花在我很喜歡與享受的肖像攝影中.

In the U.K. I heard it said time and time again, "you have to specialise, find your niche". Apparently you can't be a commercial photographer, travel photographer, food photographer, fashion photographer, etc etc, you can only be one kind of photographer. There is no denying that certainly in London, and I expect other major photographic hubs such as New Your and Paris this may be the case due to the concentration of photographers. While I was in London I focused on editorial portraiture and dabbled with fashion, it worked for me and my portrait game became strong as a result of the practice and focus. I did make some effort with food photography and also shooting some product, but mostly concentrated on portraiture which I enjoy a great deal anyway so it was fun.

雖然自己有一個攝影領域專業及特點, 但是我是一個喜歡多元化的人, 也是一個會對自己作品及我的團隊要求頗高的人. 每一張我的作品我都是用當下最大的能力與資源, 拍出最好的作品. 這種雞蛋裡挑骨頭及不斷從錯誤中學習的個性, 讓我能將技巧運用到不同的攝影領域.  領域多元化提供的新鮮度, 也讓我對工作有動力, 維持我的圖像製作靈感來源.

However I do like to diversify and had varied my subjects alongside my chosen "niche". I don't accept half measures from myself, or my team, everything I shoot, I shoot to the best of my ability, no matter what it is. Pushing to see faults, learn and correct them through a range of subjects has undoubtedly enabled me to take knowledge from one discipline and apply it to another. It also keeps me interested and driven in my work, feeling fresh and sustaining my inspiration in image making.

又見面咯，希望你們一切都好。如果你看過我上一篇 “時間都跑到哪了”（如果沒有，那麼去看一看，文章不長，一兩分鐘就能看完），你們就會對我目前朝向時尚攝影方面發展有所瞭解。你也會看到我在時尚拍攝及圖像創作過程中不斷探索，嘗試創新的樂趣。總體來說，整個過程我很開心，同時盡了最大努力推進自己, 讓自己和團隊發揮到最大的學習潛能。然後龍太太對我說了一句話我覺得蠻對的（經常她說的都是對的），“沒參加這個課程前你的作品比較優秀。”她的意思並不是指我的攝影技術問題，而更多的是我有所改變的審美問題。儘管我覺得我對燈光、攝像機和團隊協作的掌控有所進步，但是我嘗試了不連貫的路線。這樣的嘗試本身而言是沒有害的，但我是一名專業的攝影師, 這些實驗並沒有產生實際的價值。所以，雖然在技術上我進步了，但是我把很多事情複雜化，迷失了一點方向。

Hello again, I hope you are well and all that good stuff. If you read my last blog (I hope you did, and if you didn't, well off you go, read it and we will see you back here in a minute or two, it's short don't stress.), you will be kind of up to speed with my move toward the fashion world. You'll have seen I got experimental and enjoyed myself exploring my capabilities and understanding of image making. Basically I had been having fun and pushing myself, my team and my learning curve close to the max. Then Mrs. L said something to me, and she was right (as is often the case). She said, "your work was better before you started this course.". She didn't mean technically, more aesthetically, I had veered somewhat. Although I felt my skills with lighting, my cameras, and directing my team were better, I had drifted off down some path of incoherent experimentation. In itself, this is no bad thing, but it doesn't bring the bread in, and I am a professional after all. So, yes I had grown as a photographer, but I had also been over complicating things, and loosing direction. 

既然決定了要多拍攝商業性時尚攝影，我知道我必須考慮產品及其代表的時尚流行。當然，我也不會放棄了人物肖像拍攝，因為我喜歡與人一起工作，並為他們拍攝。當然拍實驗性質的創造作品也是不錯的， 但應該是在我有時間, 不然就是當一個具有創造性刊物允許我這樣做的時候吧。

Having decided I want to shoot more commercial fashion, I know I must think about the product, the fashion. Of course I will continue with my love of portraiture, I guess I like to work with and photograph people. It is also good to shoot more experimental creative work, but on my time, or when a more creative publication allows me to really go for it.

我想這樣生活也會比較簡單點吧...

很難相信，一年已經悄悄地過去了。我坐在電腦前做照片處理，正準備寫點東西的時候，我看到了這張照片（幾周前在香港拍的），我才意識到距離我上一次寫部落格已經過去一年了。如果你翻看一下我以前的部落格文章，你就會看到我上一次寫的文章是去年在香港寫的，照片也是去年在香港拍的。

It is hard to believe, but a whole year has slipped by since I managed to get my butt in front of my machine, take a few minutes away from processing and write to you all. It started with this photograph I made in Hong Kong a few weeks ago, that's when I realised it had been a year since I last wrote my blog. If you look at my previous blog you will see images of Hong Kong as that was where I was when I last wrote.

The view of Hong Kong from our Air BnB apartment in Sai Ying Pun. 在Air BnB提供的西營盤周邊的公寓內拍攝的香港全景

去年我為《國家地理旅行者》的任務騎遊臺灣各個地方；也到了上海、北京赴約商業拍攝工作；為國家地理旅行者的任務去了一次新加坡；為一家鞋業公司拍攝產品手冊；作品也登上了台灣《時尚芭莎》臺北時裝周特刊的封面照片；完成了Nick Knight課程，並竭盡全力去加強我的時尚攝影能力；為三陽機車新品Jet S系列機車拍攝宣傳活動；回到中國為國家地理旅行者拍攝照片；成為富士X攝影師；與Cactus Imaging合作開發攝影設備；甚至我還抽出一些時間去峇厘島度了假。把去年完成的事情一一列出來之後覺得去年還過的蠻充實的。還有一些新客戶讓我工作更穩定了一些.

那麼七月份已經過去了，然而我和 龍太太此刻在香港。為了工作的事情，她已經連續兩周像無頭蒼蠅一樣亂轉了，為了防止她因此而快要瘋掉，我決定與她結伴一起。

來到香港與其一個人無聊的坐著轉拇指，我寧願儘量多花時間拜訪攝影代理和編輯，或拍些肖像作品，當然，我還要與住在這個瘋狂的城市裏的朋友們敘敘舊。

這次來到香港，Airbnb 再次為我們提供了非常棒的公寓，這一次恰好住在半山腰，旁邊有自動扶梯。如果你還沒有去過香港，我告訴你有一個地方叫半山自動扶梯，聽說是世界上最長的自動扶梯。實際上它是一系列的自動扶梯，從皇后大道、中心區到幹德道，並一路帶你至半山。準確地說，它覆蓋的就是世界上最長的自動扶梯(我敢打賭，它的某個地方可能正在喘氣呢)。

從公寓向外展望的風景是令人神往的，儘管相隔幾分鐘窗外風景瞬息萬變，怎麼看都不厭煩。正如你們看到的，我也拍出了許多不同景色的照片。香港天氣條件和光線條件多變，一天幾乎都不會重複第二遍。

                      富士X-E2拍攝, 使用內建全景功能 

Created using my Fujifilm X-E2 and it's in-built Pano feature

大家好。

是的，我個人的新網站終於塵埃落定。最近幾個月太忙了，我把網站的事情放在了一邊，然而隨著我與Behance ProSite的合約快到期了，我必須被迫處理這事情。當然，我花了一些時間在研究哪個網站更好。我的基本要求就是易於使用，介面乾淨、簡單，方便大家參與。最終，我從Squarespace選定了一個網址，希望你們會喜歡我的選擇，也歡迎隨時與我聯繫。

Hello.

Yep, it has finally arrived, my brand new website. The couple of busy months I had put it on a back burner, however I was forced into addressing the situation as my time with Behance ProSite was due to come to an end. Of course had spent some time looking around researching the best options for me. Basically easy to use, with a clean and simple interface for all involved, eventually I have settled on a site from Squarespace, hopefully you will agree with my choice, feel free to let me know.

許多讀過我部落格的人都知道我很榮幸地被邀請為英國國家地理雜誌旅行者(以下簡稱NGTUK)攝影比賽的評委。被人們高度推崇的地理雜誌邀請為評委，這是對一個攝影師的攝影水準和技巧的真正認可，也是很難得的經歷，我越想越覺得驕傲。我很感謝NGTUK給我這個機會，感謝一路上一直支持我的人，感謝至今影響著我的好導師，羅傑·西克曼，雖然他已經不在了，但對我來說，他是一個偉大的導師。

Many of you who have been reading my blogs will already know that I had the honour of being asked to judge The National Geographic Traveller UK (NGTUK) Photography Competition. The more I think about this, the more proud I am that I had this experience, that my level of photography and skill as a photographer is considered high enough to be able to judge other peoples work and in such a highly regarded publication. I would like to say a big thank you to all at NGTUK for this opportunity, all those who have supported me along this path, and a special recognition to Roger Hickman who is sadly no longer with us, but influences me still, he was a great Tutor.

今年的聖誕節與新年是在英國過的. 下禮拜的文章會跟你們分享在英國拍的自然景觀照. 今年真的蠻冷的, 還下了一些雪! 冬天和徐的光, 外頭雖然冷冽, 但非常值得我勇敢地在外頭拍攝. 

Christmas and New Year was spent in the UK, I will write more on that in a week or so as I am working through the landscapes I made whilst there. We had lovely crisp winter light and even a bit of snow, it's been a while since I was braving the cold to make a shot but it was well worth it.

我很高興回到台灣了, 放假四周其實也非常夠了. 好險之前有安排了一些回來的工作, 今年看樣子也是會蠻忙碌的. 我喜歡這樣, 期待與新的客戶工作及舊客戶繼續配合.