龍先生的攝影日記: 英國攝影師台灣生活點滴紀錄

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.

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.

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.