灵性之美——麦柯里的动物摄影

Steve McCurry has achieved legendary status with his documentary photography, and is perhaps best known for his portrait of the "Afghan Girl" with the piercing green eyes published in 1985.

史蒂芬·麦柯里（Steve McCurry）凭借他的纪实摄影荣登传奇地位。最有名的作品或许就是1985年出版的《阿富汗女孩》，作品中的女孩有着一双富有穿透力的绿眼睛。

But the influential American photographer, who has built his career around his daring coverage of armed conflict, has a lesser known passion: animals.

They are the subject of a new book simply called "Steve McCurry. Animals," published by Taschen.

虽然以大胆报道武装冲突为事业，但这位极具影响力的美国摄影师有着一个鲜为人知的爱好：拍摄动物。由Taschen出版的新书《史蒂芬麦柯里.动物》，便是一本以动物为主体的影集。

The book compiles the photographer's favorite photos, from cats in Myanmar to camels in Jordan.

新书汇集了摄影师最喜欢的照片，拍摄对象小到缅甸的猫咪，大到约旦的骆驼。

"Animals are one of my favorite subjects to shoot; they are completely unpredictable."

“动物是我最喜欢的拍摄对象之一；它们相当难捉摸。”

"Animals are in constant motion, have a mind of their own and rarely pay any attention to directions from a photographer. Understanding animal behavior is essential to making good animal photographs, just as understanding human behavior can help with taking someone's portrait," he said.

“动物总是在不断地运动，它们有自己的想法，也很少留意摄影师的方位。要拍出好的动物作品关键在于要了解动物的行为，就像拍摄人像一样，理解人们的行为更有助于此。”他说。

The idea of photographing animals and people has been on McCurry's mind since he started out as a young photographer. His sister gifted him his first photo book, a collection of pictures of dogs and their owners by Elliott Erwitt, titled "Son of Bitch”

麦柯里在他年轻时，就产生了拍摄动物和人的想法。他的第一本摄影集是姐姐送给他的，叫《狗崽子》，里面收录了摄影师Elliott Erwitt拍摄的狗与主人的照片。

"It was the first time I saw a book on animals with humor, pathos and wonderful storytelling," he said.

“这是我第一次看到一本有关动物的书，它讲述了很多或幽默或伤感，但都精彩万分的故事。”他回忆说。

Tourists lounge poolside as an elephant passes in Bentota, Sri Lanka. 1995. Credit: © 2019 Steve McCurry, Long Island City, NY

The images in McCurry's new book take readers on a visual journey from Asia to South America, North America and Europe. Many of the photos include human subjects, but those that don't hint at the presence of humans, or at least what they've left behind.

麦柯里新书中的作品给读者带来了一场视觉之旅，从亚洲到南美、北美和欧洲。许多照片中都有人物，但它们并无刻意暗示人类的存在，至少没有特意指出人类行为造成的后果。

One of the most striking shots, winner of the 1992 World Press Photo award, was taken in Kuwait at the end of the first Gulf War. It shows three camels looking for food and water while a massive fire rages in the background. Former Iraq president Saddam Hussein had ordered his soldiers to set oil fields alight, creating an ecological disaster.

其中最引人注目的一张照片，拍摄于第一次海湾战争结束时的科威特。它在1992年荣获世界新闻摄影奖。作品中，三只骆驼在寻找食物和水源，而背后是蔓延的熊熊战火。这场生态灾难源于伊拉克前总统萨达姆·侯赛为占领科威特而命令士兵点燃其油田。

Camels and Oil Fields. Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, 1991. Credit: © 2019 Steve McCurry, Long Island City, NY

"Working in Kuwait in the aftermath of the first Gulf War was a surreal and unforgettable experience," said McCurry. "There were 600 oil fields burning, panicked and starved animals were wandering about, and the landscape was dotted with dead Iraqi soldiers.

麦柯里回忆：“第一次海湾战争后，在科威特的工作经历是超现实而又难忘的。当时有600个油田在燃烧，那些惊慌失措和饥肠辘辘的动物们四处游荡，遍地都是死去的伊拉克士兵”

"It was heartbreaking to see these animals, which we were supposed to be guardians of. Those animals that escaped slaughter were abandoned and left to wander the streets looking for food and shelter."

“看到这些动物真是令人心碎，我们本该是它们的保护者。那些逃过屠宰的动物被遗弃于大街，四处寻找着食物和避难所。”

McCurry's collection extends far beyond war zones, to designer dogs in Beverly Hills, race horses in Hong Kong and goats in northern Pakistan.

One he particularly likes is that of a novice monk studying Buddhist writings in the late afternoon at a monastery in Aranyaprathet, Thailand, near the border with Cambodia.

麦柯里的摄影作品远远不止战争地带，还有来自比弗利山的时尚狗狗，香港的赛马和巴基斯坦北部的山羊。他特别喜欢的一幅作品拍摄于泰国与柬埔寨边境的阿兰雅普拉泰。照片记录了傍晚时分，一位小沙弥在寺庙学习佛经的画面。

© 2019 Steve McCurry, Long Island City, NY

"I watched the changing light as the monks went about both the mundane and sacred duties of their day. With the simple use of wood and fabric, of shades of saffron from mustard gold to deep orange, their environment was serene. The patient cat completed the scene of contemplation and peace," he said.

他这样描绘这幅作品：“我观察着光线的变化，僧侣们履行着他们日常又神圣的职责。周围简单地摆放着一些木制品与织物，在光与影的衬托下，藏红花色调从芥末金变幻到深橙色，四周一片祥和。那只耐心的猫咪使这份深沉与安详更趋于完美。”

The wide range of countries and cultures represented in the images reflect different cultural attitudes towards animals and pets.

影集涵盖了许多国家和文化，也折射出不同文化对动物和宠物的态度。

A man walks with a herd of sheep near Magdeburg, in the former German Democratic Republic, DDR, 1989. Credit: © 2019 Steve McCurry, Long Island City, NY

"Many of us believe that dogs are man's best friends, but in some cultures they are viewed as dirty and unclean. In other cultures, dogs are even a delicacy," McCurry said.

“我们大多数人都认为狗是人类最好的朋友，但是在某些文化中，人们却认为狗是肮脏的、邪恶的。甚至在另一些文化中，狗成了盘中物。”

"Cows are sacred in India, but in other parts of the world, beef symbolizes pride in their cattle industry. These disparities are often difficult to understand, but it is important to understand the sensibility and sensitivities in each geographic region, in order to have a full understanding of the local culture."

McCurry hopes, too, that his images will inspire a greater respect for animals, and a desire to address the dire predictions of mass extinction caused by human activity.

“牛在印度是神圣的，但在世界的其他地方，牛肉是养牛业值得自豪的事物。我们往往很难理解这些差异的存在，但要真正了解当地文化，理解每个地理区域的文化敏感性是非常重要的。”麦柯里也希望他的照片能激起人们对动物更多的尊重，让那些可怕的预言不再出现，动物不会因人类活动而大规模灭绝。

"This is an unimaginable catastrophe, but one that is sadly coming to fruition. We are losing species every year; wildlife is being decimated to the point where in a few years some species will cease to exist in their natural habitats." 

“这是一场无法想象的灾难，但可悲的是，它或将来临。我们每年都有物种在灭绝，野生动物也正遭受着灭顶之灾，几年后一些物种将在它们的自然栖息地消失。”

A snow monkey in Jigokudani Yaen-koen park, Japan, 2018. Credit: © 2019 Steve McCurry, Long Island City, NY

His comments about the climate crisis suggest a certain exasperation about the lack of action by governments worldwide to address the problem. He believes inaction on climate will lead to other alarming consequences for both people and animals.

当谈到气候危机时，他有些恼怒，他觉得世界各国政府对解决这个问题缺乏行动力。他认为，在气候问题上的不作为，将给人类和动物带来其他骇人的后果。

"The warming climate is a major driver that is exacerbating the effects of overfishing, widespread pesticide use, pollution and urban expansion into the natural world," he said.

“气候变暖是加剧过度捕捞、滥用杀虫剂、污染和城市侵占自然界等情况的主要原因。”他说。

A Mahout and his elephant at a sanctuary. Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2010. Credit: © 2019 Steve McCurry, Long Island City, NY

The book contains almost no text. The large images are only captioned with the place and date, and rarely interspersed with quotes from the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson, Immanuel Kant and William Shakespeare. Only at the end of the book readers can find a more detailed caption for each image with a few words on its background.

这本书几乎没有正文。大图只注释了地点和日期，很少穿插诸如罗伯特·路易斯·史蒂芬、伊曼纽尔·康德和威廉·莎士比亚等名言。只有在书的最后，读者才能找到一些详细的图品说明和文字背景。

"I think people see a picture and make up their own story, a fantasy about the meaning of the image," explained McCurry.

"And sometimes their own interpretation is actually more interesting than the actual story."

麦柯里解释：“我想人们在看到照片时，自己会编造属于它们的故事，琢磨其背后的意义。”

“其实有时候，读者自己的解读会比故事本身来得更有趣。”

A man reads the newspaper with his dog outside a restaurant in Rome, Italy, 1994. Credit: © 2019 Steve McCurry, Long Island City, NY

来源：https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/steve-mccurry-animal-photography/index.html