游戏霓虹 迷失东京

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Capturing neon-lit Tokyo through a game designer's eyes

游戏设计师眼中东京的霓虹异色

Ghostly figures with umbrellas swarm across a brightly lit street in rainy Tokyo. A solitary bar shines out from a dark, deserted alleyway in shades of saturated violet and turquoise.

阴雨绵绵的东京，一群打着伞的幽灵在灯火通明的街道上蜂拥而过。黑暗荒芜的小巷深处，幽幽闪烁着酒吧灯光，充斥着饱和的紫色和绿松石色。

These cyberpunk-style photos, reminiscent of Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner," are the work of British photographer and video game designer Liam Wong, who has spent the last three years capturing nocturnal Tokyo.

过去三年，英国摄影师兼电子游戏设计师Liam Wong一直在拍摄夜间的东京，这些朋克科幻风格的照片是他的作品，让人想起Ridley Scott的《银翼杀手》。

Now, his striking images are set to be published in a new book, "TO:KY:OO," after a recent crowdfunding drive raised over £140,000 ($182,000) -- more than four times its initial target.

如今，即将出版的新书《to:KY:OO》中收录了他这些震撼人心的图片。这些图片在最近的一次众筹活动中为书的出版筹集到了超过14万英镑(18.2万美元)，是最初目标的四倍多。

As the youngest director at the games giant Ubisoft, Wong has helped create visually striking video games, including titles from the critically acclaimed "Far Cry" franchise. Hoping to bring his game designer's eye to photography, he purchased his first professional camera in 2015, after visiting Tokyo with the firm the previous year.

作为游戏巨头育碧软件最年轻的总监，Liam Wong开发了一系列极具视觉冲击力的电子游戏，包括广受好评的《孤岛惊魂》系列。Wong早年和公司走访了东京以后，在2015年购买了自己的第一台专业相机，希望以游戏设计师的眼光来进行摄影创作。

Wong's background in computer arts is reflected in his technical approach to photography. Using software like Photoshop and After Effects, he enhances the sharpness and saturation of his images to produce a cinematic look inspired by figures such as Syd Mead, the visionary designer behind "Blade Runner," and Hideo Kojima, creator of iconic games like "Snatcher" and "Metal Gear Solid."

Wong对摄影的后期处理能力反映了他的计算机技术背景。他用PS和AE等软件提高了图像的清晰度和饱和度，创造出一种电影效果。这个灵感来自很多人，包括《银翼杀手》的设计师Syd Mead，《天外魔花》、《合金装备》等经典游戏的创作者小岛秀夫。

"As a graphic designer, I was directing the look and feel (of the game), creating something from the use of color and play of hue," said Wong in a phone interview. "Leaning on my games background, I was able to break down what made each image, the use of color and the composition of the shots."

Wong在接受电话采访时说：“作为一名平面设计师，我一直在主导(游戏的)外观和感觉，用颜色和色调来营造一些场景感觉，就我这些年做游戏的经验，我能够分析出每张图片的构成、颜色的分解和镜头的组成。”

With Tokyo being one of the world's most photographed places, Wong tried to establish a distinct aesthetic by focusing on the city's back alleys, which he often shot after dark.

东京是世界上最上镜的旅游胜地之一，Wong想通过聚焦城市后街来创造一种独特的审美，于是他经常在天黑后拍摄后街。

"What makes (my photography) almost niche is Tokyo at night -- every picture would be taken pretty much after midnight. When I started, I put little timestamps in the caption and it became almost like a signature for my Instagram posts," he said.

“我的作品的标志性独特风格就是午夜的东京——每一张照片都差不多是在午夜之后拍摄的。刚开始的时候，我在标题中添加了一些时间戳，这几乎成为我Instagram的个人标志，”他说。

"The neon lights are great, because when it rains they reflect (the light)," he said. And as someone who plays with lights and colors, that's a perfect combination."

他说:“霓虹灯很酷，因为下雨天水塘会反射它们(的光)。作为一个喜欢在灯光和色彩上做文章的人，下雨天和霓虹灯简直就是珠联璧合。”

From Akihabara, a Tokyo neighborhood known for electronics and manga, to the red light district of Shinjuku, Wong's images offer a new perspective on familiar parts of the Japanese capital. But he would also take the last train out to lesser-known parts of the city, walking around with his camera until the trains started up again in the early morning.

从以电子产品和漫画闻名的东京秋叶原，到新宿的红灯区，Wong拍摄的京都热门地区呈现了全新视角。但他也会坐火车末班车去一些不太为人所知的地区，带着相机四处走动，直到清晨，乘上火车首班车离去。

"I initially made a map of Tokyo," recalled Wong. "I'd find the spots that I've never been to, find them on Google Maps, and then write a little note (on it)."

“一开始我画了一张东京的地图，”Wong回忆说。“我会圈出我从未去过的地方，在谷歌地图上找到它们，然后(在上面)写一个备忘录。”

One of Wong's favorite shots from the forthcoming book depicts a taxi driver and a solo female passenger behind him. The photographer recalled his luck capturing the image as he made his way to a hotel through the rain.

在这本即将出版的书中，Wong最喜欢的镜头之一拍的是一名出租车司机和后座的女乘客。回忆起有一次他在雨中的路上抓拍到的这一瞬间，他觉得自己太幸运了。

"Hordes of businessmen fill the streets on the hunt for the nearest Izakaya," Wong explained on his Instagram, referring to a type of Japanese pub popular among post-work drinkers. "At the same moment, a cab zips past in front of me. Without hesitation, I take the shot. Capturing in a fraction of a second what I am unable to see with my own eyes."

“成群结队的白领涌现在街头，寻觅附近的居酒屋，”wong在Instagram上解释道，居酒屋是日本的一种酒吧，经常喝酒的人下班以后就喜欢去这种酒吧。“与此同时，一辆出租车很快地在我面前开过。我毫不犹豫的按下了快门，拍下了我肉眼无法捕捉到的这一瞬间。”

Rain is a recurring feature of Wong's photography -- as are transparent umbrellas, which he notices people using in Tokyo more than in other cities around the world. "I just love taking photos through them or taking photos of people with them." His eerie aesthetic is further enhanced through the use of silhouettes, with the photographer preferring to capture people's backs, rather than their faces.

下雨天反复出现在Wong的作品中，透明雨伞也是。他发现全世界最爱用透明雨伞的就是东京人。“我就是喜欢透过透明伞拍照，或者拍撑伞的人。”通过灵活运用剪影，他的作品呈现的审美变得更加怪异了。比起拍人的正脸，他更喜欢拍人的背面。

"As they are walking, I'll take multiple rapid shots," he explained. "It's such a video game thing, but I'll find the right thumbnail afterwards and go for what I want."

“他们走过时，我会飞快拍几张照片”，他解释说，“这搞的真像个游戏，但我之后会找到合适的缩略图，然后得到我想要的效果。”

文章来源 ：CNN

图片来源：CNN、百度

编译：顾贝盈、李藜

排版：陈雨昕

指导老师：刘佳