年前我收到读库出版的《摄影师手册：玛格南成员大卫·赫恩谈艺录》 ¹，是英国摄影师大卫·赫恩与相片编辑比尔·杰伊的对话录。

这里是我作的提纲和摘录。笔记的题名中我用了三个“专业”。大卫·赫恩年轻时在时尚电影业的收入丰厚，他的个人作品发表在一流刊物，被一流摄影师团体接纳为成员，赫恩一生最爱专业摄影师这个角色。大卫·赫恩中年开创摄影课，当了十八年教师，培养出众多杰出的摄影师，可以说赫恩能专业地谈摄影。原书的英文标题直译是《论作为一个摄影师》，本书对专业摄影师讲话，不是面向大众，没有多少摄影技巧，却有不少专业精神的探讨。

这本八万字的小书分为声明，核心和补记三部分。声明部分有三章。杰伊首先交待了本书定位与成书过程，让读者明确预期。接着他介绍了主要作者的职业路径以及性格特点，让读者与对谈的人建立信任。接着两位作者又用一章的篇幅讨论几个容易混淆的称谓，一方面收窄范畴，另一方面减少误会。核心部分的四章谈摄影师的日常工作：关注主题，拍到关键那张，检讨相片和编辑组照。后记部分三章里，谈相机的选择与磨合，回应对纪实摄影未来的焦虑，最后重点澄清专业摄影师的九个迷惑。

我读的是中文，脉络提纲也用中文；我找到了英文原书的的 PDF，摘要就用英文。这本书翻译得顺，没有翻译腔，但难懂的地方，得读原文。原文英文很好，你看到就知道。

INTRODUCTION

这本对话录引导人成为合格的摄影师，聚焦于通用的基本原则。赫恩与杰伊分别从实践与理论两个方向出发，观点却在多年交往中汇合到同一条河。

非彼手册

【可操作性有不同方向和层次。技术和流程是一种，原则和个性也是一种。】

We have attempted to summarize our agreements on what we consider the fundamental characteristics of the medium and how they can be employed by photographers for more effective growth as imagemakers and as human beings.

In that sense this is a how-to-do-it book, although it is not about technology or processes. It is a book on how to think and act like a photographer, culled from practical experience and from the lives of many fine² photographers of the past and present. We have concentrated on the common denominators in these approaches to the medium in order to discover basic principles which can be employed by all photographers in whatever band of the photographic spectrum they reside.

求同存异

【君子和而不同。只这“和”的部分，对大众的帮助就够大了。】

Our opinions, attitudes and ways of thinking, although originating from widely different perspectives — David’s from professional practice, Bill’s from history and criticism — merge into a seamless whole.

…

This is not to imply that we agree on everything. Nevertheless, we have emphasized our agreements in the belief that they are more likely to provide practical solutions for photographers.

增补成书

【对话有张力，但直接变成书有点草率，应该用其它材料增补，保持对话形式。】

In order to provide the basic text for this book we taped 12 hours of conversation, which were supplemented by published writings by both of us, letters back and forth, and a discussion of the first drafts. We offer the conversation in the hope and conviction that photographers can lead lives more charged with meaning through the application of these principles.

生活之上

【把自己（的工作/作品）放到更大的意义之网中去。】

True, this is a book about photography — but photography is about life. We both agree with the psychologist Abraham Maslow that the purpose of life is to become actually what we are potentially. We believe photography offers an ideal vehicle towards this destination.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID HURN

逻辑脉络

杰伊说赫恩对他亦师亦友。杰伊承认赫恩有流派，但他相信求同存异的讨论对所有摄影师都有帮助。

EARLY LIFE 赫恩 1934 年出生于英格兰，却是一个威尔士人。他有阅读障碍，难以参加笔试，当不成兽医。赫恩靠田径优秀进了军校，重走他父亲的路。

FIRST PHOTOGRAPHS 在军校为了获准外出，赫恩参加摄影俱乐部。自己拍摄让赫恩对别人的作品更上心，苏联军官带妻子买帽子的照片让他感到摄影触及本真的力量，也让他转身反战。军校与赫恩两不适合。

REFLEX 从军校退学，赫恩到伦敦百货站柜台，研究摄影。在布列松的影展上，赫恩对照片的态度，吸引了一位摄影师的注意。赫恩受邀参加小机构从事商业摄影，主要是用长焦拍皇室成员。

HUNGARY 1956 年布达佩斯之春，赫恩与室友冒险进入匈牙利。在著名记者的指点和引荐下，赫恩的照片发表于英国一流媒体。回国后，赫恩全职摄影，很快有了机构客户，进入良性竞争的同行圈。

RUSSIA 1957 年赫恩去苏联拍摄家庭生活，回程到芬兰报道了西贝柳斯的葬礼。

FILM AND FASHION 赫恩的朋友圈给了他机会的链条。从咖啡馆起，到电影，到时尚，到广告，短短几年里，赫恩变富了，有房有车有老婆孩子，最重要是有闲（在 1000 天里只有 80 天工作）。

SUBCULTURES 六十年代赫恩拍摄了非主流文化，声名鹊起。

MAGNUM PHOTOS 1967 年赫恩正式加入了玛格南图片社。赫恩拍照的状态吸引了智利的同行，后者把他引荐给玛格南伦敦的图片代理：希勒尔森。

PERSONAL CONTACT 杰伊在 1967 年遇到赫恩，深受其影响。杰伊住到赫恩高朋满座的公寓里，还在赫恩的办公室编杂志，到 1972 年杰伊仿美才分开。

WALES 1972 年，赫恩决定回到威尔士过露营生活一年，机缘巧合地开创了纪实摄影课。一流摄影师自然而然的经验，却成了独一无二的课程。到 1990 年，大卫当了十八年老师。

BACK TO PHOTOGRAPHY 1990 年赫恩辞去了固定工作，回归全职摄影。当年的盛名不再，主题自己定，钱也得自己找。大卫学用新器材，学习别人的技术，还是尽力做到最好。

THE PERSON 上面介绍的是赫恩作为摄影师的身分，读者还有必要了解他作为人的个性。赫恩在工作环境中毫不起眼，人找他聊天他温和可亲，其实赫恩时刻专注于拍摄对象。赫恩自律却不挑剔。深谈之后你才知道赫恩的有原则，内核坚实。赫恩对摄影媒介的态度是感恩：神授此术，当精益求精，将作品返还天下。

七年精华半分钟定性

Thirty years ago I first showed David Hurn my photographs, the results of more than seven years of struggle to be a photographer. It took him about 30 seconds to look through the lot and deliver his judgment: boring. “Derivative,” he said. “You won’t make it.”

We have been friends ever since.

难能可贵的不是批评而是背后的真爱

And he has continued to be my goad[^instrument hense urges], my conscience⁴, my adviser and, best of all, my fiercest critic. Do you know how rare, how valuable, is such a friend, whose devastating frankness is wholly welcome because it is abundantly evident that such criticism taps the wellsprings of love and not competitiveness, petty jealousies or self-aggrandizement?

你问我答，可以不听

Of course, I do not always agree with his opinions or follow his advice and, even here, in the spurning of his best intentions, David Hurn is supportive, as if to say: “He asked for my opinion; I gave it my best shot; but the decision is his to make.”

这导师的指点不失于含蓄和泛泛

Nowhere else that I know of will photographers meet in print a mentor who can or will speak with such directness and relevancy to the step-by-step issues which are always present in the medium, but rarely discussed.

有纲的人有啥值得大家学的

Perhaps I should be equally direct with the reader. David Hurn, like any other great photographer, has an agenda which is not at all hidden. He believes passionately in a particular approach to the medium — his approach. He advocates a very specific way of thinking and working as a photographer because he has committed his professional life to a singular band of the photographic spectrum, what he would call reportage, or eye-witness photography. It is therefore fair to ask: just how relevant is this book to photographers who intend to reside in any one of the other multi-hued bands of the spectrum which together make up the medium we call photography?

I would assert its relevance and usefulness to all photographers for many reasons, among which would include: the importance of clear thinking in developing an intellectual rationale for any method of working; the emphasis that the subject, the thing itself, is the genesis of all types of photography; the insistence that a clarity of vision is aided by clarity of mind; the greater appreciation of other photographers’ work which comes from understanding their philosophical underpinnings (even photographers are viewers of photographs as much as takers and makers); the assertion that humanism is inseparable from art, however defined or created; the demonstration that there is no substitute, in any endeavor, for commitment and hard work.

朋友圈的精神内核

Nevertheless, it is true that David Hurn’s commentary will be of special relevance to photographers who believe that there is no greater thrill or satisfaction (or frustration) than confronting people and places, and, from that heady, chaotic flux of life, selecting images of direct simple beauty and truthfulness.

作威尔士人很重要

David Hurn was born in Redhill, Surrey, England, on 21 July 1934. Technically, therefore, he is an Englishman — but that is a quirk⁵ of circumstances. By genes, temperament and choice he is a Welshman, from his primary school education in Cardiff to his present home in Tintern, where he lives in a 600-year-old stone cottage overlooking the river Wye, backed by continuous falls of water trickling over and around the steep banks of his terraced garden. A short walk down river are the ruins of the early 12th-century Tintern Abbey, celebrated by William Wordsworth in his famous poem of 1798.

有问题是好事，但最好别听业余建议

David bought a cheap little how-to-do-it book (probably one of the Focal Guides so popular at the time) and taught himself the rudiments of photography. He still believes in the efficacy of this solitary education. “In my opinion there are two efficient ways to learn: apprentice yourself to a top professional or teach yourself. The problem with photography is that everyone does it, believes he/she does it well (and would do it better if only he/she could buy a better camera or take more time off) and so this individual produces bad pictures because he/she is doing everything wrong but passes on bad advice out of ignorance. The problem with receiving bad advice is that you do not realize that the advice is bad when you are a beginner, and the bad habits become ingrained and very, very difficult to remove. My advice is: learn from the best or teach yourself. And do not bother at all if you do not have an exaggerated sense of curiosity.”

自带气质招人待见

David’s intensity of focus on the images attracted the attention of another visitor on that day, and Michael Peto, already a leading British photographer, introduced himself to the earnest young man. Peto was a charming Hungarian, and, in his still-thick European accent, began talking about pictures — and asked to see David’s efforts, after which he offered his help.

Peto was in the perfect position to help a young photographer.

从顶点起步也不是不可以

“There’s nothing like starting your photographic career at the top!,” says David. He is self-deprecating about his luck but the fact remains that he did make the effort to get to the situation and he did shoot pictures which were acceptable to the top picture journals of the world.

当年的照片是一个个钩子

As a consequence, practically all David’s coverage of the Hungarian Revolution has been lost; he has been able to find only three prints from which he has made copy negatives. “The loss of my work is largely the reason why my memory is so hazy of this period in my life. I can vividly recall the situations surrounding those three images, but not much else. Contact sheets would have acted as powerful memory triggers, bringing back with full clarity the thoughts, feelings, as well as the sights, of those days.”

同行当然竞争却没有敌意

He would keep meeting the same small group of enthusiastic young photographers at many of the events, and they became fast friends as well as rivals. “I do not remember any animosity,” says David, “only cooperation which spurred growth in us all.”

代表作高大上又省钱

It seemed a good idea to explore this new field. But fashion photographers need a portfolio, preferably using top talent, because David believes that a fashion photographer is only as good as his models. The trick would be to shoot pictures of top models without having to pay enormous fees. This is where Charlton Heston, perhaps unwittingly, could help. He had offered David the use of his New York apartment.

时尚广告养活自己省功夫

David reckons that during this three- to four- year period he actually shot a maximum of 80 days in the fashion/advertising field.

混咖啡馆才是名山正业

The coffee-bar scene was also the genesis for many of the ideas with which David’s persona as a photographer will always be associated. Most of his commercial work was published without credit, so it was these black-and-white personal projects which were raising his stature among fellow photographers. Today, these projects would collectively be called essays on alternative lifestyles or subcultures.

玛格南是精英共同体

All this frenetic activity of the early 60s served to establish his reputation as one of Britain’s premier photographers. In 1967, he was awarded the highest accolade for reportage work: he was invited to join the prestigious photographic cooperative, Magnum Photos Inc. Magnum had been formed in 1947 by Henri Cartier- Bresson, Robert Capa, David ‘Chim’ Seymour and George Rodger as an exclusive agency, owned and operated by the photographers themselves, so they could work on serious, humanitarian projects without loss of control to publishers. Membership would be by unanimous⁶ decision of all Magnum photographers. In a sense, Magnum was — and remains — an elitist club of the world’s top photojournalists. Certainly, David’s invitation to join was a major milestone in his photographic life.

How this occurred also fits the pattern of chance which David would admit has played such a major role in his career: “My whole life has been a succession of bizarre coincidences.” This one took place in Trafalgar Square where David was shooting pictures. He was noticed by another photographer, Sergio Larraín, a Magnum photographer based in Chile. Larraín could see that this youngster was shooting pictures correctly and invited him for coffee. “This idea fascinates me,” says David; “the idea that a few seconds of watching a photographer in action can tell you his/her status in the medium. And it’s true. If you watch a photographer of merit working an event he/she does not look like an amateur … ” After Larraín had seen David’s work, he suggested that the young photographer should link up with John Hillelson, a London picture agent who just happened to distribute Magnum’s images in Britain.

David is quick⁷ to give Hillelson a great deal of credit for his future career. “He was a major, major influence in my life. He acted as my advisor, editor and critic, but more crucial in many ways was that he expanded my horizons. Up to then I had been blinkered in my scope, publishing primarily in the British press. Hil- lelson opened up the world and my images began appearing in overseas journals such as Paris Match (France) and Stern (Germany). In addition through Hillelson I began to meet all the Magnum members. So I already was linked to Magnum long before I was asked to join, in that I knew the photographers personally and was already being represented by their agent.” David Hurn became an associate member of Magnum Photos in 1965 and a full member in 1967.

I had no idea, of course, that a seemingly casual request would change my life so markedly. As I listened to him answer my questions, it is no exaggeration to say that a sort of epiphany occurred. In his clarity of thinking, his direct approach to the medium, and his forceful utterances, I recognized a perfect template for my own, much hazier and unformed, opinions and attitudes. It was after the interview was concluded that I asked if I could come back and show him my own photographs — with the result that opened this introduction.

Yes, his quick dismissal of my images was disturbing and hurtful, but not as much as you might expect. I think that deep down, I knew what he said was true: I would not make a successful photojournalist. Subsequently we talked about what my role in the medium could and should be, and whatever I did thereafter I felt David’s presence and guidance within me. He was my silent partner in editorial decision-making, first at Creative Camera and then at Album, in organizing lectures for young photographers, in preparing exhibitions, in writing articles for journals other than my own, in hustling to gain acceptance for photography within the tradition-bound arts establishment.

I remember those days with gratitude and fondness, and could write endlessly about these encounters and conversations. But the danger of digression must be avoided, as this introduction is about David himself.

The School of Documentary Photography, located within Gwent College of Higher Educa- tion at Newport in South Wales, was a major success, becoming the most respected course of its kind in the world. David Hurn’s talent for organization, clarity of thinking and seeing, and professionalism were now channeled to his students, many of whom have become major figures in the medium.

His photographs were also achieving recogni- tion by institutions and philanthropic industries and he became the recipient of many awards, including the Welsh Arts Council (1971); Kodak Bursary (1975); the UK/US Bicentennial Fel- lowship (1979-80), which David spent with me in Arizona; Imperial War Museum Arts Award (1987-88); and many others, including his first monograph: David Hurn: Photographs 1956-1976, published by The Arts Council of Great Britain, with an introduction by Sir Tom Hopkinson, the legendary editor of Picture Post during its glory years in the 40s.

The problem is that I have no desire to be shot at, no desire to sit at the end of a car phone hoping to do three running jobs a day, no desire to photograph the prime minister’s cats, in fact no desire to do what I don’t want to do.

However, one day I was speculat- ing on how I would like to look back on life and I decided I wanted to feel that I was a photographer rather than a teacher. As simple as that.

It might be that many others will always remember me as a teacher and that won’t worry me, I am sure that I will become more and more proud of the achievements of the course as time passes. We have had a mass of really good students and I am sure I will be constantly reminded of them. Teaching was fun, worthwhile and even sometimes thought provok- ing, however, it has not really changed my views on anything. Photography is still, to me, mum “snapping” the baby and showing the result to grandma …

At the time of writing (January 1995) it has been five years since David Hurn severed all links with a regular commitment. He may be poorer financially but he is richer in time. Time to do what he wants to do, and what he does best: take pictures. “When I began teaching it seemed as though I would have plenty of time for my own work, but as the course became more and more successful so the administrative chores became increasingly time-consuming. Also, the ethos of education was changing. At first I had a free hand to apply what worked; later I spent most of my time arguing with administrators who knew nothing about the course or the field. Then came the moment when I suddenly realized that I had been a teacher as long as I had been a photographer, so thereafter if someone asked what I did I would have to reply ‘I’m a teacher’ not ‘I’m a photographer.’ That frightened me. I knew I had stayed too long!”

Actually this cold reception was good for me. I had to rethink my whole approach and I decided to concen- trate on major essays of my own choosing, without consideration of the end result.” His saleable work would come ‘out the side’ of these major projects. For example while shooting the two-year project on sculpture he was aware that people were eating their lunches in a variety of places — and this led to a Lunchbreak set of pictures for a color supplement which ran across 13 pages plus the front cover and, says David, “helped pay the bills for my own work.”

In recent years he has completed, continued and begun a multitude of personal projects including a rephotographic survey of Eugene Atgét’s images of sculpture at Versailles; a series which he calls Documentary Pictures of Romantic Places and Romantic Pictures of Documentary Places; a large project which attempts to answer the question ‘What is sculpture?’; and people posing for other people’s cameras. What is intriguing about these projects is that they examine some of the most fundamental prob- lems of the medium itself rather than satisfy a glib need to know what something or someone looks like.

But the point I want to make here is that David Hurn has never curbed his curiosity — not only about the human condition but also about photography itself. He is still prodding, poking the medium in his desire to tease it into giving up its reluctant secrets. This is never-ending. For example, a new series of images of the Welsh landscape demanded, thought David, a contemplative large-format approach. So he sought out Mark Klett, a landscape photographer whom he much admires, flew 6,000 miles (from Wales to Arizona) and followed him around for days, watching his every move, determined to master a new method of working by learning from a superlative craftsman and artist.

This obsession to get it right, to do it as well as it can be done or not at all, is typical of David Hurn’s approach to everything, life as well as art.

He has written: “It is the purpose of life that each of us strives to become actually what he or she is potentially. Each photographer, then, should be obsessed with stretching towards that goal through an understanding of others and the world we inhabit. When that happens, the results, like photographs, are really the expressions of the life of the maker.”

Let us say you are at an event which David Hurn is photographing: the chances are that you would not notice him. He tends, chame- leon-like, to blend in with whatever type of person is present, whether high-society wed- ding guest or working-class picnicker. He is not posing, pushing people around, creating a pocket of activity; he is discreet, one of everyone, a silent insider. But someone nudges you and says: that’s David Hurn, the photographer. So you introduce yourself, and find that he is immediately effusive, perhaps overly so, with the ready smile and enthusiasm of the congenitally shy. That might surprise you, but it is true. For all his world and worldly experiences David Hurn is a shy person, like many photographers of people. This seeming weakness he has turned into a strength. He likes people and through the camera can both connect with them and remain hidden behind the instrument.

Encouraged by his initial warmth you find him an easy person to talk to, because he is genuinely interested in what you have to say, until you wonder if you are distracting him, preventing him from shooting pictures. Unlike most photographers, however, David enjoys company while photographing, as if the con- versation is an additional shield to his activities — because, although you do not know it, he has never been distracted for one moment from potential images. Suddenly you find yourself talking to air; David has seen a picture and left you in mid-sentence.

After the meal you finally start probing the deeper aspects of his personality (probably over endless, endless cups of tea) and quickly find the affable, humorous, empathic outer surface hides an inner core of adamantine conviction. Ask his opinion on anything — politics, religion, sex — and you will receive a brutally direct response. Obviously he has thought, carefully and deeply, about these issues and is now sure of his foundations. You now feel a clash between his personable warmth and chilly Puritanism. This is intimidating for those who are not inner directed, who have not continually assessed their behavior and attitudes and reconciled their individuality with the possible disapproval of others. David will assert his principles, as forcefully and as clearly as possible, in the face of disagree- ment. For the majority, people of principle are frightening.

David Hurn can be rigid, uncompromising, infuriatingly opinionated, intense, single- mindedly obsessive and, at the same time, unfailingly generous, full of warmth and laughter, and a lover of life in all its facets.

It is no surprise that his photographs reflect his life attitude: persistence, hard work, stripped- to-the-bone simplicity with a smile at the edges and an enchantment with ordinary, daily lives.

And it is no surprise that his admonitions to photographers carry the same message: think clearly, act sensibly, commit yourself to caring and work hard in order to discover joy. Then give the images back to the world from which they were taken. He has written:

“In previous ages the word ‘art’ was used to cover all forms of human skill. The Greeks believed that these skills were given by the gods to man for the purpose of improving the condition of life. In a real sense, photography has fulfilled the Greek ideal of art; it should not only improve the photographer, but also improve the world.”

SOME DEFINITIONS

逻辑脉络

赫恩明白他的作品不属于新闻摄影，他也不愿被称为新闻摄影师。新闻强调热点事件，而赫恩不追热点；新闻由记者发表于新闻媒体，而赫恩的作品通常用于展览；新闻有解决社会问题的目的，而赫恩的作品无意于揭露社会弊端。新闻摄影师的形象不佳，他们无知又好斗，对伦理和审美缺乏尊重。当政治家和记者不再是理想主义的理想，他们的职业名称已经变臭了。

布列松自称新闻摄影师 photojournalist，是停留在摄影日志 photographic journal 的范畴。不同于艺术摄影师精挑严选，他可以发表次等的作品。次等 second 不是坏照片，它们在组照是必要的过渡。画廊把它们抽离，当最佳作品卖，才有问题。

赫恩不愿被称为纪实摄影师，却把他的课程命名为纪实摄影课。因为在对话和采访当中，人们预设纪实暗示客观事实，然而摄影师公认，照片只能记录一时一地事物的表象，必然包含主观选择。摄影师只能尽量忠实于拍摄主题，他们可能犯错，但发现后会诚恳承认。纪实摄影虽不是理想术语，不能概括所做所为，但可以排除所不能为，能有效减少因误解课程而报名的人数。

赫恩个人愿意被称为报道摄影师 reportage photographer，他的作品应该属于目击摄影 eye-witness photography。

一组照片互相加强，但不讲故事。没有术语可以定义它，称为主题摄影 photo-essay，比用图片故事 picture-story 合适。相片排版值得留意，但没有那么重要。

My first editor, an abrasive ex-newspaperman called Alex Surgenor, had an obsessive mantra which he would hurl at young journalists whenever a new story idea was proposed: “If you would discourse with me, first define your terms!” He was right. So, let us begin this discourse with an attempt to name the cat … What do you call yourself?

I’m a photographer, obviously. My chosen tool for understanding life, and communicating the results of this search to others, is the camera. But I know what you mean. The term “photographer” covers such a broad spectrum of activities that it is not specific, and therefore useful, enough to act as verbal shorthand. Just what type of photographer are we talking about?

The word “photojournalism” also implies that the subject of the picture is a topical news event, accompanied by words, published in the mass media, usually with the intent to right a social wrong. In this sense, I am not a photojournalist. I no longer cover current events, I work independently of a journalist, I am not inter- ested in bland records of social ills, and my prints are often intended for exhibition, not publication.

Even if that were true, I would still have objections to being called a photojournal- ist, because the term has gained unfortunate connotations, like the word “politician!” I mean, what professions should be the most honorable and attract the most idealistic, altruistic people? Politics and journalism. The politician should eschew personal aggrandizement in order to better serve the country; the journalist, in order to stand for integrity, rooting out hypocrisy, corruption and lies. What could be more noble, honorable professions? In practice, of course, both professions are reviled. And the journalist is invariably linked to tabloid sensationalism, distorted information, news as the lowest common denominator of entertainment. No, I don’t want to be associated with such a tacky job.

More specifically, the photojournalist is too often associated with a foot-in-the-door, camera-in- the-face, aggression, without much knowledge or concern about the subject or how the image will be used or any regard for issues of ethics or aesthetics. Is that fair?

Not always. The best of this type of work, say by Don McCullin, Abbas, Ian Berry, or James Nachtwey, transcends that characterization. Those individuals, and many more like them, have made it a point to understand their subjects, about which they care deeply — and they also care deeply about the pictures. They are justly famous because not only are the images of publishable subject matter but also because their pictures rise above obvious recording. Single pictures can be taken out of the original context and displayed, perhaps in a gallery, as images of lasting emotional and aesthetic power. But because there are exceptions, these do not invalidate my point that the term ‘photojournalist’ has unsavory connotations.

Once any photographer reaches some notoriety or fame, the art establish- ment shuffles through all the garbage looking for saleable vintage junk. And every photog- rapher produces rubbish. The art world doesn’t do that to painters or sculptures, at least to the same extent.

This point reminds me of a story about Henri Cartier-Bresson, who was telling a group of young photographers about the difference between photojournalism and fine-art photography. He said that the artist Harry Callahan and himself worked in identical ways — enthusiasm for subject, careful planning, working the situation through many, many images, etc. — but the big difference was that he could publish his seconds, the less than the best, whereas Callahan could only use one picture from the set, on a gallery wall.

I agree. The working method of the photographer, whether the end result is publication or a gallery, is identical. But I would add a note of caution to the use of the word “seconds.” This could imply to photographers that seconds are bad pictures, which is not so. The seconds are the links between the great pictures and are essential in any published set of photographs. Look at the journalistic assignments of Walker Evans for Fortune magazine or the justly renowned essays by W. Eugene Smith for Life. Always the fine images are linked together with lesser images and are necessary for pace and rhythm in the layout. In these contexts the truly beautiful pictures are not reduced by their juxtaposition with seconds. The problem occurs when galleries market the seconds, apart from the original contexts, as the very best single images by a photographer.

By the way, if the term “photojournalist” was used as Cartier-Bresson described it, the keeping of a photographic journal, then it would be an appropriate name and I would be happy to adopt it. But it is not.

If we are having trouble with the term “photojournalist,” I can foresee just as many problems with the term “documentary photographer.”

Right. This is particularly true today when a document implies unbiased, non-judgmental, objective, factual evidence. And, of course, no photograph — at least no photograph that I am likely to make — even comes close to this notion.

…

The fact remains that if I were called, or called myself, a documentary photographer it would imply, to most people in this day and age, that I was taking pictures of some objective truth — which I am not. And even if I knew what I meant, in any conversation I would have that bizarre feeling that the other person is presuming or talking about something entirely different. So it’s not very helpful.

I understand that you are not a documentary photographer in the sense that most people would understand the term, so what is the relationship between your observations of reality and that problematic word truth?

It is tenuous at best. If truth implies factual accuracy and objectivity, then the connection is completely severed. The only factually correct aspect of photography is that it shows what something looked like — under a very particular set of circumstances. But that is not the same as the underlying truth of the event or situation. As to objectivity, it does not exist. In my own photography I have two fundamental controls: where I stand and when I press the button. Both are very subjective choices so the end result, the picture, is bound to be equally subjective.

My concession to objectivity is more of an attempt towards honesty in relation to the subject matter. This is only an attempt.

What do you mean by honesty?

I cannot define it, but that does not concern me very much because its opposite is clear. In other words when I am taking a picture I know in my heart if I am being dishonest to the subject, if I am not being true to my instincts or feelings. This is different from factually correct. I may, for example, later find that my initial reaction was misguided. That happens. But I can still be honest and sincere at the time. You just have to do the best you can. I never claim my photographs reveal some definitive truth. I claim that this is what I saw and felt about the subject at the time the pictures were made. That’s all that any photographer can claim. I do not know any great photographer who would presume otherwise.

For various reasons you are not a photojournalist and you are hesitant to call yourself a documentary photographer because your images are subjective and personal. Fair enough. Is there a term which you prefer above others?

Yes. I think of myself as a reportage photographer. I like the word. It implies a personal account of an observed event with connotations of subjectivity but honesty. It is eye-witness photography.

Or, I witness… with the emphasis on the first person singular!

I think it is important to clear up one further point before we talk about the practice of photography, and that is the idea of narrative which is implied by the terms picture-story or photo-essay. And I know you would agree that images are not linear explanations or narratives in the same sense that words are stories.

That’s true, but I cannot think of a good term which defines a series or sequence of pictures where the whole, the group, is stronger, visually and emotionally, than any of the individual images. I agree that a set of pictures is never narrative in the usual meaning of the word. For this reason, I think the word essay is slightly better than story.

When I talk about the picture or photographic essay I mean a group of images in which each picture is supporting and strengthening all the others; not that the sequencing of the pictures can be read like a string of words.

Take Robert Frank’s The Americans, for example. It is a superb photographic essay — but it is not narrative in the visual sense. The sequencing of the pictures might have a visual logic but that is very different from a narrative/idea logic …

Might have a visual logic? You sound unconvinced! Yet thousands of words have been written by critics on the logic of the pictures’ sequencing.

I know. I have just read a paragraph by one of the best, and certainly one of the most readable critics, A. D. Coleman, praising Frank’s process of “redacting his imagery into a spare, taut, book-length sequence.” I must say, I find such assertions fascinating. But just how much was this sequencing and picture-selection due to Frank’s choices and how much due to Robert Delpire, the book’s editor/publisher? And if they were mainly Delpire’s does that make any difference? I will certainly try to discuss this with Allan next time we meet.

…

Anyway, my point is that care must be taken in the arrangement of the individual units in any grouping of photographs, but I suspect that beyond a certain point it does not matter as much as critics would lead us to believe. And whatever the sequencing, the result is not story-telling.

In spite of your suspicion of definitions, I do think this has been an important preface. As Herbert Spenser said: “How often misused words generate misleading thoughts.” Now that we are all thinking clearly, let’s move on.

SELECTING A SUBJECT

【注意本章标题中用的是不定冠词，】

逻辑脉络

摄影的核心特征是揭示某时某地的某人某事的模样，并传达给他人。摄影不是迷人生活、强大器材、神秘仪式和角色设定，相机只是工具，照片只是载体，不是终极目的。

摄影的目的是记录，但什么因素让某些照片更吸引人，有更好的表现力？是构造元素吗，是拍摄技术吗，是个性和艺术性吗？它们虽重要，但排在主题之后。

摄影师首要是一个主题选择者。理由有三。第一，摄影师对主题有感觉，才能通过照片传递给他人。第二，专注于主题，不去想声望荣誉，才有纯粹的乐趣和自由的快感。第三，摄影史的发展主要是主题的历史，这个角度有助于答疑解惑。

怎样找到自己的好主题？列出能点燃热情的主题。确保对主题在足够长的时期内保持热度，在足够小的面积上施加热度，积累够多，挖掘够深，才能拍出有意义、有价值的作品。确保主题的信息可以用真实世界的图像来传递。确保对主题的拍摄活动有可能实现，最好长期有条件重返这个主题。最后，拿着同等程度的几个主题，再考虑观众的兴趣。

到底怎样才是强调主题？从反方向来看，强调主题的对立面有三个特征。匆忙抓住即时的满足感，导致照片只能展示视觉奇观，而不是深度共鸣；摄影师追求标新立异，照片展示不同寻常的技巧，却仍然只是一棵死树；图像没有根植于事物本身，故弄玄虚，只能从私人角度徒劳地阐释平庸和浅薄的作品。

谈到私人角度，值得多说两句负面的话。摄影师把个性当作作品的价值，背后是一个似是而非的假设：每个人都有深邃个性，它对别人也有价值。如果这样的价值观成为摄影界的主流，便没有了公认的讨论标准。摄影当然可以作为个人治愈的手段，但那些照片只能自己看，很少会引起大范围的共鸣和珍视。

当今主流文化崇尚个人主义，表现自我不可回避，但它与突出主题的关系不是平行，而是前后。在拍照中有很多选择的机会，自我便贯穿其中。个人风格是副产品，而不是目的；个人视野只是起点，而不是落点。忘记自我，关注主题，强大的自我会从积累多年的作品中自然浮现，令表达自我为目标的作品相形见绌。

说自我自然浮现于作品历史，主要有两点原因。各人的主题列表肯定各不相同，删减理由也不同，选择主题这个行为就是在突出自我了。真正的摄影师时时秉持这一身份，事事皆可滋养摄影，他们吸收洞见，反映在作品里。欲知其人，只看其照。

举一个简单的例子。一位母亲抓拍宝宝的一个表情，她最了解孩子，最爱孩子；她没考虑自我和独创，两者却都有；她抓拍时没有考虑技巧，那应该是基本素质。这张照片传递的信息并不全面，但已经足够让它有用，并且让人满意、赞叹。

关于主题的热情，最后澄清一点，没有深切长久的热爱，仅凭思考或视觉为根基，也可能拍出好照片。但从摄影师的作品历史中看，给人最深印象的还是那些既有真知又有大爱的作品。

They said, “You have a blue guitar, You do not play things as they are.” The man replied, “Things as they are Are changed upon the blue guitar.”

Wallace Stevens,

The Man with The Blue Guitar

Bill Jay: When we were discussing some definitions you remarked that photography’s core characteristic was to show what something looked like. I think this is an important point because many photographers seem fascinated with the medium yet have no idea what to photograph.

David Hurn: That’s true. The fundamental issue is one of emphasis: you are not a photographer because you are interested in photography.

Explain what you mean.

Many people are interested in photography in some nebulous way; they might be interested in the seemingly glamorous lives of top fashion or war photographers; or in the acquisition and admiration of beautiful, functional machines, the cameras; or in the arcane ritual of the darkroom processes; or in the persona which they could adopt if only they took pictures like… whoever. But these interests, no matter how personally enjoyable they might be, never lead to the person becoming a photographer. The reason is that photography is only a tool, a vehicle, for expressing or transmitting a passion in something else. It is not the end result. An analogy would be to buy a car for its status appeal, for the idea that it will improve your sex-life, for the smell of the new upholstery, for the fascination with its beautiful engineering, and so on. But it is useless unless it actually takes you somewhere.

SHOOTING THE SINGLE PICTURE

【注意本章标题中的定冠词。不是拍单张照片，而是拍到那张——最接近目标的——照片。】

逻辑脉络

拍照的行为有目的，实际场景中有目标。拍照的目的是用照片揭示主题的一个侧面，澄清其本质，并且这照片有视觉力量。场景中的目标分四层：主体突出，各元素互相和谐，所有元素与画面和谐，曝光时有趣的内容发生在关键点。

实现目标的态度要端正。虽然得承认完美的目标存在，但它是长期努力的方向，而不在一时一地。量力而行，每次关注一个主元素，留意两三个副元素就够了。在职业生涯中不只一次拍到伟大的照片，你就是伟大的摄影师。

就单张拍摄而言，摄影师只能管到地点和时机。好站位是能清晰观看到整个事件的地方，它随着元素的移动而有变化。时机不好说，摄影师大多不确定已经拍到了，他们拍很多张，向着目标前进，留下更多可能。好照片虽然要感谢机遇，但优秀摄影师能在对的地方、对的时刻按下快门，减少浪费，他们抓住了更多的偶然。

追求美观与突出主题不矛盾，好照片自然是美的，不美的照片没有人看，讲究构思/构图没有错。

多拍的经验让摄影师更敏感于微小元素，让潜意识帮助选择，更快更有效地拍照。

CREATING CONTACTS

逻辑脉络

小样是底片的最初转印，三十六张底片全部印在 8x10 英寸（203.2x254 mm）或 9.5x12 英寸（241.3x304.8 mm）的相纸上。

制作小样可有四个目的。其一，小样是唤起回忆的钩子。其二，反省是最有效的学习。其三，编码贴标方便检索和分类。其四，以之示人、拿着问人、求看小样作为交流的入口。

对待小样的态度有区别。专业摄影师努力制作清晰可认的小样，不（只）是为了挑少量好照片，更是为了分析大量照片为什么不好。他们愿意与同行分享小样，也愿意查看同行不能发表的作品，讨论得失，了解彼此的工作方式和思考过程，探寻对照片的深层理解。专业摄影师 3/4 的时间用于调研主题、整理和讨论小样以及冲印照片。

有必要给所有照片作编码，写备注，一层一层打标签。编码是为了方便检索，若底片放错了位置，等于将它扔到了废纸篓。小样的备注给自己看，不写下来就回忆不起准确细节。标签是为了触发行动，最好间隔一段时间分层次地做标记：照片与我有什么关系，对世界有什么意义，这是在回答照片作什么用。

THE PICTURE ESSAY

【注意标题里的定冠词。这个图片组照不只是最后自然形成的结果，而是在拍照之前已经预定的任务目标。】

逻辑脉络

摄影师被记住的作品虽是单张，但它们往往是组照的一部分。

拍没用的照片是浪费精力，照片不该没人看。大多数照片都有用途，作为委派项目的拍摄成果。策划项目时就要想受众是谁，他们怎样看到的作品。项目拖延过久，因为摄影师没法直接回答几个核心问题：为什么要拍？吸引我的是什么？照片何时用在哪？怎么用的？

杂志版面用一到七张，个人展览可能是四十张，书大约一百二十张。项目的照片总数定好，下一步是分解主题。一一列出主题的几个方面，各条目下再排三栏：全景，中景和特写。虽然不必预设全局，但有必要认识基本架构，好处主要在于完整性。富于画面性的场景容易拍，但不能篇幅太多，耗时太长。有框架，不代表不能随机应变增添新物，它是迷失后低头查看的地图，是完形填空的格子，完成了也就完整了。

完成的组照记录了摄影师记忆中此时此地的样子。照片匹配记忆没那么容易，达到这个目标是稀有之事。摄影师常常不能记录事件真相，而是追寻视觉冲击力，重复刻板印象。诚实地回答自己的经验是什么，用照片全面表达出来，就是从主观出发，客观地重现了这个主题。

老辈人的境界，不期望年轻人达到。年轻人有想法，能完成，可以汇编成作品，这样就可以了。把基础的事情做正确，腾出全部精力尝试不同的方法和各种好主意，一步一步完成全篇，努力发表，相信它们终有历史价值，然后收手，做下一个项目。这是积累的循环。

积累不是跑量。不能说数量不重要，但数量本身不重要，重要的是用正确的方法练习和积累。四处扫街，出于乐趣狂按快门，那样不行。专注一个主题，规划实际拍摄，最终批判评估结果，这才能成。具体到一时一地应该拍多少张，并没有一定之法。赫恩到亚利桑那当天，买了一千卷胶片，一年用完，相当于每天曝光一百张。他为七幅的展览项目工作，通常会用掉二十到三十卷胶片，大约每一百张胶片中有一张展览级别的照片。

杰伊没当摄影师，还是被摄影行当所吸引，是受摄影师的人格吸引——此处出人杰，地当有灵气。赫恩对不同的行为或生活方式表示出由衷的、无成见的好奇，想带有同理心地倾听他们，他相信这样可以融入一个有意思的群体。赫恩羞涩，他拿起相机，找到了一个介入他人生活的借口：相机成了赫恩与他人之间的幕布，相机给了他一件隐形斗篷。

CAMERAS, SHOES AND OTHER ESSENTIALS

逻辑脉络

成熟摄影师并不轻视相机。工具应当有助于完美完成任务，至少不应该有所妨碍。选择相机要考虑摄影师的个性、主题的特点和相机的特性，三方面要匹配合适。个性长期不变，决定了主题倾向和工作方式。主题有特殊需要，应得到尊重。相机就像乐器，各有独特音色，各有擅长之处。

赫恩以威尔士国家博物馆千禧庆典展览项目为例，讲解选用相机的三元关系。赫恩住在威尔士，了解这里的每一条道路，在每个地方都有熟人，展览的目的是探讨何为（威尔士）文化。展览第一个主题是威尔士产业的生之道。他从年轻时（至少 1967 年杰伊认识他以前）就开始拍摄威尔士。过去四十年赫恩都用的是 35 mm 相机，用它来拍重工业时代的威尔士，为保持一致，也用它拍新产业。展览第二个主题是威尔士景色的今与昔。一百年前的摄影师用大画幅相机，赫恩也用。第三个主题是威尔士人的肖像，类似奥古斯特·桑德拍的德国人，在多变的天气中赫恩用耐雨的中画幅相机。

赫恩选相机最重要的是隐蔽，可以快速收到夹克里，快门声音最小。第二要在各种异常情况中都容易操作。第三要坚固耐久。他还喜欢透过旁轴相机的取景框直接凝视对象。赫恩一直用徕卡，因为它光学系统稳定，快门声音小。视力老化后用佳能低端单反，因为安静。他还有个顶级中画幅相机。

比选择相机更重要的是熟悉选定的那台，长期磨合，直到它成为身体的一部分，凭本能操作。有一个眼力练习，也是一个测试。练习用自由的眼睛捕捉精彩瞬间，眨眼拍照；测试是否能用相机抓住这一瞬间，别让相机挡道。摄影是交流的手段，摄影师将所见表达为视觉语言，如果不熟悉工具，不具备足够的技术和组织能力，无论如何真挚，也无法准确传达他想表达的本意。多练习，直到忘记技术，才能全神贯注于对象，才能将灵感通过理性的努力，化成简单而恒久的作品。

讲几句其它外设。录音笔带给赫恩威胁感，他只用小本。及时记录时间、地点、人物和原因，人总会忘。没有备注信息的照片，玛格南不予归档。摄影师的鞋子要结实耐磨，舒适轻便，适应场合。衣服也要适应场合，这体现摄影师的专业性和诚恳度。各地联系人信息非常重要，保存于多处，作多重保险。赫恩背两个相机包，预防背痛。他不用摄影马甲，不愿宣称“我是摄影师”，赫恩希望与镜头下的人物融为一体。

THE FUTURE OF PHOTOGRAPHY

逻辑脉络

这一章回应对未来的焦虑：变化太快，变得太怪，没准有天秩序都变了，一切都将不同。

两类人关心纪实摄影的未来怎样。哲学家问，是关心它还有没有价值。科技迷问，是关心它所受的影响。赫恩认为，来自两方面的关切都可以用摄影师们的道德自律来回应。他发出宣言：为生活在更好的世界，参与摄影事业的个体都应自我约束，承担选择的责任，对抗媒介滥用的倾向，用新技术迎接新挑战。行动上有两个重点，一是守护相机的特性，即用某种主观的方式记录特定的客观；另一点是维护原型传统，即用有限的旧套路表达无限的新情景。

摄影媒介电子化的影响有两个方面：展示和拍摄。就像教堂天顶与画廊墙壁各有特点，应当尊重网站的新特性，在它的限制参数下展开创作——肆溢的才华需要狭窄的河道才能汇聚成川。用数码相机拍摄影响工作流程。在相机上可以删照片，但谁有这个权力和能力？边拍边确认，可能错过精彩瞬间，可能过早结束追求更好照片的努力。数码底片可以修图，所有人都修，摄影师反而需要自证清白。赫恩坚持摄影特有的限制造成的难以完美是应有之义，历史上无数摄影师努力克服了这个困难，获得了满足感。摄影师不该用修图消解这个努力的意义，新技术应该用来迎接新挑战。

纪实摄影怎样面对信任危机？赫恩的解法是借鉴文字媒体，用作者信誉和编辑把关作背书。杰伊保留不同意见。

SOME PHOTOGRAPHIC MYTHS

逻辑脉络

摄影师是自己照片的最佳编辑者吗？摄影师投入过感情，无法以淡然的态度评估照片。摄影师也没有唯一的洞见，不一定有最冷静的逻辑分析照片。摄影史上的反面典型让摄影师和刊物都尴尬。好作家需要好编辑，有些事情本人就是做不到。

摄影师是自己作品的最佳阐释者或设计师吗？摄影、写作和设计是三个领域，在各自的领域达到顶级都要不断磨练多年，难以相信一流作者拿起相机就会成一流摄影师吧。

摄影师是优秀的冲印师吗？不。不要让冲印成为作品链条上最弱的一环，最好让有经验的匠人与有眼光的艺术家合作。

摄影师不该拿商业的钱，应该追求艺术纯洁？用心的人不一定只在艺术家里有，成就不看钱的颜色。不是商业有什么优势，而是艺术圈更难搞。摄影师要有钱吃饭，有钱买胶卷，不赚钱不是美德。摄影师扪心自问，自己如果是策展人或出版商，是否会出这些照片？赫恩同时想几个主意，调研后决定一个，可能是那个公众也感兴趣的，因为它能出售。很多项目没有资助和任务就不能进行，因为仅凭热情不能支持拍摄，摄影师只好保持兴趣，找到拍下去的方法。

摄影师的优秀是因为天分吗？这是二流者的安慰。优秀者确有天分，但最重要的是活跃的好奇心。摄影是一种技艺，同样需要大量不间断的训练，其间异常专心和自我激励很有必要。

摄影师怕碰别人拍过的主题吗？摄影师当吸收古往今来各个领域的最优秀作品的营养，不要辜负摄影史这自由开放的宝藏的丰富性和实用性。偷师就向更/最优秀的人学，让己被发现过的领地再放光彩。

摄影师需要批评家理论家的教导吗？事前就听，只会误事。事后再讲，或有启示。行话连篇无法理解的理论文章一文不值。摄影界期待一位霍金。

摄影师不该拍异域风情吗？批评者说猎奇者无法抓到真实。摄影师利用其职业地位探索和传播人类的趋同性，若只看差异性，那什么都不能拍了。再说摄影师从未宣称追求客观真实，他们个人主观的真实不会替代别人眼中的真实。

纪实摄影不是艺术吗？艺术的定义不依赖于手段或风格，艺术是献身于这一活动的人终生成就中公认的价值，这一活动要围绕他所选择的媒介的特性展开。当今艺术界强调个性，纪实题材似乎不能展示个性，纪实摄影师也就不像艺术家了。然而在最优秀的报道摄影师的作品中，你能轻易区分每个人的风格和关注点的不同，怎能说这里面没有个性。相反，摄影师却可以说，那些向画家、雕塑家靠拢的影像制作者的综合媒介作品不是摄影。

本书面向所有摄影师，无论他们什么个性，无论他们用什么相机，都能从史上最优秀的摄影师的作品、观念和生涯中获得教益。这些教益主要有五个方面：关注主题，适应媒介，勤练技艺，思路清晰，苦功加好运。

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

大卫·赫恩从新闻摄影起步，二十年里通过时尚摄影赚到了钱，凭借异类生活方式主题作品成名。中年作二十年摄影教学，赫恩又回到了摄影一线，自选主题，寻求展览发表。

比尔·杰伊从学术圈起步，做过摄影杂志编辑和图片代理。到美国求学后，杰伊在州立大学创建了摄影研究课程。杰伊写摄影史和作品批评，书有十五本。