Photography has been my passion ever since I was old enough to pick up a camera, but today I want to share with you the 15 most treasured photos of mine, and I didn't take any of them. There were no art directors, no stylists, no chance for reshoots, not even any regard for lighting. In fact, most of them were taken by random tourists.
Fotografia ka qene pasioni im qe ne moshen kur isha i afte te mbaja nje aparat fotografik, por sot dua te ndaj me ju 15 thesaret e mia fotografike, te cilat faktikisht nuk i kam bere une. Nuk ka as drejtues artisik, as stilist, asnjë shanc per riberje fotosh, madje as ndonje interesim per ndriçimin. Ne fakt, shumica e tyra jane bere nga turiste te çastit.
My story begins when I was in New York City for a speaking engagement, and my wife took this picture of me holding my daughter on her first birthday. We're on the corner of 57th and 5th. We happened to be back in New York exactly a year later, so we decided to take the same picture.
Pikerisht ketu fillon historia ime kur isha ne New York per nje leksion, dhe gruaja ime me beri kete foto duke mbajtur ne duar vajzen per ditelindjen e saj te pare. Ishim ne cepin e rruges 57 dhe shetitores 5-se. Rastisi qe mbas nje viti te ishim ne New York, po ne ate vend, dhe vendosem te benim te njejten poze.
Well you can see where this is going. Approaching my daughter's third birthday, my wife said, "Hey, why don't you take Sabina back to New York and make it a father-daughter trip, and continue the ritual?" This is when we started asking passing tourists to take the picture.
Tani besoj e kuptuat ku dua te dal. Meqenese vajzes po i afrohej ditlindja, gruaja me thote, "Hej, pse nuk e çon Sabinen në New York duke vazhduar ritualin e udhetimeve baba-vajze? Ketu eshte kur filluam te pyesim turistat qe kalonin per te na marre ne foto.
You know, it's remarkable how universal the gesture is of handing your camera to a total stranger. No one's ever refused, and luckily no one's ever run off with our camera.
Eshte mahnitese se sa universale eshte ideja e dhenies se kameras nje te huaj . Asnjeri nuk ka refuzuar , dhe asnjeri nuk ja mbathi me aparatin.
Back then, we had no idea how much this trip would change our lives. It's really become sacred to us. This one was taken just weeks after 9/11, and I found myself trying to explain what had happened that day in ways a five-year-old could understand.
Deri me ate pike, ne nuk e kishim idene se sa ky udhetim do te na ndyshonte jeten. Eshte kthyer ne dicka te shenjte per ne. Kjo foto eshte bere disa jave pas 9/11, dhe e gejta veten duke u munduar te shpjegoja se çfare kishte ndodhur ate dite. në nje menyre te thjeshte qe edhe nje 5 vjecar do ta kuptonte.
So these photos are far more than proxies for a single moment, or even a specific trip. They're also ways for us to freeze time for one week in October and reflect on our times and how we change from year to year, and not just physically, but in every way. Because while we take the same photo, our perspectives change, and she reaches new milestones, and I get to see life through her eyes, and how she interacts with and sees everything. This very focused time we get to spend together is something we cherish and anticipate the entire year.
Pra, ketëo foto jane shume se Proxies per nje çast, ose per nje udhetim me specifik. Ka gjithashtu menyra per ne te ndalojme kohen per nje jave ne Tetor dhe te reflaktojme per kohet tona dhe sesi ne ndryshojme nga viti ne vit, dhe jo vetem fizikisht, por ne çdo menyre. Sepse, ndersa ne bejme te njeten foto, perspektiva jone ndryshon, dhe vajza arrin nje etape te re, dhe une mund te shoh jeten nepermjet syve te saj, dhe menyres si ajo ndervepron dhe shikon gjithcka. Kjo kohe kaq e fokusuar qe ne kalojme se bashku eshte dicka presim me padurim pergjate gjithe vitit.
Recently, on one trip, we were walking, and she stops dead in her tracks, and she points to a red awning of the doll store that she loved when she was little on our earlier trips. And she describes to me the feeling she felt as a five-year-old standing in that exact spot. She said she remembers her heart bursting out of her chest when she saw that place for the very first time nine years earlier. And now what she's looking at in New York are colleges, because she's determined to go to school in New York. And it hit me: One of the most important things we all make are memories.
Se fundmi, ne nje nga udhetimet tona. duke ecur, ajo ndalon pernjehere dhe trgon me gisht nga nje strehe e kuqe dyqani kukullash qe ajo e kish shume perzemer ne vegjeli ne udhetimet tona te para. Dhe me pershkruan ndjesine qe pati ne moshen pese vjecare, pikerisht ku qendronte sot. Ajo tha qe i kujtohej fare mire zemra tek i rrihte me force momentin qe e pa per here te pare ate vend nente vite te shkuara. Dhe tanime, ato c'ka ajo sheh ne New York jane kolegjet, sepse e ka vendosur te shkoj ne kolegj ne New York. Kjo me ngacmoi: Nje nga gjerat me te rendesishme qe krijojme, jane memorjet.
So I want to share the idea of taking an active role in consciously creating memories. I don't know about you, but aside from these 15 shots, I'm not in many of the family photos. I'm always the one taking the picture. So I want to encourage everyone today to get in the shot, and don't hesitate to go up to someone and ask, "Will you take our picture?" Thank you. (Applause)
Sot me ju, dua te ndaj idene e te paturit nje rol me aktiv ne krijimin e memorjeve ne menyre koshiente. Nuk e di ju, por perpos ketyre 15 fotografive, une nuk jam ne shume foto te tjera familjare. Jam gjithnje personi pas aparatit fotografik. Ndaj, dua t'ju inkurajoj sot qe te dilni ne fotografi, dhe mos hezitoni ti kerkoni dikujt, "A na beni dot nje foto?" Faleminderit. (Duartrokitje)