As a kid, I used to dream about the ocean. It was this wild place full of color and life, home to these alien-looking, fantastical creatures. I pictured big sharks ruling the food chain and saw graceful sea turtles dancing across coral reefs.
小時候我常常幻想大海的樣子。 想像中那是充滿 各種顏色及生物的狂野之處, 許多奇妙異形生物的家。 我想像鯊魚統治著海底的食物鏈, 還有海龜在珊瑚礁間優雅地跳舞。
As a marine biologist turned photographer, I've spent most of my career looking for places as magical as those I used to dream about when I was little. As you can see, I began exploring bodies of water at a fairly young age. But the first time I truly went underwater, I was about 10 years old. And I can still vividly remember furiously finning to reach this old, encrusted cannon on a shallow coral reef. And when I finally managed to grab hold of it, I looked up, and I was instantly surrounded by fish in all colors of the rainbow. That was the day I fell in love with the ocean.
我從海洋生物學家變成攝影師, 職業生涯大部分時間 都在尋找小時候夢想的魔幻之處。 你可以看到 我很小的時候 就開始探索各式水體。 但是我第一次真的潛到水下 是在 10 歲時。 我還記憶猶新, 當時用力的踢水下潛, 去觸碰在淺珊瑚礁裡 陳舊且生鏽的大砲。 當我終於能抓住它時, 我向上看,發現自己立刻 被五顏六色 像彩虹一樣的魚群包圍。 那天,我愛上了大海。
Thomas Peschak
【湯瑪士·沛思查克】
Conservation Photographer
【保育攝影師】
In my 40 years on this planet, I've had the great privilege to explore some of its most incredible seascapes for National Geographic Magazine and the Save Our Seas Foundation. I've photographed everything from really, really big sharks to dainty ones that fit in the palm of your hand. I've smelled the fishy, fishy breath of humpback whales feeding just feet away from me in the cold seas off Canada's Great Bear Rainforest. And I've been privy to the mating rituals of green sea turtles in the Mozambique Channel.
我在有生之年的 40 年裡, 很榮幸可以探索 一些不可思議的海景, 為國家地理雜誌 和救救我們的海洋基金會攝影。 我拍攝過很多東西, 從很大很大的大鯊魚 到手掌般的小魚都有。 我聞過座頭鯨的腥味口氣, 就在咫尺之前進食, 在加拿大大熊雨林沿岸的 冰冷海水裡。 我見過綠蠵龜的求偶儀式, 在莫三比克海峽。
Everyone on this planet affects and is affected by the ocean. And the pristine seas I used to dream of as a child are becoming harder and harder to find. They are becoming more compressed and more threatened. As we humans continue to maintain our role as the leading predator on earth, I've witnessed and photographed many of these ripple effects firsthand. For a long time, I thought I had to shock my audience out of their indifference with disturbing images. And while this approach has merits, I have come full circle. I believe that the best way for me to effect change is to sell love. I guess I'm a matchmaker of sorts and as a photographer, I have the rare opportunity to reveal animals and entire ecosystems that lie hidden beneath the ocean's surface. You can't love something and become a champion for it if you don't know it exists. Uncovering this -- that is the power of conservation photography.
我們和海洋密不可分。 我童年時常幻想的原始海洋 已經愈來愈難找到。 它們愈來愈小, 愈來愈受威脅。 就在人類繼續保持 世界上主要捕食者角色的同時, 我早已目睹並拍攝 人類造成的連鎖反應。 有很長一段時間,我認為 我一定要震撼我的觀眾, 用令人不安的圖像 驅走他們的冷漠。 雖然這種方法有優點, 但我兜了一圈,又回到原點。 我相信要造成改變最好的賣點, 就是「愛」。 我想我就像媒人一樣, 身為攝影師, 我有極難得的機會 揭示躲在海平面下的 動物和整個生態系統。 你不可能為你不愛的事物而戰, 如果你根本不知道它的存在。 揭開它!這就是保育攝影的力量。
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I've visited hundreds of marine locations, but there are a handful of seascapes that have touched me incredibly deeply. The first time I experienced that kind of high was about 10 years ago, off South Africa's rugged, wild coast. And every June and July, enormous shoals of sardines travel northwards in a mass migration we call the Sardine Run. And boy, do those fish have good reason to run. In hot pursuit are hoards of hungry and agile predators. Common dolphins hunt together and they can separate some of the sardines from the main shoal and they create bait balls. They drive and trap the fish upward against the ocean surface and then they rush in to dine on this pulsating and movable feast. Close behind are sharks. Now, most people believe that sharks and dolphins are these mortal enemies, but during the Sardine Run, they actually coexist. In fact, dolphins actually help sharks feed more effectively. Without dolphins, the bait balls are more dispersed and sharks often end up with what I call a sardine donut, or a mouth full of water. Now, while I've had a few spicy moments with sharks on the sardine run, I know they don't see me as prey. However, I get bumped and tail-slapped just like any other guest at this rowdy, rowdy banquet.
我去過幾百個海域, 但有少數海景 深深地打動我。 我第一次經歷那種興奮, 大約是在 10 年前, 在南非崎嶇原始的海岸外。 每逢六月和七月, 數量龐大的沙丁魚群向北游, 我們稱這種大規模的遷移 為「沙丁魚大遷徙」。 噢!難怪那些魚會逃跑, 因為又餓又快的掠食者 在後面緊追不捨! 海豚聯手打獵, 牠們從主魚群中趕出一些沙丁魚, 而且還形成餌球。 牠們朝海面驅趕並困住沙丁魚, 然後衝進去飽餐一頓, 大饗這場律動盛宴。 緊隨其後的是鯊魚。 大多數人認為 鯊魚和海豚是不共戴天的敵人, 但在沙丁魚遷徙期間, 其實牠們能共存。 事實上,海豚其實 能幫助鯊魚更有效捕食。 如果沒有海豚幫助, 餌球會比較不集中, 鯊魚最終會鑽到 我戲稱為沙丁魚甜甜圈, 或吞下一大口的水。 儘管我在沙丁魚大遷徙期間 與鯊魚有些火爆場面, 我知道牠們沒有視我為獵物。 然而,我還是被撞、被尾巴掃過, 就像這場喧鬧宴會上的 其他客人一樣。
From the shores of Africa we travel east, across the vastness that is the Indian Ocean to the Maldives, an archipelago of coral islands. And during the stormy southwest monsoon, manta rays from all across the archipelago travel to a tiny speck in Baa Atoll called Hanifaru. Armies of crustaceans, most no bigger than the size of your pupils, are the mainstay of the manta ray's diet. When plankton concentrations become patchy, manta rays feed alone and they somersault themselves backwards again and again, very much like a puppy chasing its own tail.
我們從非洲沿岸往東走, 橫過無邊無際的印度洋, 到達馬爾地夫 這片由珊瑚礁形成的群島。 在多風暴的西南季風期, 從所有群島來的蝠魟 會游到芭環礁一個 小小的地方叫哈尼法魯。 甲殼動物大軍, 大多數都比你的瞳孔還小, 是蝠魟的主要食物。 浮游生物集中成一片片的時候, 蝠魟會獨自進食, 而且會向後一直翻筋斗, 就像小狗追著自己的尾巴一樣。
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However, when plankton densities increase, the mantas line up head-to-tail to form these long feeding chains, and any tasty morsel that escapes the first or second manta in line is surely to be gobbled up by the next or the one after. As plankton levels peak in the bay, the mantas swim closer and closer together in a unique behavior we call cyclone feeding. And as they swirl in tight formation, this multi-step column of mantas creates its own vortex, sucking in and delivering the plankton right into the mantas' cavernous mouths. The experience of diving amongst such masses of hundreds of rays is truly unforgettable.
然而,浮游生物的密度增加時, 蝠魟就頭尾相接 形成這條長長的進食鏈, 美味的小點心就算逃得了 第一或第二條蝠魟, 也絕對逃不了 下一條或之後幾尾的口。 隨著海灣內 浮游生物的濃度達到高峰, 蝠魟會愈游愈近, 這種獨特的行為 我們稱為旋風式進食。 當牠們以密集編隊的方式旋轉, 這個由蝠魟形成的多層圓柱體 會產生漩渦, 把浮游生物吸進去, 並一氣送入蝠魟的血盆大口。 與數百條魟大軍一同潛水的經驗 真是令人難忘。
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When I first photographed Hanifaru, the site enjoyed no protection and was threatened by development. And working with NGOs like the Manta Trust, my images eventually helped Hanifaru become a marine-protected area. Now, fisherman from neighboring islands, they once hunted these manta rays to make traditional drums from their skins. Today, they are the most ardent conservation champions and manta rays earn the Maldivian economy in excess of 8 million dollars every single year.
我第一次在哈尼法魯攝影時, 那裡還享有非保護區的自由, 並受到開發的威脅。 與魟魚基金會等民間團體合作, 我的影片最終幫助了哈尼法魯 變成一個海洋保護區。 附近島嶼的漁民 過去捕捉這些蝠魟, 剝皮來做傳統的鼓。 今天,他們是最熱心的保育鬥士, 蝠魟替馬爾地夫的經濟 每年賺超過八百萬元。
I have always wanted to travel back in time to an era where maps were mostly blank or they read, "There be dragons." And today, the closest I've come is visiting remote atolls in the western Indian Ocean. Far, far away from shipping lanes and fishing fleets, diving into these waters is a poignant reminder of what our oceans once looked like.
我總是想穿越時空回到過去, 到地圖上大部分還是空白 或是標示:「這裡有龍!」的時代。 今天,我去過最能代表 那個時代的地方, 就是西印度洋的偏遠環礁。 潛進離公定航道及捕魚船 很遠很遠的水域 深切地提醒著我們 海洋曾經是什麼樣子。
Very few people have heard of Bassas da India, a tiny speck of coral in the Mozambique Channel. Its reef forms a protective outer barrier and the inner lagoon is a nursery ground for Galapagos sharks. These sharks are anything but shy, even during the day. I had a bit of a hunch that they'd be even bolder and more abundant at night.
很少人聽過印度礁這個地方, 這是個小小的珊瑚環礁, 位於莫三比克海峽。 它的珊瑚礁形成一圈外部保護屏障, 內圈的潟湖則成為 加拉巴哥鯊魚的孕育之地。 這種鯊魚一點都不害羞, 即使是大白天。 直覺告訴我牠們夜裡會更大膽、 數量更多。
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Never before have I encountered so many sharks on a single coral outcrop. Capturing and sharing moments like this -- that reminds me why I chose my path.
以前我從來沒有 在單一珊瑚礁露頭裡 遇過這麼多鯊魚。 捕捉並分享像這樣的時刻 提醒我為什麼自己選擇了這條路。
Earlier this year, I was on assignment for National Geographic Magazine in Baja California. And about halfway down the peninsula on the Pacific side lies San Ignacio Lagoon, a critical calving ground for gray whales. For 100 years, this coast was the scene of a wholesale slaughter, where more than 20,000 gray whales were killed, leaving only a few hundred survivors. Today the descendents of these same whales nudge their youngsters to the surface to play and even interact with us.
今年早些時候,我在為 國家地理雜誌出任務, 到墨西哥的下加利福尼亞州。 大概在那座半島中間的地方, 太平洋這一邊, 有個聖伊格納西奧瀉湖, 是重要的灰鯨產犢區。 一百年來,這片海岸 是大規模屠宰現場, 超過二萬隻灰鯨被殺, 只剩下幾百隻倖存。 今天這些倖存灰鯨的後裔 推著牠們的小孩到海面 與我們玩耍,甚至互動。
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This species truly has made a remarkable comeback.
這物種真的明顯又興盛起來!
Now, on the other side of the peninsula lies Cabo Pulmo, a sleepy fishing village. Decades of overfishing had brought them close to collapse. In 1995, local fisherman convinced the authorities to proclaim their waters a marine reserve. But what happened next was nothing short of miraculous. In 2005, after only a single decade of protection, scientists measured the largest recovery of fish ever recorded.
半島的另一邊是普爾莫角, 一座慵懶的漁村。 數十年濫捕讓他們幾乎瓦解。 1995 年,當地漁民說服當局 宣布這片水域為海洋保護區。 但是緊接著發生的事 簡直就是奇蹟。 2005 年,僅僅在十年的保護之下, 科學家測出有史以來 最大的魚群復育。
But don't take my word for it -- come with me. On a single breath, swim with me in deep, into one of the largest and densest schools of fish I have ever encountered.
但是不要只聽我說, 跟我一起來。 吸一口氣,跟我一起游入深處, 到我所見過 最大、最密集的魚群中。
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We all have the ability to be creators of hope. And through my photography, I want to pass on the message that it is not too late for our oceans. And particularly, I want to focus on nature's resilience in the face of 7.3 billion people.
我們都是有能力成為創造希望的人。 透過我的攝影, 我想傳達一個訊息, 就是現在救海洋還不遲! 我特別要聚焦在大自然的恢復力, 儘管我們有 73 億人口。
My hope is that in the future, I will have to search much, much harder to make photographs like this, while creating images that showcase our respectful coexistence with the ocean. Those will hopefully become an everyday occurrence for me.
我的希望是在未來, 我得要非常努力搜尋, 才能拍攝到像這樣的影片, 並創造影像,向大家展示 我們以尊重的心與海洋共存。 希望這些能成為 我每天都看得到的事。
To thrive and survive in my profession, you really have to be a hopeless optimist. And I always operate on the assumption that the next great picture that will effect change is right around the corner, behind the next coral head, inside the next lagoon or possibly, in the one after it.
在我這行要成功及生存, 你真的得無藥可救的樂觀。 我總是假設 下一張會帶來改變的偉大圖片, 就在不遠的轉角處, 就在下一個珊瑚丘背後, 就在下一個潟湖裡, 或者也許,就在這之後。
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