ambiant OCTOBER 2013
岸 边
FEATURING 吴聚
2 AMBIANT | The Fourteen Months
十四个月 | 岸边 3
AMBIANT ISSUE # 2 Author 正文作者
WJ 吴聚
Photos 正文照片
WJ 吴聚
Cover Photo 封面照片
WJ 吴聚
Text Editor 文字编辑
ChungkingExpress 虫庆通勤
岸 边
4 AMBIANT | The Fourteen Months
The Fourteen Months
“This photo series is dedicated to my daughter Beth and Vic, and my wife Ella.”
- WJ
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十四个月
“谨以此摄影系列献给我的女儿贝琪 、维琪，和我的太太 艾拉。” - 吴聚
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T
his picture was taken just five days before baby Beth was born. I had been taking one picture of Ella every month to document the pregnancy of our second child, Beth. If I knew Beth was going to be born much sooner than the due date, and if we were not incredibly busy with working, tax filing, and house hunting, this photo would not be so special. Our car was parked on a driveway in front of a house that Ella and I just inspected for a likely purchase. It had been a long day. We were all tired. Realizing that I had not taken pictures of Ella for a while, I asked if she could pose in the car. She agreed. It turned out that this was the last picture of Ella’s pregnancy before Beth was born. Three weeks later, the house in the picture on the left became our home.
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给
艾拉拍下这张照片是让我觉得比较感慨的一件事。从她怀孕开 始，我每个月给她拍一张照片。但是我们无从知道贝琪会选择什 么时候出世，这张照片恰好是在贝琪出生五天前，在我的请求下拍的， 是艾拉怀孕的最后一张纪念照。 那天傍晚，房产代理带我们去看一栋房子，出来的时候太阳已经快落山 了。我们忙了一天，都很累了。我想在接下来的一段时间里可能会更 忙，就问艾拉能否现在就拍一张，她同意了。我一直都很想拍一张她坐 在车里的照片，快门响时，闪光透过车窗照亮了她的脸庞。 三个星期以后，照片中左侧的房子成了我们的家。
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O
n the 30th of March, 2012, about one month before the due date, baby Beth decided it was time to declare independence. I drove Ella to the hospital around 1:00 o’clock in the morning. I then sent Vic to a friend’s house, hoping she could still get some sleep. On my way back to the hospital, Ella called, telling me that she was already transferred into the operation room, and a Caesarean section was going to start any time. Realizing that I was about 10 minutes of drive to the hospital, my mind went blank. How I wished I could spend the birth moment with Ella and Beth together! Sitting on the passenger seat was my camera. I had been practicing photography for almost two years. I thought I was more ready than ever to record this moment. Fortunately, the surgery had not yet started when I entered the operation room. Five minutes later, the room was full of Beth’s crying voice. There she was, weighing only five pounds, yet crying so loud that the doctor joked, “We got a mad baby!”
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2
012年3月30日凌晨，贝琪决定宣布独立，这比预产期早了近一个 月。我先把艾拉送到医院，然后再把维琪送到朋友家。
在返回医院的路上，艾拉打电话告诉我她已经被推进了手术室，问我是 否可以及时赶到。我接电话的时候，还有大约十分钟车程才能到医院。 我感到有些绝望，我是多么希望能够在现场记录下贝琪出生的时刻，做 了那么多准备工作，就等着这一天的到来。 幸运的是，在我赶到医院的时候，手术还没有开始。五分钟后，手术室 充满了贝琪的哭声。她是那么小，只有五磅重，声音却十分响亮。大夫 开玩笑说，我们把贝琪惹怒了。
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I
n the movie ‘The Fifth Element’, Father Cornelius confides in a bartender, “I know she’s made to be strong, but she’s also so fragile, so human. Know what I mean?” Watching Beth undergoing phototherapy reminded me of that movie scene, when the superwoman Leeloo was re-constructed in a glass chamber. As a premature baby, Beth had not only neonatal jaundice, but also breathing difficulty because of under-developed respiratory muscles. She was transferred to the intensive care unit shortly after birth. Beth had come a long way even before birth. During the pregnancy, Ella suffered complication after chorionic villus sampling, so dreadful that we thought we lost Beth. Later, Ella experienced a dehydration that caused contraction. A pregnancy blood test result was way out of the normal range, suggesting the possibility of spina bifida, a severe birth defect. Standing in front of the glass incubator and oblivious of the dreamy purple light, I prayed for Beth’s survival and nothing else. Just like Leeloo, Beth was perfect in every way. On the fifth day, we took Beth out of the intensive care unit and brought her home.
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在
影片“第五元素”中，女超人莉露曾被保存在玻璃箱里重生。神 父科尼列斯后来是这样向酒保坦白的：“她是个强者，但是她同 时又是那么脆弱。你知道吗，她是人，不是神。“我站在玻璃箱前注视 着贝琪，不由得想起了这句话。由于早产，此刻的贝琪呼吸仍有困难， 心律急促，还患有新生儿黄疸症。 艾拉自怀孕以来，这一路都不是十分顺利。她接受穿刺检查时出现了并 发症，我们差点失去了贝琪。一项孕期婴儿健康状况化验指标也严重超 标，有先天生理缺陷的可能。我静静地祈祷贝琪能渡过难关。此刻，睡 在玻璃箱里的她看上去是那么完美，就像莉露一样。 五天后，医生准许我们把贝琪接回家中。
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I
decided to document Beth’s growth by taking at least one picture of her every month. Particularly, I wanted to record milestones of Beth’s development, such as the moments when she started sitting, crawling, standing, and eventually, walking. At the beginning, I did not give too much thought on how I would work on this photo series, but I knew I wanted it to be pure and interesting.
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我
决定一个月至少给贝琪拍一张照片记录她的成长，特别是成长过 程中的关键时刻，比如她能坐起来，开始爬，站起来，一直到她 能走路的那一天。 一开始，我并没有很多复杂的想法，只是想把这个摄影系列做得纯粹、 甚至有趣一些 。
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T
he luggage in the picture had a history of at least 30 years. I inherited it from my parents when I went to college. I had many newer suitcases, but I always liked this one and kept it whenever I moved to a different place.
这
个行李箱差不多有三十年历史了，是上大 学的时候父母送给我的，那个时候已经是 个旧箱子。我奔波辗转这许多年，却一直没有把 它扔掉。总觉得这箱子看上去很帅，也许是因为 有一丝怀旧情结。
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iBaby • 爱宝宝
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Times Square, New York City • 纽约时代广场
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I
was three weeks late on the 6th month shot because I was sick, running a high fever. I had not been sick like that for years. I recovered slowly. Even after my body temperature went back to normal, I felt weak and did not have the strength to work with my camera. Beth could sit on her own just a few days before I took this picture. At first, I wanted to use a fluffy toy as a prop, but I was not able to find something I liked. Then I came across this weird looking bird in a toy store. An idea immediately popped in my head.
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贝
琪六个月大的时候我病了，发高烧，连续几日不退，恢复得也很 缓慢，这张照片的拍摄因此推迟了三个星期，不过刚好赶上贝琪 可以坐起来。 我曾经设想了很多贝琪坐着玩绒布玩具的场景。去商店买玩具的时候发 现了这个怪鸟，虽有别于原先的想法，但是脑海中闪现出的这个画面让 我兴奋不已。
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O
ne of the ideas for this series is, in addition to documenting Beth’s growth, I also want to record the look of my home. Although the interior looks nothing special, it is home, sweet home. This was the first picture to record Beth’s crawling. The very first click was a success, and I knew it when I pressed the shutter. It took me quite a while to set up the environment, and then, in a split of a second, it was all finished. A very strange feeling arose in my heart, as if I suddenly stepped into a vacuum.
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除
了记录贝琪的成长以外，这个系列的另一个目的是尽可能记录下拍 摄环境，也就是我们的家。
这是记录贝琪爬行的第一张照片，前期我花了很多时间选址，买服装， 做道具等。拍摄那天，在我第一次按下快门之后，就觉得已经捕捉到了 期盼的影像。那时心中有一种奇怪的感觉在升腾，好像一脚踏入真空， 不知所措。
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Winter • 冬
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46 AMBIANT | The Fourteen Months
O
n the night of March 29th 2013, I could not fall asleep. It was the very first time I was nervous before a photo session. Beth’s birthday was the next day. I planned to take three indoor pictures and stitch them together. I did not have a whole day to carry out my plan, as we needed to head out for a party at 3:00 PM. It took me about one hour to set up the scene and prepare the equipment. By the time everything was ready at 11:00 AM, Beth fell asleep. I waited and tried again after she woke up. Luckily I succeeded. Whew! Happy Birthday, Beth!
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贝
琪一岁生日的前一天晚上，我辗转反侧睡不着。想到第二天要给 她拍生日照，心里真有点紧张，过去拍片前还从来没有紧张过。 由于生日那天下午三点我们还要赶往别处的生日聚会，我怕时间不够 用。 果然，生日那天，令人着急的事情发生了，我花了近一小时，刚把器材 环境布置好，贝琪却正好睡着了，此时时针已经指向早晨十一点。幸运 的是，等到贝琪醒来后，终于顺利地完成了这张片子。 生日快乐，贝琪！
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S
he was sitting in a little chair. I thought I time-traveled into many years in the future, when Beth became a bride and was lifted up by the bridegroom.
她
坐在一个很小的椅子 上，我似乎随着时间 机器旅行到将来的某个时 刻，在贝琪的婚礼上，她被 新郎托举起的一刹那。
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T
his is the last picture of this photo series, with Beth’s wiggle-waggle walk. To conclude, I picked a scene that showed Ella, Vic, and Beth together. Vic was really catching up with mom in height. It is difficult to believe the baby girl in this picture is the same baby born prematurely 14 months ago.
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贝
琪十四个月大的时候可以独立行走了。我决定让贝琪、姐姐、和 妈妈同时出现在画面里庆祝贝琪的成就。姐姐的个子正在赶上妈 妈。很难相信在画面中蹒跚前行的娃娃，十四个月前就是那个艰难支撑 的早产婴儿。
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Afterword
F
rom the moments of Ella’s pregnancy, the early birth of Beth with respiratory problem, to today Beth running in the house like a cute Smart Car, it has been a miracle, literally! I never forgot how difficult it was, and my pray was embedded in the overall bright tone of this series. I picked staged photography. To me, it means ceremonialness and seriousness, especially when it comes to recording life events – I just cannot take it lightly. Meanwhile, I enjoyed acting like an auteur. More importantly, I felt greatly satisfied as a witness and a recorder of Beth’s development.
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后记
此
刻，贝琪正像个精灵小汽车一样，在房间里跑来跑去。我从来不 曾忘记开始的艰难，努力用摄影记录下这一切，并把我的祈祷和 祝福藏在这个色调明亮的系列里。 我选择了摆拍，对我来说，这种形式给我带来仪式般的庄重感。我把每 一次记录贝琪成长，都当成是一个庄重的仪式那样安排，执行，感觉自 己好像是一个电影导演。以这种方式，我从见证与记录贝琪的成长过程 中得到了很多快乐。
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Acknowledgement I feel greatly indebted to AMBIANT editors ChungkingExpress, C80, and Penguin, who watched this series grow from the very beginning, for their tireless encouragement, extreme patience, and wonderful suggestions. It’s been an even more amazing experience working with them after I completed shooting the series, as they helped me to settle the dust, reflect my subconsciousness, and thus strengthen my expression. - WJ We would like to thank the following friends of Ambaint for their suggestions, encouragement, and patience: akiller, 啊扑, bambooseven, evoJim, 华翰 斋, 立, lilywxc, 天天古狗, and 笑笑. Without their generousity, this issue would have taken a much lesser form. - ChungkingExpress
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鸣谢 岸边杂志的编辑虫庆通勤，西八零和小企鹅，从一开始就关注这个系 列，耐心地等待我完成拍摄，整整一年半时间。其间，他们给了我很多 鼓励和建议。在拍摄结束之后，他们帮助我选片，编辑，排版，付出了 很多心血。对我来说，奇妙的体验发生在拍摄完成之后。在与他们合作 的过程之中沉淀，共鸣与修正，我深感荣幸，在此由衷地感谢虫庆通 勤，西八零和小企鹅。 - 吴聚 非常感谢下列《岸边》朋友的鼓励、建议和帮助： akiller, 啊扑, bambooseven, evoJim, 华翰斋, 立, lilywxc, 天天古狗, 笑笑。他们的慷慨相 助使得本期杂志增辉不少。 - 虫庆通勤
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OURS
Editor 编辑
C80 西八零
Editor 编辑
ChungkingExpress 虫庆通勤 Editor 编辑
Penguin 小企鹅 Editor 编辑
WJ 吴聚
ambiantmag@gmail.com