打從心底喜歡一件的事情時候，不會瞻前顧後的考慮太多，常常都是「先開始再說」。在看著Paul的文字時，可以感受到真實，並貼近內心深處引發共鳴。上一篇介紹的主題圍繞在攝影師Paul的人生軌跡與這邊土地的緣分、觀察。進入下半場，跟著Paul的視角來一探究竟，關於《島嶼》幕後故事。
創作與媒材之路：透過底片建構Paul眼中的島嶼
一手包辦從無到有，攝影師＋編輯＋設計 ＝ 真台灣Style
“Film Photography Problems, Meiti Riverside Park, Taipei.” I enjoy the randomness and authenticity of film photography, it doesn’t have to be perfect and sometimes mistakes make for the most unique outcomes. 《底片攝影的小麻煩，台北美堤河濱公園》 我喜歡底片攝影的隨機性與真實感，它不需要完美，有時候錯誤反而能造就最獨特的成果。
為什麼選擇使用底片相機來完成《島嶼》的拍攝？這對你的創作有什麼特別的意義？ Why did you choose to use a film camera for shooting "Island"? What special significance does it hold for your work?
I love film photography because it can capture things in such a natural and unique way. A moment captured on film feels more special to me, an image that cannot be recreated because of how many factors combine to make it the way it is that will never fall the same way again in the future. I also didn’t want to fill 島嶼 with photos that flatter Taiwan and try to make it a place that is perfect or unreal. I enjoy the flaws in places as they are just as important to creating the feel of a place as the glitzy, polished parts that people want you to look at. Film reflects that in its sometimes unpredictable and difficult nature as a medium.
我喜歡底片攝影，因為它能以非常自然且獨特的方式捕捉畫面。對我來說底片記錄下來的瞬間總是特別的，因為影像無法複製。畫面形成仰賴許多因素的交錯與偶然，而那些條件未來不會再以相同方式重現。
我不希望《島嶼》裡充斥著一堆美化台灣的照片，試圖把這個地方描繪得完美又不真實。喜歡這個地方的瑕疵，與那些閃亮、經過修飾的畫面一樣重要。它們共同構成地方真正的樣貌。底片這個媒介，時常不可預測、甚至難以控制。而正是這種特質，讓它能誠實反映出真實生活的樣子。
“Mannequins, Taoyuan.” I loved surrealist art when I was young and scenes like this remind me that the world can be strange. 《人體模型，桃園》 我年輕時很喜歡超現實主義藝術，像這樣的場景會提醒我，這世界有時候真的很奇妙。
你是如何平衡攝影與編排、印製這些繁瑣的過程的？這對你有什麼挑戰？
How did you balance photography with the meticulous processes of curating, designing, and printing? What challenges did you face?
Curating was by far the hardest part for me as it takes a completely different mindset and way of looking at the photos. It’s a hard thing to look at a photo that you love but realise that it doesn’t fit with the overall narrative that you are trying to create and so have to leave it on the cutting room floor. My first attempts at narrowing down the focus meant jettisoning close to half the images I had selected for each place because I just had far too much material and even then the final book has more than 1,000 photos in total across all the counties. When taking photos there is a great freedom and space to explore which is then dampened by the constraints of time, space, budget and boundaries when turning it into a physical item and compromises have to be made.
對我來說，最困難的部分其實是挑選照片，因為需要完全不同的思維方式與角度。有時明明非常喜歡某張照片，但必須承認它和整體敘事不搭。只能忍痛割愛，把它留在剪輯室地板上。第一次試著編輯主題時，因為素材實在太多，幾乎每個地區都要砍掉一半以上的照片。即使如此，最後整本書橫跨所有縣市，還是收錄了超過一千張照片。
在拍照的時候，有很大的自由可以盡情探索。但當這些影像要轉化成實體出版品時，會被時間、空間、預算與整體架構的限制束縛。這個過程中，總要不斷做出妥協。
“Penghu International Fireworks Festival.” I really enjoyed exploring Penghu and the fireworks festival was a perfect time to go, highly recommended. 《澎湖國際海上花火節》 我很享受在澎湖的探索旅程，而花火節正是造訪的完美時機，非常推薦。
作為一位住在台灣的外國攝影師，你認為這種文化背景如何影響你的創作視角？
As a photographer living in Taiwan, how do you think your cultural background influenced your creative perspective?
I certainly think that having such a different cultural background means that different things stand out to me for their contrast to my own experiences growing up. Things that might seem mundane to locals can enthral me. This is the challenge that any photographer has when working in a place they are overly familiar with is to see things with fresh eyes and certainly the subject of my photography has also changed during the course of all the years I have been living here as different things have drawn my eye. Whenever I am photographing places I will get strange looks from other people wondering what I am doing. I have found that the most interesting things are found by turning your lens in the opposite direction to everyone else’s and walking away from the crowds not towards them.
來自不同文化背景會特別注意，那些與自己成長經驗大相徑庭的事物。在地人覺得再普通不過的場景，對我來說卻是非常吸引人的。對於攝影師都會面臨的挑戰：對一個地方太熟悉，要怎麼維持「初見」的眼光？這些年來在台灣的拍攝主題也不斷變化，因為身處不同階段，總會有不同的東西吸引著我。經常在拍攝時收到路人的奇怪眼神，彷彿他們在想「你到底在拍什麼？」。但我發現最有趣的畫面，往往是把鏡頭轉向與別人不同的方向，或是選擇遠離人群，走另一條不同的路時才會出現。
”Reminders of the past, Ou Cuo Beach, Kinmen.” Living in Taiwan it’s easy sometimes to forget or ignore the situation of the country both today and in the recent past regarding their relationship with China. Kinmen and Matsu are stark reminders of just how close (geographically and historically) that conflict is. 《過往的痕跡，金門歐厝沙灘》 住在台灣，有時候很容易忽略或忘記這個國家目前以及近期與中國之間的關係。金門與馬祖就是最直接的提醒，它們無論在地理或歷史上，都與這段衝突極為接近。
你對未來創作有什麼計劃？
What are your future plans for next?
I have recently moved from Taipei to Taichung and it has been a challenging period in my life, one where I am not sure which direction is the correct path to travel. I want to explore some of these emotions and try to express them through photography if I can. I have experimented with portrait photography and this is something that interests me if I can use it to tell a story or convey an idea. At the same time I want to use photography as something that brings me joy and lets me follow my curiosity rather than something that I feel constrained by or that I put too much pressure on myself to create and so removes the pure enjoyment of it.
最近從台北搬到台中，對我來說這是一段充滿挑戰的時期，不太確定下一步該往哪個方向走。如果可以，希望透過攝影來探索這些情緒，並試著表達出來。同時也開始嘗試人像攝影，透過人物去講故事、傳達想法，是很有趣的事情。
希望攝影仍能是一件讓我感到快樂的事。不是一種壓力或責任，不會因為對自己的創作要求過高，反而失去了當初那份單純的喜悅與好奇心。
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非常感謝Paul的爽快答應，也讓這個小小的訪問順利在今年完成並且發布了。不知道大家看完這上下篇之後，內心會有什麼感觸呢？
如果相同的問題問自己，我是否也能夠面對自己的內心，誠實地侃侃而談？即便日常生活是如此的單調重複，沒有俯拾即是的靈感創作，這樣的故事會有人欣賞嗎？成為社會人士之後，在現實的打磨之中沒有了年少的傲氣。漸漸為了生活、工作、家庭而不斷地切換、偽裝。不確定「自我」像是被切片成的很多個面向，還是保護機制下的角色扮演？
從Paul的故事之中，也喚起自己那一份喜歡攝影、喜歡底片的心。在按下快門的那一刻的純粹、影像的訴說，就是人生的意義跟答案。即使在《島嶼》不同的角落，也會繼續燃燒這份熱情，用力地紀錄我們眼中所看到的畫面。
