What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
你曾去过最美的地方是哪里？
And when you were there, did you take a picture of it?
你在那里的时候有没有给眼前绝美的风景拍照？
Here's a place that tops that list for me.
这个地方是我心中排行榜的首位。
This is Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park in Utah at sunrise.
这是日出时分犹他州峡谷地国家公园的梅萨拱门。
It's the traditional homeland of the Pueblo, Ute, Paiute and Navajo people,
这是普韦布洛、犹特、派尤特和纳瓦霍印第安原始部落的传统家园，
and when you are there, it is absolutely stunning.
当你身在其中，就会感到那里的景色绝对迷人。
The sunrise illuminates the bottom of the arch orange, and then behind it you see the buttes and clouds and cliffs.
日出照亮眼前的拱形石块，使之呈现出温暖的橙色，之后在它的后面，你能看孤峰、云朵和悬崖。
But what you might not see from my photo here is the 30 people behind me who were also taking photos.
但是你无法从这张照片上看到的是站在我身后同时在拍照片的另外30个人。
And these are just the committed people, the sunrise people, right?
那些只是坚定的人们，热爱日出的人们，对吧？
So when you think about that, there must be hundreds if not thousands of photos of Mesa Arch taken every week.
所以当你想到这点，每周即使没有成千，也必有上百人在梅萨拱门前拍下照片。
I've been sharing my photography on Instagram for years, and it started to become really interesting and funny, even,
几年来，我一直在Instagram上分享自己的摄影作品，这甚至逐渐开始变得搞笑、有趣起来，
just how many similar photos of the same places I started to see online. And I was participating in it.
我开始在网上看到不计其数的同样地点的相似照片。而我也参与其中。
So this made me wonder: Why are we taking photos in the first place?
所以这便让我思考：我们最初拍照片的原因是什么？
Sometimes, I visit a popular landmark -- this one is Horseshoe Bend in Arizona
有时，我参观一个热门地标景点--这是亚利桑那州的马蹄湾，
and I see all the people with their phones and cameras out who snap a photo,
我看到所有人，都拿着他们的手机和相机，拍了张照片，
just to turn and get back in the car or walk back to the trailhead.
立马就转身回到车里，或是走回登山口。
And sometimes it seems like
有时这看起来像是
we are missing the point of going to this place to experience it for ourselves or to see it with our own eyes.
我们失去了前来此地亲身经历、亲眼见证这景色的意义。
When I'm behind the camera, I notice the smallest details:
我在镜头后，注意到了一个很小的细节：
the layers of light in the mountains as the light fades at the end of the day;
随着日暮降临，山上的光层逐渐消退，
the shapes that nature so expertly makes, abstract and yet completely perfect.
大自然如此熟练地绘制出如此形状，抽象且近乎完美。
I could go on and on here musing about the intricacies of this planet and the way that it makes me feel.
我能整日整夜地在这儿沉思这个星球上难以理解的万事万物以及它们带给我的感受。
Photographing the beauty and complexity of this world for me is like making a portrait of someone that I love.
拍摄这个世界的美丽和复杂，对我来说就像是为所爱之人画一幅肖像。
And when I make a photograph, I have to think about what I want it to say.
当我拍下一张照片，我需要思考通过这张照片我想表达些什么。
I have to ask myself what I want it to feel like.
我需要自问我想让这张照片传递出怎样的情感。
When you're communicating through an image, every creative choice matters.
当你通过图像交流时，每一个富有创意的选择都很重要。
Sometimes, I plan to share my images, and other times, I take them just for myself.
有时候，我计划分享我的摄影图像，又有时候，我选择将它们占为己有。
I currently host a video series on the future of the outdoors,
我最近在主持一部关于户外未来的系列影片，
and for one of the episodes we wanted to explore the relationship between photography and outdoor spaces.
其中一集，我们想要探索拍照摄影和户外空间的关系。
I learned about the research of Kristin Diehl and her colleagues at USC,
我学习了克里斯汀·迪尔和她在南加州大学同事的研究，
who studied photo-taking's effect on enjoyment levels.
他们研究的是拍照摄影对于享受程度的影响。
They found that when we're behind the camera,
研究发现当我们在相机身后，
when we're the ones taking the picture, we enjoy our experiences more, not less.
当我们是拍照的那个人的时候，我们能更加享受自己的体验，而非更少。
But it wasn't true all the time.
但实际情况并非总是如此。
If the person took the photo solely with the intention of sharing it,
如果一个人拍照的唯一目的是分享照片，
there was no increase in enjoyment, because they didn't do it for themselves.
享受程度便不会因此提升，因为他们并没有为自己而做这件事。
So this points to an important distinction: photography can enhance your experience if it's done intentionally.
所以这就指向了一个很重要的区分：带着意图去拍照摄影可以加强你的体验。
The intention piece is what matters.
但是你的意图是什么至关重要。
As a photographer, I've really had to check myself on this.
作为一名摄影师，我确实一直在提醒自己这一点。
When does it help me to have my camera out, and when do I just need to put it away?
什么时候我应该拿出相机拍照，又什么时候我需要将它收好，放在一边？
On a trip to Alaska, I had the opportunity to photograph Alaskan brown bears.
在去阿拉斯加的旅途中，我曾有机会记录下阿拉斯加棕熊。
I was on a boat with four other photographers,
我当时和其他4个摄影师同坐在一条船上，
and we were all having our minds blown at the same time in such close proximity to these animals.
我们同时都惊讶于自己能和这些动物如此近距离接触。
It's an emotional experience. Being eye to eye with these bears gave me a feeling of connection that transcends words,
那是一种情感体验。和那些棕熊四目相对给了我一种超乎言语能形容的情感连结，
and having my camera with me in this case enhanced that.
这种情况下拿出相机，能够增加那个瞬间的体验。
We were all creating independently but also all completely in the moment, both with nature and with each other.
我们所有人和自然、和彼此一起，都在独立创造并投入于那个瞬间。

I so clearly remember capturing the water droplets and the motion
我还如此清晰地记得自己捕捉水滴和运动的场景，
as the bears swam and the cute cubs following their mothers.
棕熊在游泳，后面还有一个可爱的幼崽正跟随它的母亲。
That group and I will have that experience together and these images to look back on time and time again,
那群人和我将会共同拥有这一段经历以及这些照片，可以让我们一次又一次回顾那段经历，
and photography is what enabled us to share this in the first place.
拍照摄影最初是能让我们分享瞬间的东西。
Other times, I choose to leave the camera behind,
还有一次，我选择将照相机放在一边，
and I think that choice ultimately improves both my experience and my work.
而那个决定，我认为最终让我的体验和工作都获得了提升。
I recently flew to the South Pacific island of Tonga to swim with humpback whales.
我最近去了汤加王国的一个南太平洋小岛，和座头鲸一起游泳。
I noticed myself feeling pressure and a certain obligation to take the camera with me,
我发现自己感到有压力，也觉得自己必须带上相机，
when sometimes I just wanted the pure experience itself.
即使有时我只是单纯想要收获体验。
And the experience is seriously amazing.
那个体验真的非常令人惊喜。
You're talking about being in the water with a curious baby animal the size of a station wagon
我们在说的体验是，你和小旅行车大小的好奇动物宝宝一起在水里，
while you are surrounded by particles that float around you like glitter, and the mom swims gracefully below you.
被闪闪发光的浮游在水面上的颗粒物质环绕，与此同时，动物妈妈优雅地在你脚下游泳。
There were times, obviously, when I did take my camera with me, and those were really amazing to capture as well.
好几次，显然，我确实带上了相机，那些体验也确实很值得记录。
But the setup is pretty big. It's like this big box. This is what it looks like.
但是这个设备非常的笨重。就像这个大盒子。它看起来像是这样。
And so this is between me and the whales, and at times that feels like a block between you and reality.
这就在我和鲸鱼之间，有时感觉像是有一大块东西阻挡在你和现实之间。
Is there a difference when it's just your phone?
如果只是用你的手机会有什么差别吗？
Last year, I went to Uluru in Central Australia, which is this massive rock that towers over the desert.
去年，我去了澳大利亚中部的乌鲁鲁，这是一块耸立在沙漠中的巨大岩石。
This is sacred land to Anangu, who are the Aboriginal people from this area and the traditional owners of the land.
对阿南格族人来说这是一片圣地，他们是这块区域的原住民，也是这块土地的历史所有者。
There are particular spots in Uluru that you cannot photograph professionally,
在乌鲁鲁的有些地方，从专业角度讲是不能拍照的，
because they are culturally sensitive, equivalent to sacred scripture to Anangu.
因为那些是非常文化敏感的地方，等同于是神圣经典的存在。
So because of this, most of my photographs are from either far away, like this one, or from specific angles in the park.
因此，我大多的摄影作品不是从距离很远的地方拍的，像这样，就是在公园内的某个特定角度。
You could say that some of the most interesting and beautiful visuals in Uluru are located in these sensitive areas,
你会说有些乌鲁鲁最有趣、视觉效果最佳的地方就坐落在那些敏感地区，
but the request not to photograph them is an explicit and direct invitation
但是原住民对于禁止拍照的请求是给我们的一个明确且直接的邀请，
to learn more about the land, its importance and its people.
了解更多关于这片土地及其对当地人的重要性。
Isn't that what we should be doing anyway?
这不是我们本就应该做的吗？
So my visit to Uluru quickly became not about me but about connecting with the place.
所以我在乌鲁鲁的行程很快就变成“不关于我”，而是“关于和地点建立联系”。
Ironically and unsurprisingly, I have found that presence and connection also happens to make for more compelling images.
具有讽刺且毫不奇怪的是，我发现存在和联系也能让图像变得更具吸引力。
We can probably all point to social media as being a good place to share the images from our travels and from our lives.
说一个能分享我们旅行和生活照片的好地方，我们可能都会指向社交媒体。
We not only share pieces of the world that we have seen but also parts of our day-to-day experiences.
我们不仅分享我们看到的那部分世界，也分享部分我们每天的日常体验。
And if we're applying intentionality to the photos we take, then hopefully we're sharing intentionally too.
如果我们在拍照时加入刻意的成分，那希望我们也能带有目的性地分享。
For me, allowing people to see pieces of my story and my perspective online has reminded me that I'm not alone.
对我来说，在网上让人们看到代表我的故事和观点的摄影作品一直在提醒我：我并不是一个人。
It's helped me build support and community to do the same for others.
这帮助我建立起支持和社区，为他人做同样的事。
Let me be clear: I am not trying to discourage you from taking photos.
让我讲清楚：我不是在尝试叫你别拍照。
Even if thousands of people have been to whatever exact location and taken whatever exact photo,
即使成千上万人已经去过同一个地点，拍过同样的照片，
I encourage you to get out and create too.
我也会鼓励你走出门去，创作你自己的照片。
The world needs every voice and perspective, and yours is included.
这个世界需要每一个声音，每一个观点，包括你的。
But what I'm trying to show you is that the phone or camera doesn't have to stay out all the time.
但我在尝试告诉你不论是手机还是相机，它们不需要一直在手边待命。
What I'm trying to encourage you to do is to put it away, just for a moment -- a moment for you.
我在尝试的，是鼓励你把它放到一边，只是那么一瞬间，属于你的一瞬间。
So let's go back to Mesa Arch, the way that the rock glows orange and the lovely layers of blue in the background.
所以让我们回到梅萨拱门，岩石泛出橙光的方式还有背景中可爱的多层蓝色。
What if the next time you were somewhere amazing, you couldn't bring your camera or phone?
如果下次我们在某个很棒的地方，但你却没有带上相机或手机，那要怎么办？
What if you were not allowed to take any pictures at all?
如果你完全不被允许拍照，那要怎么办？
Would it feel like a limitation? Or would it feel like a relief?
你会感到被限制吗？还是会感到放松？
So what can we do? Well, the next time you feel the impulse to take out your camera or phone,
所以我们能怎么做？下次你有拿出相机或是手机的冲动，
or, in my case, once you realize you have already pulled it out...
或是就我而言，一旦你意识到你已经拿出它们了，
First: stop. Pause. Take a deep breath. Look around.
首先：停下。暂停。深呼吸。环顾四周。
What do you notice? Are you experiencing this moment with someone else?
你注意到什么？你是否在和其他人一起经历这一瞬间？
Remember that this moment only comes once. Photography can be part of a beautiful experience.
记住，这样的时刻转瞬即逝。拍照可以成为美好经历的一部分。
Just don't let it be a block between you and reality.
只是别让它成为你和现实的阻碍。
Be intentional, and don't lose a beautiful, irreplaceable memory, because you were too focused on getting the shot. Thank you.
保持刻意，别因为太过专注于拍下好照片而丢失那个美好且无法替代的记忆。谢谢。