俞躍
因為想要留住家族老屋的記憶,我選擇了拍照的方式,因為順便拍了老屋周邊的風(fēng)光,我迷上了拍攝鄉(xiāng)村的古橋。
我叫裘洪春,一個喜歡拍攝古橋的人。從2012年起到現(xiàn)在,我的鏡頭已經(jīng)與1000多座古橋相遇、相知。
迷上拍攝古橋,要從一幢老屋說起。那是我家祖上在浙江嵊州崇仁古鎮(zhèn)上的一幢百年老屋,有青磚、黛瓦、馬頭墻。因為后來搬到杭州,老屋無人,日漸衰敗,我擔(dān)心它會倒下來,卻又無計可施。2012年,我想到一個可以保存記憶的方式——拍照。
20世紀(jì)80年代,我曾學(xué)習(xí)過攝影和沖印,但后來中斷若干年。這次因為要拍老屋,我重新拾起攝影,但最初也只是拿了一部傻瓜相機就回老家了。
拍完老屋,我順便拍下了周邊的風(fēng)光和建筑,還有村里的古橋。
拍著拍著,我就被鄉(xiāng)間的古橋吸引住了:這些普普通通的石橋雖已很少被用到,但還看得出巧妙的構(gòu)造、質(zhì)樸的外形,歷經(jīng)幾百年風(fēng)雨而不倒。
我想,如果沒有及時記錄下來,古橋是不是也會像老屋一樣被人遺忘。我覺得自己可以做點事情——“拍橋之旅”隨之開啟。
從此,我利用雙休日自駕到鄉(xiāng)村,去找造型古樸的橋梁。每次拍到一座橋,我就會把它的年代、位置記錄下來,然后再去找下一座。我發(fā)現(xiàn),有的橋已被列為文保單位,有的則被歲月遺忘,散落在不知名的山間和溪流上。
浙江山路多,水路也多,所以橋就多。只要花時間和精力去找,我想就能把它們一一記錄下來。
家人也非常支持我的行動,2013年,我還特意買了單反相機尼康D90,去拍浙江的古橋。
要說拍橋,其實最辛苦的地方是難找。每次出發(fā)前,要大量翻閱地方志,再靠衛(wèi)星地圖,順河流走向估測判斷橋所在的位置。
實地找橋的過程,也很花時間、折磨人。有的橋因年代遠,橋名被當(dāng)?shù)厝烁牧擞指模由细鞯胤窖圆煌?,實際發(fā)音與文字資料的描述偏差較大,有時難免要走冤枉路。在農(nóng)村,許多古橋位置偏僻,遇到原路改道或封道,就不得不繞遠路抵達。
其實,古橋并不好拍。尤其是小型石梁橋,造型越簡單,要拍好就越難。為了拍橋額和拱券(又稱券洞),有時需要趴在橋下或走到溪灘上,這就十分危險,有一次我差點連人帶相機都滑進水里。
有時我也會覺得太累,想放棄。在外人看來,這更是一件費時、費力又非常孤獨的事。因為我不是考古學(xué)家,找橋、拍橋也不會產(chǎn)生別的收入。但每次我回頭看照片,想到這樣做能讓更多人了解古橋并去保護它們,我就覺得有意義。
在浙江境內(nèi),我最遠到過泰順,也是在那里拍到了被洪水沖垮的廊橋——文重橋。這座橋很幸運,聽說當(dāng)?shù)卣一亓舜蟛糠衷瓨?gòu)件,而留在我照片里的是它被沖毀前的原貌。
這些年,我覺得光把古橋拍下來遠遠不夠,要了解它們就要多看書。我最喜歡的書有兩本,一本是梁思成的《中國建筑史》,另一本是茅以升的《中國古橋技術(shù)史》,后者講了石拱橋的建造技法,尤其是講了古橋構(gòu)件。加上其他一些有關(guān)橋梁方面的書,幫我打開了視野,讓我更期待親眼看到古橋的精妙結(jié)構(gòu),而利用實地拍攝的機會,去對照、揣摩,感受更深。
浙江古橋梁造型獨特,光石拱橋拱券的堆砌方法就有幾十種。我越往后拍,越覺得單拍一座橋意義還不夠,要將局部細(xì)節(jié)也拍下來,比如要將橋心石、橋額、望柱、雕刻以及抱鼓石的紋飾等一一記錄下來。
至今,我跑過了浙江約65%的鄉(xiāng)村,穿過了記不清的河道、溪流,一共拍下了1000多座浙江的橋。
我拍古橋,基本屬于那種“記錄式”拍攝,努力拍出古橋的氣勢、畫面所蘊含的故事性。在拍攝過程中,我還會盡可能增加一些“可看性”。我希望看到的人能從這些“記錄式”的照片中,體會到浙江古橋最原本的建筑之美。
希望我拍過的古橋,能被更多人了解、喜歡、重視和愛護。
One Photographer,? 1,000 Ancient Bridges
By Yu Yue
My name is Qiu Hongchun. I am a photographer with a passion of photographing ancient bridges. Since 2012, I have photographed over 1,000 ancient bridges within Zhejiang.
Before my family and I moved to Hangzhou, we had a brick house in Chongren, our hometown in Shengzhou in eastern Zhejiang. Without anyone looking after it, the 100-year-old house was dilapidated and could come down at any time. In 2012, I thought of a way to preserve the house. I wanted to photograph it so that the house could stand forever in photos.
I learned the essentials of photography in the 1980s and but I didnt practice photographing for years and years. In order to eternalize the image of the home house, I took up my camera again. I went back and photographed the house with a point-and-shoot camera. After photographing the house, I was attracted by the sceneries of the ancient town. So I expanded my memorial trip into a field study of Chongren. Then I found I fell for the ancient bridges. Though these bridges were no longer in use, they looked fine, showcasing the artful craftsmanship of bridge builders in ancient times. These stone bridges had been around for several hundreds of years.
I found myself thinking about the destiny of these bridges. If they were left unattended, they would eventually vanish, just like the old family house in town. I thought I could photograph them. I therefore started a project to photograph ancient bridges across Zhejiang.
My trips always occur on weekends. The most challenging part of the work is the preparatory homework I need to do before I even drive my car to a destination. I first look into regional histories for information and then check rivers out on satellite maps to decide where these bridges are. Locating an ancient bridge isnt easy. As names change and dialects sound confusing when these names are spoken of by local residents. The real pronunciations of bridge names are often different from their names written in books. Occasionally, a trip can be a waste of time. Many of ancient bridges are in remote rural regions. Some roads are not in use any more. In some cases, I had to take a long detour to reach a remote bridge.
One year after I started photographing bridges, I bought a Nikon D90. My family backs me up to do this ambitious project.
Photographing a bridge isnt easy at all. A small stone bridge can give me a lot of trouble: it may look simple enough, but it isnt simple to figure out a way to take a good photo. It can even be dangerous in some cases. On a mission, I slipped and nearly fell into the river when I was trying to take a photo on the riverbank.
I have thought of giving up more than once. It takes time, money and dedication to travel and take so many photographs. I am no archaeologist. Seeking out a bridge and taking photos are not as rewarding as may be imagined. But I always feel invigorated when I look at the bridges in my photos. The world should have an opportunity to look at these bridges and do something to keep them alive and I am one of the photographers who are doing this opportunity job.
The farthest part of the province I have reached is Taishun, a county in southern Zhejiang. One of the corridor bridges I have photographed is Wenchong Bridge, a cultural relic under the protection of the national government. The bridge was totally damaged in a typhoon flood in September, 2016. The photo I took of the bridge provides an image that cant be seen in reality now. I hear most building blocks of the wood structure, first built in 1745 and rebuilt in 1857 and 1930 respectively, have been recovered. I sincerely hope it can be restored again.
Photographing a bridge takes time and knowledge. A bridge has many parts and details and there are many ways to photograph them all. In order to take meaningful photographs, I have read two books in recent years:? by Liang Sicheng (1901-1972) and? by Mao Yisheng (1896-1989). The books help me open my eyes to the beautiful nuances of the structures and building blocks of ancient bridges.
I photograph ancient bridges in Zhejiang in a documentary style. I want to showcase the vigor and story of these bridges. I want to make these bridges come to life in my photos. I want to make these bridges more presentable. I really hope that some viewers can appreciate the original architectural beauty of these bridges.
So far I have visited about 65% of the rural regions of Zhejiang Province. I dont remember exactly how many rivers and streams I have visited. The bridges I have photographed add up to more than 1,000.