澳门——存留至今、年代最久远的中国照片，由法国人于勒·埃及尔（Jules Itier）拍摄；19世纪40年代，他受法国国王路易·菲利普派遣来华执行外交使命。MACAO — The earliest remaining known photographs of China were taken by Jules Itier, a Frenchman who traveled to China in the 1840s as part of a diplomatic mission sent by King Louis-Philippe.
 　　1844年，埃及尔路过澳门，他拍摄的部分照片的主体，如一度是亚洲最大的天主教堂——圣保罗大教堂遗迹（即大三巴牌坊），如今基本上保留原貌。然而，他的大多数照片记述了澳门的别样风情——当时的澳门仍未开始填海造地，仍未开始急速的都市化进程。Itier passed through Macao in 1844 and the subjects of some of his photographs — like the ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral, once the largest Catholic cathedral in Asia — look little changed today. But most of his photographs tell the story of a very different Macao, the one that existed before land reclamation and rapid urbanization.
　　

        他的作品成为《光与影的旅途——摄影师之发明与中国澳门老照片》展览的亮点，展览将在澳门博物馆进行，8月23日闭幕。His work is a highlight of an exhibit called “A Journey through Light and Shadow — The Invention of Photography and the Earliest Photographs of Macao, China,” which will run until Aug. 23 at the Museum of Macau
　　展览通过拍摄于1844年至20世纪初期的180张香港、澳门与中国大陆的图片，展示了制作这些老照片的古老摄影方式。Along with 180 photos of Macao, Hong Kong and mainland China taken between 1844 and the early part of the 20th century, the exhibit displays photographic antiques that were used in the production of some of these early photos.
　　这些各式收藏，由法国尼普斯摄影博物馆（Musée Nicéphore Niépce）以及法国、英国、美国和澳门的其它12家博物馆、文化机构和私人收藏家处租借。The various collections are on loan from the Musée Nicéphore Niépce in Chalon-sur-Sa?ne, France, and 12 other museums, cultural institutions and private collectors in France, Britain, the United States and Macao.
　　展览的第一部分以世界上最古老的一些照相机和配件，记载了19世纪30年代直至20世纪初的摄影史：摄影从使用需要很长曝光时间的大块头相机，演变成更加便携的相机，并介绍了移动物体摄影术。In the first part of the exhibition, some of the world’s earliest cameras and accessories chronicle the history of photography from the 1830s through the early 1900s, when photography evolved from the use of bulky cameras requiring long exposure times to more portable cameras and the photography of moving objects.
　　“我们觉得追溯摄影术的历史很重要，因为澳门最古老的照片是用达盖尔银版法拍摄的，”馆长Cécile Leon表示。“We felt it was important to retrace the history of photography, because the first photos of Macao were daguerreotype,” said Cécile Leon, a co-curator of the exhibition.
　　在法国研究早期中国照片的独立研究家Régine Thiriez表示，尽管已知的中国最古老照片是由埃及尔拍摄的，但早在1842年照相机已经登陆中国，或许时间还要更早些。Though the earliest remaining known photographs of China are those taken by Itier, cameras had already reached China by 1842, and possibly even earlier, said Régine Thiriez, an independent researcher in early Chinese photography based in France.
　　“其中一些古老的相机被放进了参与第一次鸦片战争（1839-1842）的英国军官的行李中，鸦片战争令中国的一些港口开始经营国际贸易，”她的一封电邮中解释，“但当时拍摄的照片不是出于军事用途。”她补充说，摄影是一种好奇、一项嗜好，而当时中国才刚刚打开国门，西方对其知之甚少。“Some of these early cameras made it in the luggage of British officers fighting in the First Opium War (1839-1842), which opened up some of the country’s ports to international trade,” she explained in an e-mail. “But the photos taken back then were not for military purposes.” Photography was a curiosity, a hobby, and China was just opening up and was still quite unknown in the West, she added.
　　19世纪后半期，中国的摄影随着西方更多的介入而逐渐发展，但仍主要局限于通商口岸。正如澳门影展强调，这些老照片中没有几张是记录自然状态下的人的。Thiriez女士表示，部分原因在于中国民众好奇心重，会干扰漫长的拍摄过程。During the second half of the 19th century, photography in China developed along with an increased Western presence but remained mostly confined to the treaty ports. As the Macao exhibition underlines, few early photographs showed people in natural settings. Ms. Thiriez said this was partly because Chinese crowds were inquisitive and would have disturbed the long shooting process.
　　“无论如何，人们必须保持静止姿态，而‘偷拍式’的街头景象在19世纪80年代中国引入了更快速的干板照相法才开始出现，”她补充道。“In any case, people had to remain still and ‘candid’ street scenes only started in the early 1880s, when the faster dry-plate process made its way to China,” she added.
　　展出的埃及尔摄影作品，着重于拍摄妈阁庙的正立面（妈阁庙如今仍保留原貌屹立）；停满了中式小舢板的氹仔港；美不胜收的南湾以及楼高两层、宏伟的殖民府邸前的散步地带，这些楼房早在大规模的城市再开发和填海造地后消失殆尽。Itier’s photographs on display focus on the facade of the A-Ma Temple, still standing and little changed today; views of Taipa harbor filled with small Chinese junks; and the then magnificent Praia Grande bay with its promenade of double-story grand colonial houses, which have long disappeared following extensive redevelopment and land reclamation.
　　

         除了记录昔日的景象和建筑之外，老照片还暗示了澳门的经济发展情况。Beyond being a record of the landscape and architecture of a bygone age, the old photographs also hint at the economic developments of Macao.
　　1870年，敢为人先的苏格兰摄影师约翰·汤姆逊拍摄了多幅葡萄牙租界的照片，包括一些有趣的街景，反映了一个慵懒、温和的澳门，当地人自顾自的生意。而到了世纪之交，照片则呈现出一派生机勃勃的港口城市景象。In 1870, John Thomson, a pioneering Scottish photographer, took numerous pictures of the Portuguese enclave, including interesting street scenes that present a rather sleepy and gentle Macao with locals going about their business. But by the turn of the century, photos show a port city bustling with activity.
　　

         展出的一些最具魅力的照片是香港老照片：几乎认不出来的毕打街及其与众不同的钟楼，或者没有摩天大厦的太平山景色。另一张照片展示了就在丝绸之路的起点——北京老城墙之外的一个骆驼车队。Some of the most fascinating images on display are of Hong Kong, with a barely recognizable Pedder Street and its distinctive clock tower or Victoria Peak without skyscrapers. Another photo shows a camel caravan right outside Beijing’s old city walls, the start of the Silk Road.