最初愛上你時 The Story of Renee + Henry • Martin Aesthetics of Photography

我在一個婚禮上與Renee初次見面。她當時是新娘姊妹，我是當天的攝影師。她和新娘是清華大學的室友，是一個非常能幹的北京姑娘，在整個婚禮幫了大忙。

那次婚禮後不久，她和我聯絡，希望我到北京為她與未婚夫Henry拍攝一套有北京特色的照片。說實話，我去過歐洲、日本和東南亞拍攝，卻從來沒有到過北京拍照。2013年夏天，是北京之旅的開始。

「我要怎樣去把北京的特質自然地融入這套照片中，同時又能表達Renee和Henry那種經過歷練的關係呢？」

我認識的北京人總是比較豪爽，說話也是大情大性的。在這個前提下，我認為每段感情也有細水長流的一面。所以，整個拍攝過程我盡量不去打擾他們，讓他們盡情地熱吻，嬉戲，跑跳，靜止，相擁，又哈哈大笑。同時，不經意的把胡同、四合園、故宮和798等富有北京特色的場景融入照片之中。

我真的很享受這兩天的拍攝。除了攝影帶來的樂趣，Renee 、Henry 也與我成了好朋友。有些人總能在很短的時間裏和你交心，這叫緣份。誰又會想到，往後每年我都會到北京探訪他們。

拍完這套照片後，我又為他們創作了另一套自己十分喜歡的照片。– 馬丁

I first met Renee at a wedding. She was a bridesmaid and I was the photographer. She was the bride’s roommate at Tsinghua University, and a very capable Beijing girl who was very helpful throughout the wedding.

Not long after that wedding, she contacted me and said she wanted me to go to Beijing to take some photos of her and her fiancé Henry, with Beijing characteristics. The truth was, I had taken photos before in Europe, Japan and Southeast Asia, but never in Beijing. The summer of 2013 was the start of my Beijing trip.

How could I encapsulate Beijing’s qualities into these photos, while at the same time express the experience of Henry and Renee’s relationship? The Beijingers I know are typically very direct, and tend to be loud and passionate. I also believe that every relationship is long-lasting in its own way. So I did not interfere much in the process. I freely let them express themselves as they kissed, played, ran, stood, embraced, and laughed. At the same time, I naturally incorporated Beijing specialties like hutongs, the Forbidden City and 798 into the photos.

I truly enjoyed the shoot over those two days. Apart from the joy of taking photos, Renee and Henry also became my good friends. Some people are fated to become good friends in a short period of time. Who knew that after that, I would visit them in Beijing each year.

After that shoot, I created another set of photos for them that I love very much. – Martin

Renee:

2008年的夏天，你在廣州，我在北京，一南一北，各自準備著一段新的旅程，你的目的地Virginia，我的目的地Michigan，看似毫無交集。

一封相同的信改變了我們的人生軌跡，最後一刻，我們同時將機票上的目的地改為Chicago，從此開始了一段平凡卻又深刻的愛情，一切都好像冥冥中的註定。

In the summer of 2008, you were in Guangzhou,
I was in Beijing, north and south, each embarking on our own journeys.
Your destination was Virginia, mine was Michigan, there was no crossover in our paths.

But our college acceptance letters changed our lives forever.
At the last moment, we changed our plane ticket destinations to Chicago,
and from then started our ordinary, but deep relationship. Everything felt pre-ordained.

起初，我們沉浸在無限的愛戀中，如膠似漆，恨不得一天24個小時粘在一起，一節課的分別好像一個世紀。

永遠是彼此校內網上的最新瀏覽人，因為一刻也不能停止想念對方。那時候，很想就這樣永遠沉溺在這份童話般的愛情裏。

然而，現實很快將夢敲碎，習慣和觀念的差異以及學業和事業的壓力接踵而來，我們開始爭吵，無休無止，年少的我們不懂包容、不懂妥協、不懂激烈的爭執後只有兩敗俱傷。

我們想過逃避，想過放棄，卻始終無法下決心放下彼此，或許是患難真情一直在暗中維繫著這段感情。

At first, we indulged in our love; like glue, we were together 24/7, every lesson apart felt like a century.

We could not stop thinking about each other for one moment.
At that time, we just wanted to stay like that, in our fairytale romance, forever.

But soon, reality arrived; we fought endlessly over our differences in habit and perspectives ,and faced school and work pressures. We were too young to understand how to be accommodating and how to compromise.We didn’t know that both parties would be defeated after a blistering argument.

We considered running away from it and giving up, but we couldn’t let go. Perhaps our shared pain was what was sustaining our relationship.

那時候，我們擁有的很少，每天最發愁的就是吃飯加油。Subway、速凍水餃、速凍pizza吃到反胃，每個月都在為下個月的信用卡賬單發愁。

儘管如此，我們依舊覺得很幸福，因為有彼此的陪伴。那時，你還許下了一個傻傻的心願，就是讓我以後想吃什麽就吃到什麽。現在想想，幼稚卻溫馨。

很快的，我們走到了畢業的季節，很多人說畢業季是分手季，尤其對於我們這種要分隔兩地的情侶。

We didn’t have much at the time. We often just added lard to our rice, and almost felt sick from eating Subway, frozen dumplings and pizza. We worried about next month’s credit card bill.

Still, we felt very happy because we had each other. At the time, you even made a silly promise that in the future, I would be able to eat whatever I wanted. Thinking back, it was so childish and sweet.

Soon we entered graduation season; a lot of people say that breakups are rife around graduation, especially couples like us that soon need to be apart.

我們懷揣著不安與思念，開始了人生的第一份工作。忙碌的工作讓我們每天只有流於形式的電話問候，我們也爭吵，但更多的是體會到生活的不易，因此也開始對彼此更加理解包容。那時一個月一次的見面顯得尤為珍貴，總是盼著這次的機場送別是最後一次，卻永遠看不到盡頭…… 2011年夏天，爺爺的突然離開讓我意識到生命的無常與脆弱，也意識到事業與成就在人與人之間的情感面前是多麽的微不足道。我決定放棄北京的職位，到香港與你團聚。就這樣，我們順利完成了校園象牙塔般的生活到腳踏實的現實生活的過渡。這樣的感情讓我覺得更溫暖，更踏實。

With our anxieties and nostalgia, we began our first jobs. Because work was so busy, we could only have cursory phone conversations each day, and we fought a lot. As a result, we understood how difficult life could be and became more understanding and accommodating.
Each of our monthly meetings became extremely valuable; each airport farewell felt like it could be the last, with no end in sight…in the summer of 2011, my grandfather’s passing made me realise just how unexpected and fragile life could be, and also how professional success pales in importance to human relationships. I decided to leave my Beijing job to move to Hong Kong to be with you. Just like that, we made the successful transition from our ivory tower-lives at university to becoming adults in the real world. That kind of relationship made me feel warmer and more grounded.

我深知在未來的路上，我們還會遇到許多荊棘。但我很幸運能與我最好的朋友在這條路上相伴前行。

其實幸福一直在我們身邊，幸福是同甘共苦，幸福是離別後的重聚，幸福是爭吵後增進的默契。我感恩我們共同經歷的所有。

我喜歡你的善良，喜歡你的孩子氣，喜歡你大笑時瞇起的雙眼，喜歡你小小的大男子主義，喜歡你每次耍小心思都被我拆穿，喜歡你爭強好勝每次輸給我時的一臉憤怒。

真心希望能完成最初愛上你時在心裏默默許下的願望，好好照顧這個男人一輩子。

I know that we face many obstacles on the road ahead, but I am fortunate to walk that path with my best friend.

Fortune has always been around us; fortune is living through hard times together, fortune is reuniting after a goodbye, fortune is becoming stronger after an argument. I am grateful for all that we have experienced together.

I like your kindness, I like your childishness. I like the way your eyes squint when you’re laughing, your hints of machismo; the way I can see through your plans, your angry look each time you lose to me because you’re so competitive.

I truly hope I can fulfill the promise I made in my heart when I first fell in love with you – to take good care of this man.