Yeah, these mind bending rock formations are held together with nothing but gravity.

是的，這些令人費解的岩層，除了重力之外，沒有任何東西可以固定在一起。

Rock balancing art predates the bible and can be found across the globe.

岩石平衡藝術早於《聖經》，在全球各地都可以找到。

Michael grab is one of the best balances around and his creations have turned him into an internet phenomenon.

邁克爾-搶是周圍最好的平衡之一，他的創作已使他成為一個互聯網現象。

The structure that probably got me noticed first internationally was kind of this orb structure that I made and it's just hundreds of little rocks kind of balanced on a really tiny one at the bottom.

最先在國際上引起我注意的結構可能是我做的這個球體結構，它只是數百個小石頭在底部一個非常小的石頭上平衡。

one of my cord drives is to make the formation as impossible as possible or to challenge my own skill and kind of one up myself each time a lot of reactions to my process while I'm building is like, oh no, that's impossible, That'll never happen, especially when I try to take a huge rock and put it on a tip and then people are just kind of mind blown when I actually let go.

我的驅動力之一是儘可能地使形成不可能，或挑戰我自己的技能，每次都能讓自己更上一層樓，在我建造的過程中，很多人對我的反應是，哦，不，那是不可能的，那是不可能的，特別是當我試圖把一塊巨大的石頭放在一個尖端時，當我真的放手時，人們只是有點震驚。

Anyone can make rock piles.

任何人都可以製作岩石堆。

But Michael has spent the last 12 years perfecting the art of balance.

但邁克爾在過去12年裡一直在完善平衡的藝術。

I started Balancing in about 2008 here in Boulder Colorado in Boulder Creek.

我大約在2008年開始在科羅拉多州博爾德溪的博爾德這裡進行平衡。

I just fell in love with it and started doing it every day and it kind of took over my life.

我只是愛上了它，並開始每天做它，它有點接管了我的生活。

So I ended up quitting my job and doing it full time.

所以我最後辭掉了工作，全職做這個工作。

There aren't many people out there who can call themselves professional rock balances.

外面沒有多少人可以稱自己為專業的岩石平衡。

But these fragile creations take a lot of practice.

但這些脆弱的創作需要大量的實踐。

I pretty much go out on a daily basis.

我幾乎每天都會出去。

If the weather's nice, mainly the wind is what I consider bad weather.

如果天氣好，主要是風是我認為的壞天氣。

So if it's snowing or raining, I usually go out anyway.

是以，如果是下雪或下雨，我通常還是會出去的。

That's just part of the beauty of the art form is just getting out in the elements.

這只是藝術形式之美的一部分，只是在元素中得到了。

It took Michael over a decade to get to this level.

邁克爾花了十多年的時間才達到這個水準。

A lot of his creations will take multiple attempts to get right, how's the each sculpture is different.

他的很多作品都需要多次嘗試才能獲得成功，每件雕塑都是不同的。

But every time Michael builds, he follows the same process.

但每次邁克爾建造時，他都遵循同樣的過程。

The first thing you must do is find a location to create the stack.

你必須做的第一件事是找到一個位置來創建堆棧。

Built several structures here over the years.

多年來在這裡建造了幾個建築。

I just like it because I like the texture of the rock and the way the water flows over the rock to create towers that look like they're defying gravity takes a lot of time.

我只是喜歡它，因為我喜歡岩石的質地，以及水在岩石上流動的方式，以創造看起來像違背重力的塔，需要大量的時間。

So, Michael needs to make himself comfortable.

所以，邁克爾需要讓自己舒服一點。

Once I decide where I want to build, I need to make kind of a temporary stone chair, your business like.

一旦我決定在哪裡建造，我需要做一種臨時的石椅，你的生意一樣。

So, and I'm just trying to make a very stable surface to plant my body weight on And one this kind of level.

所以，我只是想做一個非常穩定的表面，把我的身體重量栽在上面，而且是這種水準。

Once he's got a comfy seat, it's time to choose his tools for balancing.

一旦他有了一個舒適的座位，是時候選擇他的平衡工具了。

I want the rocks to be completely clean so either I'll grab them from an area that's not so mossy or just kind of loose, bare rocks.

我希望岩石是完全乾淨的，所以我要麼從一個沒有那麼多苔蘚的地方抓起它們，要麼就是那種鬆散的、光禿禿的岩石。

And I'm looking for different textures and surfaces like this kind of has a cup on the bottom.

我正在尋找不同的質地和表面，比如這個底部有一個杯子。

It's really important to find rocks that have three points of contact.

找到有三個接觸點的岩石，這一點真的很重要。

In between these three points is the center of gravity.

在這三點之間的地方就是重心。

It works exactly the same as a camera tripod.

它的工作原理與相機三角架完全相同。

You just have to center the mask.

你只需要把面具放在中間。

So I kind of match that up with my big baseball.

所以我把這一點與我的大棒球相匹配。

They're here and get it in a position that is mhm.

他們在這裡，並在一個位置得到它，是嗯。

Completely stable in between the contacts.

在觸點之間完全穩定。

So all the weight is going to be channel the rate to this point.

是以，所有的重量都將是通道的速率，到這一點。

He always works backwards picking the final rock first.

他總是逆向工作，先挑選最後的石頭。

The bigger the top rock, the more impossible the structure will look when he lets go.

頂部的岩石越大，當他放手時，結構看起來就越不可能。

This is the rock I've designated as my top rock just because I like the shape of it and it has a nice kind of rounded point down at the bottom here.

這塊石頭是我指定的頂級石頭，因為我喜歡它的形狀，它在底部有一個漂亮的圓點。

So I basically want to balance it in this orientation.

所以我基本上想在這個方向上平衡。

As Michael starts to build, he has to make sure that the structure has a solid foundation has to be the most stable at the bottom because any kind of vibrations will magnify as they come up the structure with each additional rock.

當邁克爾開始建造時，他必須確保該結構有一個堅實的基礎，必須是最穩定的底部，因為任何種類的振動都會隨著每一塊額外的岩石而放大。

The build becomes more challenging.

建設變得更具挑戰性。

The weight increases and rocks could fall on Michael at any time but actually takes quite a bit of physical strength to get this one balanced safely.

重量增加，岩石隨時可能落在邁克爾身上，但實際上需要相當大的體力才能讓這個人安全地保持平衡。

They have to hold this one with this hand with all this weight.

他們必須用這隻手握住這個有這麼大重量的人。

So it's like really wanting to fall that way.

所以它就像真的想落到那個位置。

The rocks are heavy.

石頭很重。

So when he collapses could lead to broken fingers.

所以當他倒下時可能會導致手指骨折。

Yeah, this whole art form is definitely not for the faint of heart.

是的，這整個藝術形式絕對不適合膽小的人。

You just kind of go all in or else you might get injured.

你只是有點全力以赴，否則你可能會受傷。

Mhm.

嗯。

Once all of the rocks below are aligned, the final piece of the puzzle is also the most risky top rock as I'm building up the core of the structure.

一旦下面所有的岩石都排列好了，最後一塊拼圖也是最危險的頂部岩石，因為我正在建立結構的核心。

I'm kind of estimating this final weight and position of the top rock.

我有點在估計這個最終的重量和頂部岩石的位置。

And so once it actually gets up there, then it's like the actual weight that I'm working with.

是以，一旦它真的到了那裡，那麼它就像我正在工作的實際重量。

And so sometimes my adjustments that I've been making the whole time will be a little bit off.

是以，有時我一直在做的調整會有一點偏差。

They're pretty close right now, like it's barely balanced, but I'm going to get out of here because you got to do that carefully also because they're so finally poised.

他們現在非常接近，就像勉強平衡一樣，但我要離開這裡，因為你得小心翼翼地做，也因為他們如此最後蓄勢。

A tower like this may not last very long.

像這樣的塔可能不會持續很長時間。

The structures will last anywhere from a few seconds to a few days At the end of every build, Michael likes to test the integrity of the tower by splashing it with water.

這些結構將持續數秒至數天不等。在每次建造結束時，邁克爾喜歡用水來測試塔的完整性。

Final process I usually do is splash it with water and if it can survive through this then it's worthy to be photographed.

我通常做的最後一道工序是用水潑它，如果它能通過這道工序存活下來，那麼它就值得被拍下來。

This also gives it an amazing ice sculpture effect if left overnight in the cold, colder air.

如果在寒冷的空氣中放置一夜，這也使它具有驚人的冰雕效果。

Part of this whole rock balancing thing is actually getting into nature and experiencing it firsthand, like turning over rocks and seeing what's on these things and learning about the life that's around in a bid to leave no trace, Michael destroys all of his structures.

這整個岩石平衡的一部分實際上是進入大自然，親身體驗，比如翻開岩石，看看這些東西上有什麼，瞭解周圍的生命，為了不留下任何痕跡，邁克爾破壞了他所有的結構。

After photographing, I like to document as much of the creation as possible.

拍攝後，我喜歡儘可能多地記錄創作過程。

So that includes the build process that includes the life of the creation as long as it's standing and also the collapse, and ideally a natural collapse due to wind or something like that.

是以，這包括建造過程，包括創造的生命，只要它是站著的，也包括倒塌，最好是由於風或類似的東西自然倒塌。

But even still, if wind doesn't blow it over and I'm done with all my documentation and I'll just knock it over myself.

但即使如此，如果風不把它吹倒，我的所有文件都做完了，我就會自己把它打翻。

Yeah.

是的。