I thus turned to my friend Tony Li to get more insight into this trend. Tony is part of the aforementioned “studied-engineering-turned-creative” segment. After graduating from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, his passion for photography intensified. It started as a hobby. He collected cameras, experimented with different styles, took portraits of friends, etc… This went on for three years until he was struck by a sudden epiphany: photography, not engineering, was his calling.

In 2006, he started doing commissioned works, then in 2007 he quit his job and took up the title “Professional Photographer.” Through online photography forums, he met his partner Kevin, who had recently set up an independent studio. Tony and Kevin joined forces and re-named their studio Carryoung, which originates from a motivational phrase Tony uses to encourage himself: “Carry on to be young!”

Guanxi still plays a role! When I spoke with them, Tony and Kevin admitted that a wide social network has been instrumental in their success. Most of their clients have come from industry friends or past client referrals. Connections are how they got their foots in the door, but now they say it’s about delivering to the client.

When reminiscing over stories from their early days in the studio, Tony brought up a story of a corporate shooting job. He was set to snap portraits for an executive from a top pharmaceutical company. The client came in late and by the time Tony got to shooting, the client was forced to leave after just 2 shots. Despite a rushed lighting set up and a mere 2 photos taken, they turned out perfectly. Those two photos meant a pretty penny for the studio.

As Tony was hinting to in his story, once you have the capabilities and a decent client roster, photography can be a lucrative affair. The jobs are out there! Parents are willing to shovel out fortunes for generic pics of their kids; corporate companies are trying to relate to Chinese youth by hiring local creatives to spice up campaigns; foreign mags need local correspondents; the list goes on.

In 2005, she founded After 17, an online magazine dedicated to giving female artists exposure. Then later, 2006 to 2007 she and fellow photographer boyfriend Patrick Tsai launched the acclaimed My Little Dead Dick project, which ended just before their break up. Her works have since been shown internationally — in galleries and events like France’s Hyeres Photography Festival — as well as frequently appear in publications. She was recently featured alongside photographers like Tim Barber and Peter Sutherland in Shoot: Photography of the Moment.

Be sure to check out her website.

As a reporter and editor, writing was my main form of expression, but I was always interested in more visual creations. Eventually I surrounded myself with several photographer friends. We spent tons of time together, and eventually decided to launch a creative magazine together. Working with them on the mag I started to learn photography and never stopped.

Where did you go from there?

At first photography was just a hobby, but eventually I started shooting for magazines, then brands, and so on. I’m still not accustomed to being a “professional photographer.” I enjoy being involved in many things, so pigeon-holing myself as just a photographer actually goes against what I believe.

What influences your photography, and how does photography influence you?

My photos relate to my personal life. You look at my photos, you’re looking at me. You see the changes in life; the ups and downs. I take fewer pictures when I am bored. I don’t enjoy going out and looking for subjects; I prefer focusing on the people and things around me. But now that I’ve become a freelancer, projects have forced me to get in touch with the people and things that are not related to my life. It’s interesting.

How do the post-80′s generation of “indie” Chinese photographers differ form their predecessors?

Younger Chinese photographers come from a different background, and focus on different themes than past generations. Look at their photographs, and you’ll see much more youth themes. They document their lives and surrounding sub-cultures. It’s much more about us, our personal spaces.

Do you see any notable differences between the emerging Chinese school of indie photographers and their foreign counterparts?

The way I see it, European photographers focus more on ideas and concepts. Meanwhile American photographers are doing great things in fashion, documentary, and “snap shot” photography. You can see the differences in people’s mindset and lifestyles in their photos. Foreign photographers can be simple and direct with their images, meanwhile that goes against the Chinese culture. We’re not simple and direct. Chinese photographers will incorporate seemingly arbitrary elements in pictures.

Over the past 3 months, core members of the enovate insights team were immersed in a research project investigating the RC Hobby community in Shanghai. This community is a tight-knit group of passionate tinkerers and adventure-seeking garage dwellers spanning all ages and demographics. In our research findings, we noticed a key pattern across most high-level RC Hobby enthusiasts: a strong passion for all things photography.

It’s common to conjure images of the stereotypical Chinese man, traveling with his trusty Canon strapped around his neck, carefully directing his family to the precise spot for the perfect picture. We’re not here to erase that image (as any tourist destination in China upholds this). However, after analyzing findings pertaining to this extremely niche category of RC Hobbies, the parallel affection for photography leads us to another question: What factors enable photography to act as a “gateway hobby”? And what exactly is a “gateway hobby”?

A gateway hobby is simple to understand. Interest in one particular hobby (i.e. Photography), ultimately leads to a more passionate and fulfilling interest (i.e. RC Hobbies). So why is photography such a strong protagonist in developing further and more defined personal interests? Let’s examine further.

1. Photography has sustainable cultures and communities, both online and offline.

Photography has a way of transcending style, geekery, hipsterdom, career and casual. Its role and use among each of its different types of users creates many separate cultures and communities, online and offline.

A pass through the camera groups on popular Chinese youth social networking site, Douban.com illustrates the diverse camera passions of its members. There are Lomography groups with thousands of members, Lieca groups with thousands more, groups dedicated to old-school Chinese Seagull cameras, and groups centered on the latest and greatest camera technology. Each group acts as a hub for camera and general photography discussion, lined with the connotations and individual make-up of each type of camera user.

2. Photography is more than a simple “point and click”.

Though digital cameras, multi-functional camera phones, and instant photo sharing are the photography industry’s Edisonial lightbulb moment, the fact still exists that photography is more about the pleasure of interacting with photos taken through editing, manipulating, sharing, and displaying online and offline.

A photograph is a thin waif of nothingness. However what’s displayed on that nothingness is a lasting memory, a visual experience with details, colors and objects. It’s a story mixed with emotion and narrative.

Chinese youth interact with photographs by creating artistic displays, sharing with friends on Weibo or a personal blog, editing for humorous effect on Photoshop and disseminating on BBS’, and most importantly, use photography as means of exploring nuances and intricacies of other passions.

Another great example in this category is the Chinese youth led company, fanfancan. fanfancan is a photographic publishing company bringing to life your photos in physical and shareable booklets. They embody the strong emotional appeal physical photos can bring to other people.

3. Photography creates new opportunities to see beyond what’s in front of you.

We were seated on the back of a bus filled with young Chinese strangers, eager to travel to the outskirts of Shanghai for a night walking excursion. Photographs were snapped at every opportunity, bringing together complete strangers and creating new friends. The purpose of this trip was not for photographic exploration, but for making new friends and general adventuring. However, the presence of cameras created an initial icebreaker for shy individuals.

The brilliance of photography is that those interested create opportunities and excuses to take photos. Night journey’s in a Shanghai water town, architectural tours of an old Chinese city, strolling streets to find hip Chinese fashionistas, cataloguing minute RC Hobby parts to share in online forums; these are all passion areas enhanced by photography. This leads back to the main point at hand: photography is a gateway, a lens through which these other passions and interests are magnified, stored, and shared.

Photography is a common bond that users all over the world adhere to. Each photographer seeks to capture their own unique glimpse of the world. In China, the lens zooms further forward.

His artillary consists of a Nikon FM3A, an Olympus Miu 2, a Yashica Electro35GT, a Canon 1Ds MarkIII, and his favorite camera, the Mamiya RB67. We’ve certainly picked up on his nostalgia for traditional photographic practices now considered vintage. In the local Chinese photography scene, he cites Chen Man (陈曼) and Li Qi (李奇) as sources of inspiration, but also refers to works of international figures like Tim Walker, and the black sheep of photography: Terry Richardson.

His impassioned involvement with local underground cultures — especially Shanghai’s indie music scence — is spawning a body of work, sure to one day be called iconic.

Be sure to check out the rest of Chihmin’s work here.

22-year-old Beth Tang studies from her English dictionary.  Beth grew up in the remote countryside of central China’s Hunan province.  Her farmer parents took out bank loans to pay for her undergraduate education while working odd jobs to supplement their income.  The first of her family to go to college, and fluent in English, Beth represents a major shift in her family’s legacy.  However, her academic success has put a new burden on her shoulders.  Though she dreams of continuing her studies abroad where she can put her mastery of English to use, she finds it necessary to take a job quickly after graduation and begin to give her parents a return on their investment.

At age 23 Chen Yu, a graduate student in software engineering at a top school in Hunan province, unexpectedly became a father. Though traditional in his choice to start a family young he also represents a newer, educated generation in China that is marked by opportunities far surpassing those of their elders. Hailing from a small city in southern Hunan province, and only one generation removed from his grandparents toiling life as farmers, Chen Yu offers a unique perspective on raising a family as a member of this transitional generation of Chinese youth. Says Chen Yu,

“Within ten years I want to become a man who is able to take care of the people I love very well, is able to understand them, to help them, and to make them feel comfortable in our life together. We worry about our future, our dreams versus our reality. It is a struggle. Maybe we cannot plan the future because we don’t know what opportunities will come or not come. I think during two people’s lives the process is always a struggle. We need to set a clear target to chase and, when we finally achieve that target, we may realize that the process was the truly beautiful part.”