Memories are made in a snap

The autumn leaves were turning and falling and ginkgo trees laid carpets of golden leaves in the parks in Beijing.

A friend and I were in one such park admiring the autumn colors and, of course, taking some photos. She and I are happy to go the extra mile to get a good shot, so, at one point we were lying on a bed of fallen foliage with our hair sprawled out and the camera positioned above us to capture the scene.

Moments later, two older Chinese women offered to take the photo for us, to get a better angle. "Sure! Thank you!," we said. That offer led to a full-blown photo shoot with several more women joining in to make sure we got the perfect shot. We were instructed on how to pose. The older women shooed away onlookers who were obstructing the background. Several other women scooped up leaves and tossed them in the air, and at the right moment the camera clicked away, capturing my friend and I in a shower of falling leaves. It was quite the spectacle. We laughed and thanked them for their help and talked about it for many minutes later. It was one of the most memorable experiences of the day.

I've had many such experiences since moving to China. During one trip to an extant volcano in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, a group of university students made sure that everyone on our bus tour sat themselves in the middle of the road to get a lovely picture of us with the volcano rising majestically behind us. It was such a laugh!

The stereotype of the Chinese tourist with five cameras hanging off his neck is one I was well familiar with. And while, yes, I've seen more people taking pictures here than anywhere else I've traveled, I absolutely adore it. What some may scoff at, I find endearing.

I see husbands taking photos of their wives, making sure she's posed "just so "and moving this way and that to get the best lighting. I've had savvy youngsters take the camera away from their parents and take my photo (because, frankly, they're better at it than their folks). I see groups of elderly women staging full-blown photo shoots for each other in scenic spots, making sure not a hair is out of place on their friend so everyone looks photo perfect.

I think the process of taking photos here is often more about the community experience than the final product. Sure, having cute and lovely photos to show off on your socials is nice. We all love that. But spending time with your friends laughing about how silly you were in front of XYZ monument, or how a leaf stuck to your face when they were thrown in the air, or how a random stranger, when asked to take your photo, suddenly becomes a professional photographer, delighted to be asked, is its own reward.

Photos capture memories. In this type of photo culture, taking the photos of themselves (whether elaborately with friends, or with the help of a stranger) becomes part of the memory, and enriches it. And I find that so very charming.