Published : 20/02/2021
With China's rapid development, people around the world are used to focusing their attention on cities and the young population. Elderly people who remain in rural areas often lack attention.
A post-90s photographer from Shanxi is a professional photographer who uses his spare time to provide free photo shoots for elderly friends living in rural areas for free, using his camera to record their daily moments.
He plans to photograph 999 elderly people, calling for more people to pay attention to the elderly community.
Accompany rural elderly with a camera lens
The post-90s photographer named Xu Kai was born in Shanxi Province in a small city called Fuping County.
Like many other small cities and rural areas in China, a significant number of local young people have left their hometowns to work in metropolitan areas, giving rise to a distinctive social group known as "empty-nest elders".
Elderly individuals who remain in rural communities alone after their children and family members depart, enduring long-term isolation and lack of companionship.
Xu Kai also left the countryside to work in Xi'an, a big city in the province. He runs a photography company; but unlike normal young people, his favorite thing to do in his spare time is to go back to the countryside to chat with the old friends there and listen to their stories.
In his view, each old person is like a thick history book, talking to them can broaden his understanding and perspective.
Because he likes photography and view. Xu Kai, in addition to chatting with the elderly, also takes their free photo.
The hardships of farming, the joy of harvest, and the happiness of family reunion, all are recorded by Xu Kai...These moments are all recorded by Xu Kai. It's not hard to feel that his works are full of respect and appreciation for the elderly from the heart.
In just a few years, he has taken more than 500 photos for the elderly.
For many elderly people, having young people willing to listen to them patiently and chat with them is already a consolation. Taking photos for them is a kind of heartwarming and special company.
Plan to take photos for 999 people
During the epidemic in 2020, Xu Kai accidentally made his works into short films and put them on social media, attracting hundreds of thousands of netizens.
Many netizens say that these short films remind them of their grandparents in the countryside.
This is exactly what Xu Kai wants to see. He hopes that his works can spark more people to pay attention to this group of people, not only in material terms, but also in spiritual and emotional terms.
Many netizens call Xu Kai's behavior a good deed, but he doesn't agree. He feels that a photo doesn't have much material value. He could afford it when he was a student, and now as a photographer, it's within his power.
In response to questions about how long he can continue to take pictures for free, Xu Kai replied that the term "persist" was not fitting as spending time with the elderly and practicing photography are his hobbies.
Regardless of whether people follow his work online or not, he enjoys keeping a lighthearted attitude and continuing with his endeavor.
He plans to take photos for 999 elderly people, although it may take a long time, he is looking forward to it. Xu Kai's love is also influencing countless people around him.