Modern China has legions of elderly photographers – those amateur owners of the most professional equipment: zoom lenses, flashes, shutter cables and tripods.

They enter parks at opening time fully equipped for anything and can be found everywhere. They stay all day long: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these photographers from the swift completion of their appointed park rounds. It's all about the process. Photography injects a vital new purpose into their lives after retirement.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Often the aging shutterbug can be sighted near flowers blossoms with a model, most likely his wife. She brings scarves.

In their quest for a steady shot, some of these photographers can really genuflect. Chinese internet users have dubbed these athletes "human tripods" for their impressive acrobatics.

Stop and photograph the roses
The lotus pond is like a second home for the retiree photographer. He waits patiently for the perfect flowering bud.

Street fashionistas
Those elderly photographers not seen in parks are most likely hanging out at the shopping mall. They migrate to the gate of the busiest mall and snatch shots of the well-heeled. A passing shopper may find the mall forecourt feels more like the Cannes red carpet as they are besieged by a gaggle of geriatric shutterbugs.