Memories of the changing face of photography over the decades unfold as Chen Fengchun digs out his old family photos.

The China of the late 1970s was a land of black-and-white photos. "At that time, we could only add lace or write Chinese characters--later on enterprises, landscapes, and other graphics could be added to the margins of the photos. Colored photography was a fashion item--much more expensive than black and white, and therefore an unaffordable luxury for most people."

Chen Fengchun's pride and joy is a photo of a little girl holding a doll. Its uniqueness stems from two Chinese characters "folk" and "urban" at the bottom of the picture. They are in gold, instead of being applied by pen, which was popular later and became fashionable. It turns out that etching golden characters onto a photo was an invention of the young Chen Fengchun.

Chen Fengchun himself colored this photo of his wife with pink shirt and red lips, taken in the early 1980s in Beijing. [File photo]

In the early 1980s, more and more young people swarmed into photo studios. Chen Fengchun recalled how every studio tried its best to advance as business boomed. He first carried out research in the darkroom. At that time, experienced veterans timed by feel when exposing films. In only a few months Chen had invented an electronic timer. It seemed a simple enough achievement to him, but at the time it caused a sensation. Without any formal technical training he also invented an electronic shutter by repeatedly dismantling old cameras.

"At that time, my elder brother worked in a stationery factory. One day he came home with a ball point pen with gilt characters, I had a brainwave: why not turn black-penned characters on the photos into golden ones?" Chen Fengchun recalls. This was easier said than done--it needed special gilt powder, a controlled temperature, and also a printing matrix. The fashionable photos finally appeared.

Chen Fengchun also went on to invent other things such as a flash umbrella. As a young man, his wages rose several times and a variety of honors were acquired in a regular stream...

Chen Fengchun's best work may be a series of photos taken with his wife on their honeymoon trip to Beijing. At that time, it was no trivial matter to be able to bring one's own camera and take photos as a memento in front of Tiananmen. On his return, Chen Fengchun colored his wife's photograph carefully: pink shirt, red lips, even the stone lions next to her were given a brassy sheen. But in the twinkling of an eye color film had arrived, and there was no further need for tinting photographs.

Birthday-photo of Chen Fengchun's 5-year-old son in 1988. In fact the little boy is holding a cardboard prop birthday-cake. The characters "5-year-old" can therefore be changed as required. [File photo]

The reporter was attracted by his 5-year-old son's birthday photo -- a handsome little boy smiling happily at table covered with fruits and cake. "In fact, the table is just a placard--we drew all the things on it." Chen Fengchun recalls how, in 1988, they produced the studio's backgrounds and props entirely by painting on board. They look very fake to the modern eye, but at that time it was all that was available.