"Is the watermelon sweet? Yes, very good," said Chen. "Is the orange sweet? Good, two more. Then let's take some photos of two or three." His "photography talk" relaxed the family members, who changed their positions and looked more natural.

After the shoot, Chen took out his laptop and edited the photos on-site. With the job done, he took a sip of tea, gathered his equipment, said goodbye, and headed for the next household in wake of the laughter of Zhou's family.

Chen doesn't worry about whether these photo shoots occupy too much of his leisure time. "It's nice when you've got a specialty, and it happens to offer an opportunity to do something meaningful for my community. As I've learned from my dad, who has made his contributions year after year, there should always be someone on duty."