Taking a snapshot with mobile phones has become more and more popular since the communication devices were first installed with cameras.

And Kong Ming, a 26-year-old, has shown this new trend can be turned into art after making these photographs the focus of a new exhibition.

He has put on displays some of the photos he has taken with his mobile phones in his daily life.

It is believed to be the first solo exhibition for mobile phone photography in China.

The exhibition runs until September 30 at the Fuji Film & Shanghai Wally Gallery.

Over 100 photos are displayed, all of them taken by Kong with his two mobile phones over the last 10 months.

"Actually I did not plan to hold such an exhibition when I started to use my mobile phone to take pictures," said Kong, who quit his job as a teacher in Shanghai-based Fudan University.

He said he just wanted to record how he felt about his life with his mobile phone.

But Lin Lu, his photography teacher when he was still a college student, encouraged him to hold an exhibition.

"Before I ran this show, some people had already displayed their pictures taken using mobile phones, but there hasn't been a solo exhibition," he added.

All the pictures at the exhibition show trivial details of life, such as one showing passengers on the metro train dozing off, stray cats on street corners and garbage on the street.

"Many photographers want to describe Shanghai in a rather traditional way, showing the city as a metropolis with very fashionable and extravagant lifestyles," he said.

"In my pictures, I want to reveal another side of this city they are very trivial and ordinary, but they remind us of some special moments in our lives."

Because some strangers' faces appear in several pictures, Kong was very cautious about not violating other people's privacy.

"It's not unusual for a photographer to take snapshots of strangers. But to calm people's concerns, I did not display too many portraits of strangers," he said.

Nevertheless, some people have questioned whether these pictures violate the right to privacy.

"Some local media came to my exhibition and tried to find something that could be considered as evidence of violating other people's right to privacy, but they failed. I don't think these pictures violate anybody's rights," he said.

Si Weijiang, a lawyer in Shanghai, confirmed that Kong's exhibition does not violate any kind of right to privacy.

"The exhibition is carried out in a public space and is free for the public. Those two things show that the photographer does not want to use other people's snapshots make a profit for himself."

Many of the show's visitors said they liked Kong's pictures.
 
Editor: Yan