Interview with photographer; Jeffry Lim (August Man, Nov 2010)

Life through his lens
Looking at the world from photographer, Jeffry Lim’s eyes.

He was travelling through Tibet when he spotted the little girl. Hastily he asked his friend to turn around so that he could take a picture of her. Camera in hand, he asked his friend to offer some food to her so that he could take a good shot. Unfortunately, the young girl proved a little too camera shy and upon one click, she bolted. But such is the wonder of the camera that in one second, ten frames were produced. What resulted was a picture worth more than a million words. Who knew what went through her mind at the time she stared dead on to the camera lens. But Jeffry Lim does, though he would rather people make their own minds about it.

Lim, 31 has been taking pictures almost all his life. Hailing from Jerantut, Pahang, his father sold newspapers for a living and he had what some may term as a relatively normal upbringing, except for the fact that he had an insatiable sense of curiosity. “I have always wanted to know more- about the world, its people and how they lived” he said. A stint, working in Club Med Cherating, amidst the sea of other nationals opened his eyes to the possibility of it all and although this was but the preview, it will be a couple of years till it became more than anything he could ever have dreamed of. Coming back from England with a marketing degree in 2002, he worked in F&B for a while, because it was probably the right thing to do. Though Lim could never sit still and felt as if something was missing. The turning point came from the most clichéd example one could probably guess. Yet, it was what was said more than the situation that mattered; “Follow your heart, and your dream will come true”. So he did. And that was how I came to meet him one morning for an interview.

“He’s a little nervous” exclaimed his rep as he was getting coffee. I found that a little hard to believe for someone who obviously had a wealth of experiences, at least more than any I could ever throw on the table. Fact of the matter is, I was more nervous than he was. There was nothing extraordinary about the way he looked; dressed in khakis, striped shirt and a buzz cut that looked like he belonged to a platoon. Yet I could instantly sense that this was a man that was incredibly proud of his work but his bowed head constantly betrayed that. He was also beamingly happy, smiling as wide as his lips would take him and spoke with such enthusiasm, especially about things that he knows of and believes in. It’s very contagious and I constantly found myself inching closer to him, as I cupped my chin in my palm, like a child listening intently to a story-teller. “This is for you, sir” he said as he handed me a pictorial book of The Petronas South Asia Expedition that he was a part of in 2007. Flipping through it, I told him that he has been to everywhere I wanted to until we stopped at a double page picture of rolling, dry, harsh mountainous terrain. “I almost died here” he said. It was somewhere in the remote corners of very north India, where the winding highway that snakes through it is only accessible for four month in a year. “I had difficulty breathing from altitude sickness and it had hit me pretty bad” he continued. He survived, no less, through such unorthodox means, prescribed by one of the other members of the expedition. “Coca-Cola saved my life” he laughed. “It helps to release gas”.

I didn’t know if it was the caffeine finally kicking in or the fact that we were engaging in a conversation about normal bodily functions, but Lim was clearly a little less anxious now. “My relationship with Petronas began with me taking a picture of the twin towers and mass emailing relevant names working within. Out of the few that I sent out, one responded, requesting my help for a project. One thing led to another and here I am” he explained. Such was his resilience that he was then commissioned as the official photographer for the National Geographic Channel special on the Smart Tunnel and Discovery Channel’s insight into Restoring Stadium Merdeka. “I have learnt to be persistent, determined, disciplined and respectful in my journey as a photographer so far and I believe that that makes the difference between a good photograph and one which has no soul” he said. He mentions “soul” a lot in his speech, sometimes referring to it as essence or love. “I believe it is what matters most. I have been very blessed to be able to have the chance to see places that other people only dream of. And in that journey, I have met countless amounts of people who have helped shape and change my life. Anyone can take a picture, but the connection you build behind the picture, is priceless” he said.

At the time we spoke, Lim was due to open his photography exhibition in BSC in about a month’s time, called FEEL. FEEL is an apt acronym for ‘Freedom to Express Essence of Love’ which showcases some of his personal works, featuring a diversity of culture, people and places captured throughout 15 years of his photography journey. “It’s a tribute to all the people that I have met” he explained and I later discovered from his rep that none of his photos are for sale. He is showing because he wants people to walk away feeling inspired, moved, to appreciate and to not take things for granted. “Travelling is a very humbling experience and you only realize how truly lucky you are when you meet someone less fortunate” he said. He’s dabbling in a few personal projects at present and although he hopes all of them would take off one way or another, he’s rooting for one project to really materialize. “It’s a new media photography exhibition in New York which will involve all the senses instead of just one” he said. Nothing more was extracted from him regarding the matter as it is still very early days and he would prefer not to jinx it. His to-do list, as it were, is an assortment of ticks, strike-outs, circles and numbers. “I would love to see space one day, dance with polar bears or maybe swim with sharks” he said. “Oh and I would really love to photograph Obama” he added with a smile.

“He’s relieved that you wanted to listen to all his crazy ideas” said his rep as we ended our conversation. “I’m a photographer. We don’t usually do these kinds of things. I communicate better with my pictures” he interjected with a smile. We walked towards the elevator as I asked him what it would take for anyone thinking of following in his footsteps. “I only started with a dream- no money, no definite plans, only a solid idea of what I wanted to do. Follow your passion and have faith that the rest will fall into place” he said. “Although it helps, you don’t need an expensive camera to take good photos, because it’s not the equipment, but the person handling it that determines that. Just get whatever you can afford”, he added. We shook hands and he bowed his head once again.

The following day he sent me a thank you text message and I replied saying that it was really my pleasure. He ended our relay with, “Follow your heart and your dreams will come true”.