Progressive Flash Light Course

I’ve always struggled with flash photography.

Too harsh, too strong. Bright faces, dark legs. You know how it is.

So when Stanley Lim Color Centre (SLCC) offered a Progressive Flash Light Course, I decided to sign up. $300 for five lessons over four weeks. It wasn’t cheap. I took a week to think about it before I actually committed to it.

The class was to be conducted by the owner of SLCC, Stanley Lim.

And so I turned up one Friday evening for my first lesson.

I looked at the sign on the glass. Stanley Lim Color Centre – a touch of professional photography. I guess I was at the right place.

Looking through the glass door I found a studio that doubled up as a classroom. When I looked in, there were some men and one woman – all barefooted – already at the desks. They looked at me as if I was an unwelcomed trespasser intruding upon their privacy.

I was already feeling some desperation. It had been a while since I’ve taken off shoes at a shop.

Still, the one and only lady – Joanne, whom I later discovered was Stanley’s wife – welcomed me in loudly.

As I stepped onto the sticky linoleum, I heard this loud growl. And then another. And yet another.

It was animalistic. But it wasn’t a growl of any animal. This is civilised Singapore and other than the Moscow Circus, there is no reason for any growler to be in city.

I could not put my finger on it. And then it came again. Long and loud. Deep. Uncomfortably penetrating.

Reminding myself that those who call themselves professional are rarely professional, Joanne told me I’d have to get used to that – Stanley’s burp, because “he’s like that one – very crude.”

For all four weeks, lessons never started on time. Never ended on time. Indeed there was once I ran after the last bus at 11:45pm. Stanley drank beers at every lesson, burped again and again.

By the third week, I was strangely comfortable with his burps. No more did I cringe. In fact, there were times I wondered how come he didn’t burp more on a particular lesson.

Still, at the end of it, was this trainer who was generous, not calculative with time and very open.

Stanley wasn’t selfish with his knowledge, sharing what he had. You could ask him anything, he’d answer the best he knew how. He’s really a down to earth guy.

No wonder then that some of my classmates had attended many of his lessons. These people were very familiar with him. They were more friends than students.

It was this familiarity that I intruded upon when I first stepped into SLCC. I wasn’t a trespasser. I just handn’t been initiated into the SLCC club.

The initiation? Stanley’s burp. Get used to it, and you’re in.

Oh, and the course was pretty good. I need to practice what I’ve learnt. Any volunteer models?

Here are some of the photos I took on the course. Straight out of the camera. Just resized and watermarked.

So what do you think? Worth the $300?