Tuesday, March 17, 2009

It Is A Small World After All!

It all started with an email two days ago!



" Mr. Leow,

I am a big Lobo Fan from the United States. I have seen some of your photos of Kent Lavoie when he did concerts in Malaysia. We were wondering if you might share some of your great pictures taken of Kent. We would gladly pay a reasonable price and shipping if you would. His music and past means a lot to me and he rarely did (does) concerts. Matter of fact I got to film a 2 man concert he did 4 years ago and wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
Thank You
Bobby J Poe (BJ)"

For a few minutes I was trying to "come back to the real world" because I remember I photographed Lobo when he was in Penang, 1977! That was freaking THIRTY TWO YEARS ago! How did a stranger in USA knew that?

I replied....

"Dear BJ
WOW! I cannot believe I am getting your mail! After all these years (more than 30!) you saw my Lobo shots? Can you please tell me where you seen them?
I remember I shot his performance when he was in Penang (my hometown) for Galaxie, the magazine of the newspaper I worked for. Virtually all the shots were 6x4 transparencies and I do not remember any of them are in my possession. I am also a fan of Lobo! Looking forward to hear from you again! You make my day! :) Regards C.Y.

The plot thicken!

The reply!

"A dear friend from Malaysia, Eng Seng Ooi, sent me some articles from a magazine where you took the photos. As a matter of fact he sent me a couple 4x6 photos he said was taken by a friend. Do you know Seng? Both pictures were of Kent and Susie and similar to the ones in the article you refer to.
I took a chance you may have more than was in the Galaxie article. Its a shame you didn't get more or keep them. There isn't many we can find from his early years as he shunned the spot light. As a matter of fact the main article he sent was in semi bad condition from the years he had it. I scanned into a digital copy and spent over 50 hours trying to repair it. Turned out fair for an amateur. I see you are into Photoshop ( I "Googled" you, love your photos posted).
Would you like me to send you a copy of the article I repaired? Its kinda large and might not send but I'll try if you like. One of his band members passed away last fall and they used the picture at the bottom of the spread at his service.
BJ Poe"

That is the poster you see on top of the page, a double spread from the past which BJ so patiently repaired for FIFTY HOURS and brought it back to it's timeless glory! I salute you, my friend!

But wait! There are more :)

B.S.Lee, who is from Malaysia scanned the colour spread for BJ and guess what? BS turn-out to be a good friend of Jeff Ooi (http://www.jeffooi.com), a good friend of mine and arguably the most well known blogger in Asia and now a super busy MP who do have have enough free time for my blog (http://photoblog.jeffooi.com/cyleow/) Ha, ha, ha... just kidding Jeff!

It is a very small world after all... and how do I get to know Jeff? That is another story, next time ;)

In parting BJ said,

"
If I can be of more help just let me know. The nicest people I've ever met are Lobo fans!"

I am sure they are! Hey, all you Lobo fans out there; BJ vouched for this fan site ( http://www.fansoflobo.com/lobo.html )

Oh... this was me in 1977! Hmmm... Nice cameras :)

2 comments:

CHLoh said...

The world is really small, imagine BJ keeping your work for 32 years and I salute him for spending 50 hrs just to repair the Galaxie's center spread. This show that you have fans everywhere. Lets hope you can contribute more of your work in your new blog, keep it up

heather said...

Lobo.... he sang "Dog named Boo." when I was about 18. I was nursing training at the time and living in the nurse`s home. It was a big hit.