Nov 11, 2006

Introducing Leslie Kee

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From Sohn-san's blog:

I just got back fro L.A. ……………….(omit)

Today, I would like to introduce Leslie Kee to you.
This man who is a year younger than me is an extremely famous photographer in the world of fashion and advertising. He is another person I met in connection with BYJ. Although I am rarely able to become friends with someone I meet through work, with Leslie, I was able to open up to him immediately.

When he was working in New York, he saw the news of the Tsunami Disaster in Asia, and he set out to help the victims by doing what he was best at, which was to take photographs. He explained his ideas to the celebrities he met through his work and photographed them without compensation. He covered all the expenses such as studio fee, hair and make-up etc. on his own, and photographed a total of 300 Asian stars. Of course, Bae Yong Joon is one of them.

When we talked about doing something together, we immediately decided to collaborate on this exhibit of his photo collection, with IMX is participating in the planning committee. During its preparation, the staffs in charge were really hard at work, and Leslie himself worked all night until sunrise for many days at the IMX office. What is really wonderful about him is that through it all, he was always smiling, and proved to be a cheerful conversationalist. He is so positive at all times – being a worrier by nature, I sometimes feel disgusted with myself when I am with him (looking at in a different light, you could say that Leslie is naive.)


The exhibit we prepared hard for will begin in Omotesando from the 11th. And, the making of the shooting sessions has been compiled in a wonderful book. Of course, the book contains YJ’s photo, but it also includes an interview between Leslie and me (Sohn-san feels shy about it). Reading it, I find that I was not able to convey my real thoughts, and just like when you have your photo taken with puffy eyes, it is somewhat embarrassing. But the interview by the other artists and the photographs are really wonderful, so I hope you will come see the exhibit and also take a look at the photo book as well.

I think I will be writing about Leslie again in the future - I feel that as an Asian friend who I can share my dreams with, I hope we can always be close friends. Don’t you think that it gives you strength to carry on even at hard times, when you have a friend who you can really talk to? Following his example, I hope to try even harder in the future.

I would like to thank Leslie who has fulfilled his dream due to his strong will, and every one of the 300 stars who has participated in his photo collection and this event. I am also grateful for the staff members who are still dedicating their energy this very moment.

11 comments:

liezle said...

hi flowerbossa!

thanks for sharing this with us. i've said it many times. i really like mr. sohn. he seems to be a person to get along so easily.

have you been to the exhibit? i'm pretty sure it'll be a success.

enjoy the rest of the weekend.

always,
liezle

liezle said...

btw, may i share this translation in soompi? i also would like visitors of byj thread to know who leslie kee is.

thanks ^^

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing.

Have a great weekend..

suehan

flowerbossa said...

Hi Liezle,

He writes in Japanese, so YJ would have to use a translator to read it! I hope he would, though♪

Our Crown Prince usually gives me the impression that he is sincere in his words - I think he meant it about YJ. I also hope Princess Masako likes him, too!

About posing on Soompi, I would appreciate it if you would indicate that it the writing is an "excerpt" from his blog.
(just for copyright sake♪)
Thanks!

flowerbossa said...

Hi Suehan-unni,

You're welcome, and you have a nice weekend, too♪

bbmag said...

hi hi flowerbossa!

now i understand how sohn-san feels in his previous blog posting, about wanting to say 'thank you' for the success of wls. hehe, as i read about how sohn-san likes leslie kee, being a fellow singaporean, i actually felt an urge to say 'thank you' :p

liezle said...

thanks again flowerbossa. will surely put "excerpt" in my post ^^

flowerbossa said...

Hi bb,

It's a happy feeling isn't it, to be proud of your countrymen?♪

The lucky Koreans have a lot to be proud of, too!

flowerbossa said...

Liezle,

Thanks a lot for your understanding!

Hope you had a good weekend ♪

marissa said...

Hi flowerbossa,

I really enjoyed reading about Mr. Sohn's blog entry thanks to your hard work in translating it for us.

Have a nice day.

flowerbossa said...

Hi marissa,

Thanks for coming over^^

Glad to share it with you!