THANK YOU CARDS

First thing first, Happy New Year to you all. And let's make 2012 a successful year.
Many thanks also to all the followers and people who trusted 2exposures reliability in the past year.
Huge thank you also to the people you sent me their wishes and send over some cards.
Here are few examples of personal initiatives from the materials produced in 2011.



It is exciting to see that thanks to new technologies and affordable applications everybody can share on hard back precious memories. Ways of distributing images are very simple and cheap nowadays. And the quality looks good too. But do not forget to have great images first.
Contact us to capture and share those memories for all generations. davidB

NAMES and REFERENCES

People often ask me who are the famous people I have photographed. I am always surprised by such a request but I guess this is part of the image we have of photographers. We eventually have to meet celebrities and work on their behalf but I am always very aware of their status and of the message they have to portray in the tabloids. So, it is never an easy task to find out what they, as private client, their PR or production company are after. It is always a delicate joggling where you have to compromise your personal creativity with their demands.

It is also a good opportunity now after more than a decade in London to flip through my folders and revisit those people. I do not like to use the term "famous" or "celebrity" because it always create that gap between you (the photographer) and the subject which is not the best way to approach a session. Anyway, you may find some names you heard of in the following random list I am putting together. I will put in bracket their "title" and you may visit Wikipedia to know more about them. They are quite a few missing...well...

So here follows people I have been asked to photographed who have some kind of celebrity status if you want. They are plenty of them I have met and photographed but that I will not mention as they were not the people I was commissioned to photograph. It wouldn't be fair to make some self-promotion just by circumstances.

P D JAMES(novelist) REBECCA LENKIEWICZ(playwright/screenwriter) JOE PENHALL(playwright/screenwriter) ALAN HOLLINGHURST(writer) JOHN KING(writer) STEPHEN FRY(comedian/tv presenter) CHRSITOPHER BIGGINS(actor) HENRY PORTER(writer) TOM McCARTHY(writer/artist) TONY HADLEY(singer/actor) HELEN CHADWICK(singer) MICHEL PICOLI(actor) PATRICE LECONTE(film director) IOAN GRUFFUDD(actor) PADDY CONSIDINE(actor/film director) OM PURI(actor) ALISON STEADMAN(actress) SUSAN LYNCH(actress) JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS(actor) EMMI ROSSUM(actress) RICHARD COYLE(actor) ROBERT PUGH(actor) JOHN HENSHAW(actor) PHILIPPA COUSINS(film director) JEAN-MARC PUISSANT(set designer) YAN-SHU(choreographer) LARS ELLING(artist) ALESSANDO RAHO(artist) PAUL FRYER(artist) POLLY MORGAN(artist) ANTHRAX(band) ZEBRAHEAD(band) THE QUEEN, THE BAD AND THE UGLY(band) HARD-FI(band)


Now, I think it is also important I mention my full name. Because sadly when it comes to weddings, and especially with the digital flooding, most people are sceptical about your professionalism( which is understandable). My full name is DAVID BOULOGNE, and I use the davidB for the commercial aspect of my work in order not to confuse people. I do quite a few things beside wedding photography. You could say I am an artist/photographer (it is always very complicated to find the right term but I thing this is the closest) and I am showing my works in various exhibitions. I have had the privilege in the last few years to present my work with some high profile names, which make me very proud indeed as it feels I am going in the right direction somehow. So here follows a list of people I have been sharing art with. Here again I will only mention a few:

Magnum in Motion (agency), William Eggleston, Hannah Starkey, Gregory Crewdson, Cindy Sherman, Martin Parr, Bruce Gilden, Elliott Erwitt, Simon Roberts, David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Stephen Gill, Nadav Kander, Peter Marlow, Simon Wheatley, Jean-Loup Sieff, Peter Lindbergh, Sarah Moon, Kate Barry, Anne Deniau, Thierry des Ouches, Wolfe Von Lenkiewicz, Peter Suchin, Justin Coombes, Shezad Dawood, David Birkin, Douglas White, Martin Sexton


So I hope this will answer the question and make it official. It is also a good way for me to remember. I hope this list will make a difference in people's perception about what I do and give them a new perspective. But to me a person is a person, no matter unknown or famous they are, my eye is interested in capturing your inner beauty. Beauty is everywhere and there is a lot of it in weddings. Even if digital make it sound easier it simply doesn't. Most photographers shoot too much nonsense. Quantity is the opposite to quality as we know but it becomes more relevant today with the new technology. And what I produce is QUALITY with QUANTITY, and I know that very few people can still today deliver such expectation.
Look, analyze, feel images. Images are simply not only pictures, they are EMOTIONS OF A REAL, SOMETHING PRICELESS. Choose carefully your wedding photographer.

Today they are more and more apparently GOOD or CHEAP DEALS thanks to the combination of recession/digital. The truth always comes after you have pre-paid. Those deals do not give you anything valuable. If you pay cheap it's because what you will get is cheap, that's as simple as that. Not only you will have lost your precious money but you will also be disappointed with the result. And therefore you will have to rebook someone else which is nonsense.
Sorry to remind you again but the most precious thing left after your wedding is pictures.
Do not rely on wedding magazines, they tell you what you want to hear. They only want to sell their gloss. That may sound a bit old fashion but it isn't. I hear so many sad stories and that upsets me. Photography is my life and to work my best out to capture beauty on your behalf is a real joy and delectable hard work. Good images don't come easy. It is a very long process of knowledge, experience and sensitivity. DO NOT RELY ON MOBILE PHONES, CHEAP SLR, AMATEURS OF ALL SORTS, ETC...

By investing in the right professional you will not only cherish your images for ever but you will also save money and generate positive energy.

SPIELBERG AND SCORSESE - SAME FIGHT

You may have also found some interesting article in your daily free papers from artist Tacita Dean. Her latest large scale installation in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern has almost been jeopardized because the radical shift experienced in the industry. There is no right or wrong as far as I am concerned. The trouble lies in an economical and ideological radicalism where digital has taken over film. Film is almost gone and therefore our choices have become reduced. Today's policy is either digital or...digital. Such a shame for so many reasons that I am not going to discuss again here.

NEW PACKAGES

Thank you so so much for the album - it is perfect, we absolutely love it and it will help us to remember each moment of our amazing day for many years. Thank you!


2exposures has always been alternative, creative, dedicated and honest when it comes to deliver high standard wedding photography. We have always been set apart for producing quality and quantity. But most importantly we were the pioneer in giving away all the materials away to our newly weds. Since our start, we have been trough quite a adjustments with the technological trends and expectations. Needless to say that we always take in consideration many new alternatives but we also pay attention to what they are too often hiding sadly. We do not wish to adopt any new trick or the sake of it. What matters most to us is to find the right balance in what the new has to offer at its best. We have to be certain that your materials will be cherished for a long time at the best quality and format.

At first we were using films and providing all the prints on a 6x4 format into a stylish wooden box. You kept the negs at no extra cost. Albums were versatile, bespoke and suiting your budget as a separate contract.
Then we moved towards a mix of film and digital. You would pick the camera style and we would adapt it to produce the new online coffee table books. You kept the negs or a DVD with all the materials high res. The pictures were again presented in a box and you would order the album separately.

Today, we propose to work mainly from digital high res. A lot of being shot to capture every angle of you special day. Everything is edited, retouched with subtlety and delivered high res. on DVD with a convenient save to apply to most computers if you want to run a slide show or open easily with a preview software. But the new thing we have been testing in the last few months is that we are delivering a bespoke coffee table book with most options. We ask you to make you selection with your favorites, the ones you certainly don't want too. You can upgrade the format, the amount of pages for a little extra fee. You can then later order extra copies directly online for very competitive prices. We have a complete control over the production and editing process.
This option has been a real success so far and we aim to keep it for a while.

davidB having worked for the best professional photographic laboratories in Paris and for the most successful photographers has the eye and experience to deliver the best results on paper, either with colour or black and white materials.

Do not hesitate to ask for more details. Visit our website and the related links. There is a lot of useful info that you won't find anywhere else.
Note Some photography lovers are still occasionally asking for film. Do not worry, we are still very much moved by such request and will keep providing it. Simply email us at david@2exposures.com in order to obtain a quote.

BOOK COLLABORATION

Domenico's 40th

By

Book Preview

Here is a new example of our services. We have been commissioned to capture the formal part of a birthday party for two hours. But the overall celebration gathered people from all around the world for 3 days. As we were, obviously, not assigned to cover the whole celebration our client wanted to include candid photographs taken by the guests. We were delighted to join forces and produce a story book with materials from various sources in order to make a wish come true.

POLAROID BOOK

On the recent wedding I work on, the bride and groom had a great idea to collect instant memories. Obviously my task is to tell a stories gathering all the love and details, but I think there is an important part of our memory that relates to more casual visuals. Too often nowadays digital compacts and mobile phones have infested the very special wedding event. Instead, purchase a light and bulky polaroid camera. Ask a friend to photograph your guests in the evening and stick all those images in a classic photo album. You can even take it with you straight to you honeymoon if you wish.
You can buy polaroid cameras and films too online. That is a little investment but in the end you get an instant result and avoid a lot of work gathering, selecting, retouching, editing, etc...time is money as we say, so here is your answer. It is stress free, smart and you have more time to enjoy the event without having to worry about the pictures.

TINY ARTICLE - BIG THINKING

This is what I found yesterday in the West End Final of the London Evening Standard Free Paper / Friday 19th August 2011. Nothing new to me but somehow, especially coming from a paper, a serious question is raised towards the reliability of the digital format as a whole. Either printing prints or making hardbacks are the only valuable and long lasting ways of keeping your cherished memories. That sounds a bit old fashioned but it becomes strangely revolutionary!