My Journey

December 22, 2017

Explanation of Camera Settings

Starting with photography can be intimidating, especially with digital cameras and all the camera settings.  It can feel like learning a new language.  Remember a camera is only a light box.  It captures light.  This is true regardless of if it is film or digital.

Hopefully you find this post and it helps you start the journey. Learning an understanding some of the basic settings, and what they are for, should help.  I am going to explain 3 camera settings functions that all cameras have, shutter, aperture, and ISO.Read More

December 20, 2017

4X5 Field Camera VS View Camera

A while back I mentioned that I was taking a journey with a 4X5 Camera.  What I failed to explain at the time was why I ended up with a large format field camera as my 4X5 Camera choice in the first place.

Typically we find 2 types of large format 4X5 Cameras.  One is a View Camera, and the other is a Field Camera.  Based on my research and limited use of these cameras these are the pros and cons I came up with.Read More

December 16, 2017

Beginning 4X5 Large Format Field Camera Journey

While I am focusing (pun intended) on a journey with a 4X5 field camera at the moment, my hopes are that along the way you find some valuable information regardless of the type of camera you are using.  Remember cameras are tools to create photographs, and no one camera does everything.  We often need multiple tools to do many tasks.  A good example is needing a flat head screw driver, a hex screwdriver, and a Phillips head screw driver.  Different screws need different types of screw drivers, and the same is true with photography.  The cameras that are good with fast action aren’t necessarily the same as a camera with file sizes big enough to print at billboard size.Read More

December 13, 2017

How To Adjust The Histogram in Lightroom

This was an old post about editing a histogram from a blog I had previously had.  Hopefully, you find it useful.

Last week I blogged about moving my photography studio up to Los Angeles from San Diego, so I figured this week I will get back to the technical stuff.  I will definitely get back to the studio stuff soon, explain how I am using the space, and how I’m setting up the lighting for some of my studio photography.

Now on to the topic at hand.  First, what is the histogram, why is it important, and lastly how do you use it.

What is the Histogram –

Read More

December 10, 2017

Improve Your Color Editing Lightroom or DXO

I get asked how I get the colors so real and vibrant quite often when I show my printed color fine art work.  Here is a little trick I picked up to improve the color of my images while editing images without needing any extra tools other than Lightroom (LR) or DXO when you edit your digital images.  If you would like to see more about my raw digital workflow see my previous blog post https://mjvphoto.com/my-digital-raw-image-workflow/.

First a little background:

When I transitioned from shooting color film to digital imagery, I really wanted to understand color.  Primarily, how some people got amazing color and why my images seemed to be flat.  As I progressed, and learned I realized that I could do a lot of customization of the color without needing and extra tools other than the raw editing apps I already had.Read More

December 9, 2017

My Digital Raw Image Workflow

This is  blog post about my digital workflow from a few years ago.  I am re-posting on my new site.  Hopefully you find it useful.

I’ve been asked by a few people what I use for a digital workflow as it relates to shooting raw images.  How do I save them, store them, etc.?  So I figured I would share my workflow with the world.

First a little background:

I started shooting raw files instead of jpeg images about 6 years ago due to the increased ability to work with those images in post processing.  At that time I started a file management system that worked for me. I am not a fan of the Adobe SAAS (subscription) System of pay monthly and give it a cool trendy name of “Cloud”, and render you helpless if you ever stop paying model.  That said, I do believe Adobe has the most developed and seamless products, but that is a discussion for another time. 

Currently, my process allows me to use either Lightroom or DXO (or any other raw editing tool) that I want.  Some are better than others for specific things.Read More

December 2, 2017

Turning Off Adobe Lightroom Tracking (Desktop Product)

Keep Adobe from tracking how you edit in Lightroom!

Let me start by saying this was a blog post from November 2015 on a different site I maintained.  I am pushing it here because it is still relevant today even though Adobe has announced the new Creative Cloud (subscription only) Lightroom options recently.

Now on to the post.

My digital image workflow has always included Adobe Photoshop and Camera Raw.  I have used this process for years (ever since I started using a digital camera).   I have tried other workflows and quickly have gone back to what works for me.Read More

November 30, 2017

Landscape Photography Is Always An Adventure

While out hiking and enjoying the landscape in the Sequoia National Park this rattlesnake ended up coiled next to my leg.  We were near a waterfall so you couldn’t hear the rattles.  Lucky for me I was actually paying attention to the ground, saw the snake coil.  I jumped backwards away from the snake as fast and as far as I could.  Since my Uncle had been walking in front of me, it looks like the commotion scared the snake out of it’s den as I was walking by.  Given the cool weather it was surprising to see a rattler out.  This one was definitely sluggish which boded well for me.Read More

November 26, 2017

New Photography Website

Welcome to the new MJVPHOTO photography website! 

Photography is such a passion for me.  It gives me the ability to spark emotion in people that look at my work.  I have been interested in it since I was a small kid.  Photography energizes my days. Hopefully you see some of that energy in this site.Read More

Copyright Marshall J Vanderhoof Photography 2017. All Rights Reserved
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