toddvachonphotography

Like many photographers, I have an affinity for Polaroids. Prior to the digital takeover of the world, we all used them on a daily basis to proof our shots before going to film, and there was something about their rendition of color and tone that seduced many of us into using them for personal work. [...]

I find it important to stay balanced and connected with real people and sometimes that can be a challenge in this business. One client that I work with every year that really helps with that is Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. If you don’t know, RT organizes volunteers to make repairs and accessibility improvements to the homes [...]

This past January, I got an assignment to shoot 3 eco-activists for a magazine feature story. As is usually the case, we were shooting for an issue that would appear on newsstands several months later, in this case April. The portraits needed to be environmental to tell the story, but since the issue would appear [...]

One question I don’t get asked very often is, “How do I safely back up my data?” You know you need to do it, but like doing your taxes, you’re putting it off until the last minute. Unfortunately, with a disk failure you don’t exactly know when the last minute is. In this post, I’ll boil it all down so you can quickly understand the issues and tell you how I back up my digital files and why I do it the way I do.

For those of us using Epson printers and interested in upgrading to Leopard, Epson has released a statement regarding when it will be updating drivers for the new Mac OS here. Some of Epson’s past-generation printers (Like the 2200) are already supported under Leopard. If you’d like to check the compatibility of your printer, you [...]

Recently, while doing some research on producing video depositions, I came across RealLegal’s .ptx files. Those in the legal profession will recognize this format is the method not a few court reporters use to deliver deposition transcripts. This can present a challenge for Mac users because the .ptx file is a proprietary encrypted file, only [...]

For those of you who may be in the Philadelphia area, I’ve put up a small show (10 pieces) at the Seven Stones Cafe in Media, Pa (a south-western suburb of the city). The show has highlights of recent personal work, both of the leaves series that you can see in the portfolio section of [...]

One of our quirky family traditions which makes our family-our family-is that once a year we take a family photo in a photobooth. I like to do this for a number of reasons. First, I don’t have to be the photographer, which feels like work. The yearly tradition makes it an event. It can be [...]

While my own images tend to be less manipulated, I do some freelance retouching and can tell you from experience that most cover images and (in my experience) all fashion or celebrity images are retouched in some way. Most images are captured digitally these days and come into contact with Photoshop, Lightroom (or some other [...]