Joseph Caleb Deschanel (born September 21, 1944)[1] is an American cinematographer and director of film and television.

[2] He is a member of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, representing the American Society of Cinematographers.

He attended Johns Hopkins University from 1962 to 1966, where he met Walter Murch, with whom he staged "happenings," including one in which Murch sat down and ate an apple for an audience.

[citation needed] Murch graduated a year ahead of him and encouraged Deschanel to follow him to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he graduated in 1968.

During this time, Deschanel was a member of a band of film students called "The Dirty Dozen;" this group attracted attention from the Hollywood system.