I felt a little hung over as I closed the laptop. Maybe numb is a better description. My eyes were tired.
The cat jumped off my lap and strolled over to the window. She always does that when I close the laptop. She knows I'll be standing up a few moments later. And she wants the departure to be her call, not mine.
But today I just sat for another minute. I had just finished writing a book. The world could wait.
The Apple Photos Book for Photographers is unlike anything I've written before. Those of you who have read the earlier eBook version know what I mean. Each chapter begins with an anecdote, not a technique. These openers connect to the discussion that follows. Some more tightly than others. And then I circle back to the story later on.
What I completed today is the print version. It's updated for macOS Sierra, includes two more chapters, many new pictures, and plenty of polishing. It's cool that I finished it on the very day that Sierra was officially released. I had been working with a beta version for a couple months.
What I've been doing since I returned from Maui is reading the final layout, word for word. In the past, I found this task painful. This time was different. I like this book. It entertained me. The stories are good. The technique is solid.
I finally got up from my seat and wandered around the studio for a while. I wasn't exactly sure what to do next. I had items on my ToDo list, but none of them interested me at the moment.
So I put a camera in my shoulder bag, got on my bike, and rode off to the creek. That was the right call.
We don't get to celebrate much these days. I've never been toasted at a cocktail party like Truman Capote. Yet, in the last year, I've completed 6 titles for lynda.com, written a book, launched a new web site, opened a used camera store, and have been fired from two writing jobs.
I got off my bike and walked along the creek with a Pentax ZX-5 in hand. The water wasn't moving much. It's late in the season. But the rain will come soon. That will make the ducks happy.
A few compositions caught my eye. I love the sound of the shutter. For some folks, it's champagne and laughter. For me, today, I'm happy with my bike, a camera, and the beauty of a quiet creek on a September afternoon.
I'll get back to work tomorrow.
-Derrick