My camera is shot, and a new one arrived today, another 5D Mark II. For the first time in my life, I used one of those best-price Web sites that scan for the best prices for a product, and it led me to PCNation, and a $400 savings. Not bad. I am also trying out a new lens (wiped out a days’ worth of photos today when I formatted the card in the new camera, dummie that I am). Lenses are important to me. And this one, a Zeiss wide angle Distogram is a pretty impressive bit of glass. I see the color is very different, and the perspective is too. It doesn’t work with the Canon as an autofocus, so I am shooting everything on manual.

That means a tripod a lot of the time, and stopping, setting up, checking the light meter, adjusting the aperture and ISO and slowing down. Fewer photo, better composed, moving more slowly. This is something I need to do in my life. Move more slowly. Hard thing. I love every day I spend with Maria, and every photo I take and every book I write. Important day. Great reviews coming in for “Rose,” and the book tour looms. I love book tours, getting out there and fighting for my work. I’m turning in the grieving book shortly and hoping my editors like it. I am already thinking about my next book. If “Rose” does really well, it might be a sequel. Or it might be a sequel to the short story collection “Dancing Dogs” out next year.

I’d like to continue to establish myself in fiction, and that is hard work. With the farm under control, I am really looking forward to the cool weather, to firing up the wood stoves, bringing in the dogs and writing up another storm. When I go on book tour, in my head I am always two books ahead of the one I’m talking about, which makes for some dizziness. But after talking about the current one a bit, I get focused.

It is good I have this lens. Good I slow down and think.