In a few weeks, Apple will remove Aperture from the Mac App Store, and it will no longer be available. This marks the end of one of the best runs of my career.
I first learned about this software for pro photographers in 2004, while having dinner at an Italian restaurant in San Rafael, CA. I was invited there because my name ranked high in a Google search for iPhoto experts. Think of this meeting as a one-on-one focus group. The name Aperture never came up that night. But we talked at great length about how to improve photo management for serious shooters.
A few months later in 2005, Aperture 1.0 was announced by Apple. Soon after, I recorded the first lynda.com training with Scott Bourne, and I was asked by IDG to teach the first Aperture workshop at Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
Over the next few years I enjoyed incredible access at Apple, created the Inside Aperture web site for O’Reilly Media, recorded podcasts on the Apple campus with project manager Joe Schorr, and started the Aperture Resource Center on The Digital Story.
And things did not slow down from there. I recorded another six Aperture titles for lynda, was invited to speak on photo management at camera clubs and user groups, started my own workshop series teaching the application, and used it daily for my photography work.
Then in June, 2014 I received a call from Apple PR. “We are ceasing development of Aperture.” Our growing concerns were finally realized. By April 2015, Aperture will no longer be for sale.
I’ve been asked many times what I’m going do next. Move to Lightroom, maybe? I honestly don’t know; we rarely know our next move after a loss.
As I reflect on the last 10 years, I’m grateful for my good fortune. Accepting an invitation to dine at an Italian restaurant in San Rafael was one of the best business decisions I’ve ever made.
A lot has changed since then. Apple is a much different. DSLRs no longer rule photography. My work at O’Reilly remains online, but I haven’t talked to them in years. I will never have the opportunity to teach Aperture again.
To be honest, I really wanted this to keep going. But it’s over. And soon something new will come along.
And when it does, the adventure begins again.
-Derrick