Well, believe it or not, I have now run a 10km race. But let’s clarify – not really a race, more like a run. And not really “run”, more like jogged. But hey, it’s a start ;). The 2006 Vancouver Sun Run was held last Sunday (April 24 2006) and I, along with over 50000 of my closest friends, decided to participate. I was coerced by co-workers to join a corporate team, and I suppose I could complain about that, but hey it got me away from the desk and out of the house. It also got me onto an actual Training Program. That is, until I caught a wicked flu and lost about 4 weeks of the schedule. So then it was hurry up and train, try to not injure myself, then run way slower than I had originally planned just to finish the race. But that’s fine – again, repeat after me, out of the house, away from the desk.

So thanks to Mare and Rennette (Mare’s friend) I made it. They stuck with me through the 10km and we ended up having a very pleasant race, even if it meant dodging hundreds if not thousands of people along the way. Turns out that not only does Vancouver have bad drivers, it has bad runners too ;).

So after we got back from DC and reviewed our pictures, I was disappointed to see that many of them were suffering from noise and/or dead pixels. This is a phenomenon with digital cameras, and at least in my opinion shows signs of age if the number of dead “spots” increases as time goes by. So long story short, it was time to upgrade.

Decided to stay with Nikon, as the Coolpix 995 I’ve had for 5 years has treated me very well. Also decided to make the leap to Digital SLR – many factors point to going that way, except price of course ;). But ultimately it’s worth it if you take many pictures, and I definitely do – especially when travelling.

So the Nikon D70s was my choice:

London Drugs had a couple of packages available, one with just the body and one with the body and a Nikon lens (Digital SLRs have interchangeable lenses, of course). I actually decided to go without the Nikon lens and picked up a Sigma lens that LD had on sale that week instead. So rather than having the 18-80mm lens that is provided with the basic Nikon kit, I have an 18-200mm lens with the same speed – for effectively the same price. Add on a Haze/UV filter, camera bag and 1gb CF card and I was good to go.

So far, great camera. As with any amateur, I have a LOT to learn but I’m getting there. My usual “read every website and piece of paper I can find on the subject” attitude should help.

In honour of the new camera, here is a shot of my newest nephew James:

Looking forward to taking many pics and evolving my “skills” as a new-to-the-game photographer.

Some links:

Nikon D70s product page
Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 lens

Got back Wednesday night, about midnight. Late but no problems – good to be back in BC again but very much enjoyed the trip.