Lessons learned

By Mark Sereda, SnowSeekers Inc.

Since joining the SnowSeekers team in early January of this year, I …‘the newbie’…’the rookie’…and/or even ‘the intern,' have learned some important lessons that I feel read the best in blog-format: short, informative, and (most importantly) useful. Not only am I learning how to professionally operate a camera and advancing my editing knowledge/skills, but I’ve also picked up some interesting life/athletic lessons along the way.

As a treat for those of you who drop by the website/blog, I offer my advice through recent personal experiences. Enjoy.


Nordic Skiing.
Kimberley, British Columbia offers up great viewpoints during some adventurous trails, perfect for Nordic skiing. After being relieved of camera-duties, Doc Pow took me down a few challenging paths, which he said took him back to the good old days. It had been a decade since I had last fitted my feet into Nordic skis, and knew some learning was at hand, or I suppose foot.

Turns out the entire body plays a big role in smooth movement on these skinny sliders. It began to slowly come back and soon enough I was coming up with entertaining descriptions of the movement-style required. The best was my idea to think of it as doing a “backwards-moonwalk” because your toes stay to the ski and you're propelling yourself forward. Think about it!
Extras:
- I keep my knees parallel to the set tracks to maintain balance.
- I noticed that pushing my ankles out, inside the tracks, during downhill slides helped me stay in the tracks.
- Always stretch before taking part in Nordic skiing and prepare yourself for some serious exercise, especially if you’re trying to keep up with Doc Pow.

But Nordic skiing with Doc Pow was relaxing compared to our recent tour with the Olympic Torch through Alberta. If I learned anything on that tour, I learned how to shoot on the fly – fast. The learning curve here at SnowSeekers is steep to say the least. If you haven't seen any of the footage, feel free to drop by www.youtube.com/user/TravelAlbertaCanada

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