I've taken on the challenge of shooting the Wednesday night league at the local cross-country ski trail. Talk about serious lighting problems. It's not much lighter than your local barn yard which is fine for skiing, but not for pictures! 
Canon 40D, f2.8 70 - 200mm. Photoshop CS3 with Imagenomic noise reducing.
1. Week 1 1/200th ISO 3200 f 2.8
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2. Week 1 Again 1/200th ISO3200 f2.8 I like this corner for the composition, but the skiers are moving in all directions which makes real slow shutter speeds tough.
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3. Week 2. I tried a new spot on the trail where the spot light is shining more in the skier's face and bouncing right back at me. Less left to right movement. When I run ISO 3200 on the 40D, the pictures on the camera's monitor look horrible, so I was trying 1600. In all honesty, I think 3200 may be okay. These two were also shot in RAW. (others I shot in JPG were no worse, so I think RAW was a waste of time). ISO 1600, 1/100th f2.8
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4. Week 2. ISO 1600 1/100th f2.8
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5. Last year I tried using flash but I had so much trouble with the AA batteries in the cold (temps usually between +5 to +15F ) that by the time I got the camera settings dialed in on guys warming up, the batteries were shot for the racers. In the middle of a race is no time to be fumbling with batteries using numb hands.
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I've been eyeing another spot on the trail that is more evenly lit without the bright spot light. It may be darker, but I'll have more time to get the timing right, more time for the focus to work, and more light in the background. C&C welcome!
