Yesterday's World-Cup speed-skating event at the SLC Olympic oval pushed the limits of the photographic skills.

I brought the gear not because I was thinking to get a special photo, but to refine the skills and work through problems. And it's a bit more interesting than chasing the cat around the house in January - although I did that also - more on that later.

Big fast lenses are the norm and I see why anything less than an f4.0 and light becomes a scarce resource. These athletes are not slow movers - and when I placed myself in the 3rd turn following them thru with 3-d tracking and the D3s said -- "whoa"..

What did I learn -- shooting this stuff is all percentages - I blew thru 300 frames and maybe have 2 good pics.
Know your equipment - the D3s chokes when it's trying to focus, expose, and capture while writing NEF - I thought about JPG - but I hate JPG.
Know your venue - press passes are scarce and mostly impossible, so get there early to scope out the best areas to shoot from.
Know your backgrounds - busy backgrounds make interesting photos.
Shoot what everyone isn't.