Great comments Eric. As I read all of these, I am imaging fozzyffp wondering about all the comments. And as coming from "pros" (grain of salt please) we can totally forget about time and money in some cases. But, in thinking about the conditions, dark, chalk in the air, hot spots in the lighting, maybe spot metering is not such a bad thought, push the ISO to 6400 and have at it. Final product...B & W w/ noise, undefined shadows, character in the defined highlights, beads of sweat, maybe even a blurred hand during a move, all of these to attempt to demonstrate the character of the action.

Lots of nice possibility in this venue. But, I love challenges...

Sounds like a fun shoot.

If you can get someone to help, I'd use a reflector to throw some extra light on the underside of your subjects. The downward skylights will be perfect for casting light that can be reflected.

With indoor shots it's always the overhead lights and skylights that cause problems. You have mixed light temperature - which can be a problem but is complicated. Just use Auto White Balance.

The second issue - and more of a problem - is blown out elements in your images. This creates two problems - it throws off the exposure and creates blown out areas. You'll need to compensate with those scenes. I'd probably meter with aperture priority then switch to manual exposure since the light on your subject will not be changing very much. Frame your composition to avoid the blown out skylights or light fixtures - or make the blown out area a creative element.

My first choice for composition would be to use a longer lens to isolate your subject without skylights in the image. But don't hesitate to experiment. Use the arms,legs, and shoulders as leading lines to emphasize your subjects. Focus on the eyes or a specific subject element.

Crank up your ISO as high as needed. You should have no problem at ISO 800 and even ISO 1600 is better than soft images.

Get a cooperative subject and make them part of the shot. They can pose or perform a move multiple times to allow you to get the shot.

The problem you had with flash is like photographing snow - the light is extra bright on close particles. I don't see any problem with using an off camera flash. Instead of a flash, you can use a really bright shop light - just be aware of the potential impact on color temperature. You can also bounce the light to spread it or soften it. Bouncing white light off a gold reflector can create a great warm lighting effect.

As long as the chalk is not actually on your glass I would use those crazy white specks to your advantage. I think they could add drama and help tell the story.

The best shots I have seen, the shooter was on the climb with the climber. The shots were taken using a pretty wide lens (say 24mm on FX). The shooter was next to the climber shooting slightly up to show what was to come, or slightly down to show what had been accomplished.

How comfortable are you with adding lights? I would suggest a kicker way off behind the climber somewhere out of frame, blasting a very strong rim light. Then a small soft box to fill the shadows on the camera/climbers face side.

Visualise the shot (i can see a lot of potential here) and aim towards getting that shot.

@Tao Ah, well i guess i should have clarified, yes good climbers are slow and methodical but im more interested in the 15-20 foot free falls and ropes courses elements hanging from the ceiling. these are alot more dynamic movements.

@Garth i used to work at the gym, and have taken many pictures there with point and shoots, the air is so saturated with chalk dust that there are crazy white speck all over the image when shot with flash. i do not yet have a external flash :(

@msmoto, not much light, its all skylights and reflector florescents aimed straight down, much of the wall is over hanging, and the ropes courses elements are next to the ceiling and there are no skylights in that area. i didn't think of the tele, i will take some samples and report back.

@bland, will try that as well.

thanks for all the input everyone, i really appreciate it, sounds like i need to visit that $$$ website again....

You might try shooting in P Mode with flash (TTL) using Auto ISO. For some reason P Mode allows more ISO than the other modes when using Auto ISO with a flash.

The question in my mind is "How much light is there on the actual wall?" Maybe you could use a tele, use center weighted metering, shoot at 1/125 sec, auto ISO, wide open, (Manual mode) and see exactly how much ISO is required. Then the methodology is easier to arrive at.

An example...if, on a properly exposed skin tone, the ISO requirement on your D5100 w/ an f/5.6 VR lens at 300mm is 25.000, well, you may have to add light, however you decide, flash or other. But if the ISO is only 1600, you are in business.

Why don't you shoot some examples, let us know what the lighting is, and then we may have some more advice.

Have yo been told you can't use flash? This is the first I have heard of that, but then I don't do pro rock climbing shoots.

I have shot kids rock climbing. I used a speedlight mounted to a monopod and a 35 1.4 (on d700). Came out pretty well. The hardest part was the HUGE variations in light. There was a skylight (blow outs) and florescents and down lights spotting different zones. I had to contantly adjust the shutter speed. Forget about good WB.

Not sure why you believe you need that fast of a shutter speed. Rock climbers aren't exactly quick. Timing is more important than equipment. I would think you could get most shots with a shutter of 1/50-100 easily with a ISO of 400. Using off camera flash (CLS way off to one side) just to light the area would help with getting around the dust as well.

I would suggest to take a zoom and try different things and not to limit your gear before trying it. Too often I see people thinking they need super fast glass when they really don't.

Alright all you Pros :)

Has anyone ever shot inside a rockclimbing gym? i see it as a very challenging scenero. the lighting is usually poor, and you can't use a flash because of the insane amount of chalk dust in the air.

i have a D5100, and 35 1.8, i have other zooms but they're slow so i pretty much consider them out...

so my question is does anyone have any tricks besides auto iso to get good pictures in the environment at a decent shutter speed say 1/200-500?