Which meter mode?

I started my summer job at a rafting company 2 days ago. I am having some

trouble finding the right shooting mode. The situations are as follows.

Intermittent clouds and sunshine, white water, dark subjects that fill the

frame. Sometines the camera will expose for the water, and sometimes it will

expose for dark subjects. So, I have been randomly losing information on either

end. Should I try manual, what about the intermittent light. Should i try the

preset 'sports mode'. I have currently been using aperture priority at the

lowest aperture to ensure freezing the water. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Probably not what you want to hear, but I would take incident light readings when there is a change in light (you don't have to worry about subject reflectivity) and shoot manually. You're presently relying on a meter which wants to put everything into an 18% gray zone and you aren't making the proper adjustments.

Hi Josh, you got some nice stuff. I have found that when your shooting on the fly and don't have lots of time, center weighted works for me. In one frame you'll have lots of blue sky and the next it's dark. I shoot MX and find one shot the riders in the sky and the next they are in the dirt. You going to loose something either by blowing out the sky or in the shadows. I couldn't find what camera your using but I found that by shooting manual and practing with opening up or closing down a couple of stops will give you much better results that with the "P" mode. My biggest tool has been the bracketing tool, digital film is cheap, experiment. Unless of course you can pose the shot and get out you meter and lights.

Jim

I'd use M mode. Establish correct exposures for your different lighting situations, and learn to adjust exposure rapidly as you switch between them. Some other tips: shoot in RAW to give you the opportunity to correct more effectively in post processing, and if your camera offers a choice between 1/3rd and 1/2 stop intervals for shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation, select 1/2 stop so there are fewer clicks of adjustment needed.

thanks guys. i tried out M in 1/2 stops. since they run the river in a matter of seconds, i just check it right before they drop in. it has been working pretty well. and my boss was pleased. and by the way i can't use RAW because we don't do post processing. and jim i use the nikon d70.