What happened?

[casil403]

I'd be honoured...go for it!

[edbayani11]

this is really a 'hard' shot because of the extreme contrast, black dog in white snow. it is a compromise shot, to expose for the dog to get detaIls and lose some details in the snow, or use a fill light so as not to blow out the snow.

[tirediron]

It sounds like you are looking for the trick, the key, the 1 device that will get you great exposure 100% of the time.

Hell, I want to learn that trick! Marko, I agree that grey cards and meters aren't ideally suited for moving subjects (at least not without a LOT of duct tape), but based on the scene, I think taking incident or grey-card readings ahead of time would work just fine, provided that you remember the aspect from which you metered and photograph accordingly.

Something else to remember, is that this is the sort of image you're likely to see in a magazine and think, "How the heck did they get that so perfect when I can't?" The answer is simple: Money. The money to have a half-dozen assistants with reflectors and extra lights, the money to hire a perfectly trained dog that will respond to every command instantly, and the money to hire a world-champion frisbee thrower.

All of that aside, some excellent discussion and learning points in this thread.

[casil403]

I thought I would go out and try one more...I realize now that this is way too hard a shot for my level of expertise (still fun to try though and play) and TI is probably right about the $$ involved. My dog is hardly trained to make perfect frisbee catches on command (but his recall is pretty good and he knows about 6 or so tricks).
Anyhow I used a flash this time to light him up and it is a cloudy day. I also played with exposure compensation. This is what I came up with... 1st shot is original...2nd shot is just a crop
Exif: Shutter priority 1/180 F8.0 200ISO
Flash used Exposure -.50
center weighted
WB cloudy setting

[casil403]

Btw, I also took different settings of the same shot of snow...hardly artistic but more about learning...

[Mad Aussie]

Those last photos would come up nicely with a 'Curves' treatment in PS.
This is where you probably think we all get our whites perfect every time and yours are grey. Not true. We often adjust our whites in post processing.

[Michaelaw]

I have two black cats and they are very hard to properly expose in any situation without lots of light. If I shot them in snow I would fully expect to see black blobs where the cats stood. If I want to get a good exposure of either cat without fill flash then I have to shoot them surrounded by dark objects. It seems to me though that in your shot of the two dogs pulling at the frisbee you probably should hve been on the other side of them with the sun behind you but not directly in its path so as to cast your own shadow.

[Marko]

Thanks casil - I posted it on the blog here. http://www.photography.ca/blog/?p=267
Thx again!
Marko