Sandhill Crane Taking Off at Sunset

Nikon D1h, 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S, Matrix Metering, 1/90sec, f/2.8, -0.3EV, ISO 500, SB-28Dx, -1.7ev Fill, Better Beamer, Handheld, RAW Format

Unlike the other images in my study of shooting large birds with flash, I applied some negative compensation to keep the background dark and while simultaneously keeping the subject properly illuminated. Also, you'll notice I moved the ISO to 500. You'll begin to see a lot more "grain"--which is really noise--at any settings above ISO 400. In this case, I chose a compromise between minimizing the noise and keeping a high shutter speed to stop motion. Like some of the other images, I cropped about 10% off the top.