Crowned cranes in flight

I photographed these crowned cranes in Kenya. Usually for birds in flight, my shutter is 1/3200. For large birds with huge wing spans, however, I'll slow the shutter a bit because I can still capture a sharp picture with a lower ISO. The settings for this image were 1/2500, f/8, and 640 ISO. My safari vehicle was relatively close to the birds which is why I took this picture with a 200mm focal length. Note how the background is fairly sharp; had I needed a longer lens, like a 500mm or 600mm, the background would be totally soft. Sometimes it's good to show the environment, although I would have preferred the background be sharp and not soft. My next photo tour to Kenya is March 2026.