Marty, thanks for the compliments.

I usaully shoot wide open f2.8 with all my wildlife. the buck shot was f2.8 @ 1/2000 of a second, iso 400 (forgot to change it). The light is critical for wildlife shots. I also shoot off a monopod. I focus on the nose, or the front tip of the anlter if there is brush in the way. for the doe buck shot, I stoped down to f5.6 (I did not want to risk only getting the grass and NOT the doe in focuse) I then focused on the doe, then dropped down below the grass for the composition. I shot some of her in focus and then recomposed to get him in focus for other shots. I used center (not spot, or matrix and -.3) metering so that the black background would not add to the exposure. I almost always shoot cloudy, these shots were cloudy -3 with a d200. . .

Here's a different shot, not as dramatic but interesting nonetheless. . .