Is there a grub in there?

[eccles]

Dinner maybe? :)
Bluetit shot with Canon S3 + Canon 1.5x tc.

[eccles]

It's worth mentioning that this is a real live habitat shot in woodland. No bird boxes or feeders, not even a hide. Just being very quiet and very still, which is why it's not technically perfect. I would appreciate some comment before it rolls off the titles, even if you think it's rubbish.

[royce10]

Nice bluetit capture. Tough shot with the harsh backlighting. I think you did very well considering! Bravo. There also seems to be a bit of noise. You can try to increase the contrast and saturation a bit in photoshop and running it through a noise reduction program like Neat image. Looking forward to seeing more of your pics.

[soccersnaps]

I like the shot and picture composition, but it looks a little noisy, what were your camera settings?.

[Reyno]

I assume this was heavily cropped and sharpened as the noise is quite evident. On the other hand, I think you did well with the composition and timing of the bird looking down the hole which is fitting to the title.

[eccles]

Thanks for the comments guys. You're right about the noise. As the light was poor I had to up the iso to a mere 200 which for the S3 is pushing it. I'll run it through Neat Image next time.

Incidently, I was standing dead quiet in the middle of a wood, watching birds all around, including the bluetit above. Jays are particularly shy in the UK but there were two nearby and they were gradually getting within camera range. Then someone with a dog blundered past shouting "Here Rover!", the dog slobbered all over me, and the owner beamed at me as if they were both God's gift to nature.
He said "Wot you lookin' at den?"
I said with a shrug, "Nothing much since the professional bird scarer arrived."

[soccersnaps]

How did he know your name was Den?.

[eccles]

He was mixed up. Afterwards he said "See you later, Ron."

[soccersnaps]

Ha Ha, keep up the good work, its not rubbish, have to admit I am surprised at the noise at iso200, time to get a slr and good telephoto me thinks. ignore the wife/bank manager. steve

[philc123]

Great composition and title, well captured natural habitat shot.
Shame about the dog/walker.
I take it you got no Jay shots then? Them birds are ultra shy, i have'nt even laid eyes on one for about 2 yrs!

[jpalmer]

you did well for a woodland shot you cant prepair them to be exactley where you want them to be this is a good shot for that. yes as every one has said noise but nothing that neat image couldnt sort out. can i give it a go.
many thanks

[eccles]

@Soccersnaps, the noise is variable. In good light it's not too bad, and can clean up quite well with Neat Image but the light today wasn't very good, and as already guessed the image was cropped a fair bit too. As for an SLR, I already went down that route with film, and the weight and inconvenience of all that kit is just too much. I do a lot of walking through nature reserves and I'd never put up with it all. The S3 will take decent bird pics but you have to work a little harder to get them.
As for the dog walker story, I took a couple of one of the jays but it's not useable. It's handy having a nature reserve almost on my doorstep but I think I'll have to go a little further into the countryside to avoid the casual walkers.
@Phil, yes please by all means play with the pic.