[thes3raph1m]

ok so i have the camera, it has the options, i have no clue

ok not true i get the concept of DOF and how the aperture width changes it, i get the shutter speed and how it affects exposure and also camera wobble, i get all of that

yet my photos are poor...

i have a 28-300mm fixed lens fuji finepix s9600 with 9million effective pixels, 80-1600 iso, focal length 50cm, macro 10cm, super macro 1cm, max shutter 30seconds with bulb option (upto 30seconds) min 1/4000 seconds, aperture f2.8-f11 at wide, f5.6-f11 at full tele, autofocus or manual focus, 18ft effective range on the flash, 256 segment, CW-average or Spot metering (dont get the difference but im sure it explains in the manual)

now if im trying to photograph a bird at say, 40ft, 10 ft, and 5ft, what settings would you recommend (im trying to get a range of ideas... i dont get much daytime to practice you see so im only getting indoor shots in poor light at the moment) and also what about for say insect macro's do you think i could manage some with this equipment?

ive seen willing to learn's photos of the nuthatch and the other 2... how could i go about taking a similar photo with my equipment, i know my camera has nothing on the 350 or 400d, but im sure it can do something right?

i have a few hours off during daylight hours tomorrow (11am to about 3pm) i know thats not great with direct sun and all but its supposed to be overcast all day (yay!)... ill take some photos and see what i can get... btw its all handheld at the minute, i have no tripod, but i may get one tomorrow.