Whats that coming over the hill?

today i wanted to start off writing about my little journey to the chilly island of England

but i have something better to write about

much better

having bought the missus a brand spanking new fancy zoomy dslr camera we decided to 'take that baby for a test drive' and headed down to the beach

we got LOADS of aces photos
i recommend you check out flickr/thepinkjellybaby shortly for some really good photos

but as we walked in to some garden to try and get some 'flowery' macro shots the missus spotted this guy having a rest on a plant


a goddamn praying mantis (with the missus elbow in the background, she was too scared to get close :D ha)
-and check out the bigger pictures for much better detail-

how many levels of awesome is that?

and i am so pleased that the camera not only has a great macro mode but is aces at capturing fantastic colours

but now i'm not sure whether this or the octopus is the best thing i've seen EVER!

[update]
here are some of my favourite photos of the praying mantis




Are you looking at me?


I spy...