Praying Mantises (or is it "Mantii") aren't uncommon in Swaziland and this one only caught my eye because it was relatively large and I because I needed a subject to try and my new Kodak point and shoot (which also happened to be my first ever camera). It wasn't until about 3 snaps into the photo session that I realised the mantis had something in its mouth.

I submitted this photo to the (then) BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in the Animal Portraits category I think. Needless to say, I had absolutely no idea how to properly prepare an image for a competition and I think that, instead of reducing the file size slightly, I converted all my images into small thumbnails. Anyway, this shot actually reached the semi-finals.

Would it have made the finals had it been taken with a better camera? Who knows? All I know is that it was about a metre from my front door.

Executioner's Rock, Swaziland. Taken back in 2007 before I knew how to screw a lens on and off.