From giant mountains to vast deserts, an American photographer spent a year capturing the diverse and beautiful landscape of the United States. The breath-taking images were taken by Randy P. Martin, 30, of Portland, Oregon, who travelled hundreds of miles across America and documented the most diverse and beautiful settings along the way. For Randy, the past year has seen him undertake countless road trips, navigate his route with maps made from napkins - with the help of Google Earth, walk miles across fields of lava rock and wake at 3am to see sunrise at 14,000 feet
POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .
The aurora lights captured in Blair Nebraska, America - WITH electrifying purple and illuminous green brightening up the night sky, this is the rare moment a flash of 'sprite' lightening was captured on camera .
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
OFFERING a glimpse into the past, a mash-up of old and new photographs show how the world’s biggest cities have changed .
A cheeky gorilla sticks her tongue out and plays up for the camera at Bronx Zoo .
THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .
With the full moon looming behind him, this polar bear nestles down for the night .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .
These adorable pictures show the moment two cuddly red panda cubs take their first look at the outside world and are weighed for the very first time .
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .