These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create. Japanese illustrator Takanori Aiba, 58, has built the intriguing scale models of windmills, lighthouses and even the Michelin Man.He delicately uses craft paper, plaster, acrylic resin, paint and plastic to create the host of sprawling miniature communities that wrap around the tiny trees.Following his work as an illustrator for Japanese fashion magazine POPYE he has spent the last nine years producing the detailed mini worlds.The creations take at least three months to construct with his Ice Cream Package Tower taking an astonishing 18 months work. Since 2003, he has made eight models, with 10 more planned over the next few years.
BRAIDED, sculpted and beaded, these are the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
THESE are the Disney Princesses you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
SITTING in the middle of a vast desert, an abandoned cinema is still waiting for its first movie to be screened .
A BIKINI swim with jellyfish sounds like the most painful past-time on the planet .
Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .
As sunlight cascades through its vibrant stained glass windows, every inch of the Nasir-ol-Mulk Mosque bursts with colour .
ROLLING around in the snow, these young brown bears take a break from their play fight to share a tender hug with one another .
