NATURE'S MOST STUNNING SHAPES AND PATTERNS

FROM ICE bubbles to boiling lava, these photographs highlight the stunning shapes and patterns found in nature. The series of extraordinary images were taken by German software engineer Thorsten Scheuermann after he decided to examine his surroundings. A trip to the city of Kalapana in Hawaii, home to the Kilauea Volcano, provided Thorsten with the setting for his lava picture, while a visit to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon offered him the opportunity to photograph ice bubbles up-close. The 37-year-old, now of Washington, USA, said: 'These are sights that can gain greater significance and have their beauty exposed when excluding everything else around them.'

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LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA

A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .

ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO

A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .

HUNGRY WHITE-TAILED KITE

SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .

BRAZEN COPS PARK IN RESTRICTED BAY

Pic By HotSpot Media - GAME, SET-TEE AND MATCH: COUPLE INSTALL TENNIS COURT IN LOUNGE- In Pic - Ben Walters’ message to West Midlands Police via social media .

SLOTH SANCTUARY

SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .

SNEAKY OTTER

A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .

SMILING SHARKS

A lively lemon shark grins into the camera and showcases his impressive teeth .

GIANT CANYON SWING

FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .

VISOR FASHION FAIL

FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .

AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: HOTEL WITH A TWIST

These uninvited guests ELEPHANTLY make their annual trip through the reception of this welcoming lodge .

AMAZING THUNDERSTORM LIGHTS UP THE SARDINIAN COAST

POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .

POLAR BEARS HAVE A SPLASHING TIME

Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .