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.'
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .
MEET the underwater British seal who is so friendly he loves to grapple divers like a friendly puppy dog .
PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .
With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .
A photographer has travelled the length of the UK capturing lighthouses and their picturesque surroundings .
A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .
THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .
A chipmunk, with his cheeks full to bursting, has no intention of leaving with an empty stomach .
A GLOWING range of greens and blues sweep across the sky in a spectacular display of light .