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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MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS

FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .

WINKING SQUIRREL

BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .

FROZEN WATERFALLS

COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .

CATERPILLAR KISS

PERCHING on the edge of a flower, these loved-up caterpillars can't resist each other as they enjoy a romantic moment together .

BASHFUL ORANGUTAN

A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .

MAN AND NATURE

LEAF-ing much to the imagination, this camera trickery is blooming marvellous .

PARROT RIDES ON THE TUBE

Pic By HotSpot Media - PARROT RIDES ON THE TUBE - THIS pretty boy could be forgiven for forgetting his Oyst-aaarrrgh-card .

DAZZLING BEAUTY OF THE MILKY WAY ABOVE UK AND ITALY

A photographer has captured stunning photographs of the Milky Way above picturesque landscapes in the UK and Italy .

INDONESIAN FLOATING MARKET IS BURSTING WITH COLOUR

A floating market in Indonesia is bursting with vibrant colours as wooden rowing boats loaded with fruit and vegetables crowd the river .

CLIMBERS TACKLE 200FT TOTEM POLE

TOWERING 65 metres into the sky, this terrifying accent is a dream for climbers .

SPECTACULAR SCENERY AT CHILEAN OBSERVATORIES

An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .

SMILING SHARKS

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