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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ADORABLE ORANGUTAN TURNS ONE

An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .

SERENE ICEBERGS

A SERENE turquoise glow glimmers from underneath these powerful icebergs .

EMPTY LONDON UNDERGROUND

USUALLY full to bursting, these London Underground stations stand silent and completely commuter free .

MOODY GORILLA

SAT with his arms folded and a cross look on his face, this Gorilla looks like he's had enough of the Christmas holidays already .

ADORABLE OWL EMBRACES THE 'RUNNING MAN' CHALLENGE

SKIPPING on the spot, an adorable little owl embraces the 'running man' challenge .

TOY CAR ADVENTURES

These images of vintage cars, bikes and vans, pictured all over the world, could easily have come from a globetrotting petrol-head’s photo album .

STUNNING CONTRAST OF ENGLISH SETTINGS

CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .

WEATHER TAKES BIZZARE TURN

It was sunny, now it's raining .

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 .

N-ICE DAY FOR A WHITE WEDDING: COUPLE WED ON GLACIER

When couples talk about wanting a white wedding, few will be referring to getting hitched on a glacier sat on top of an active volcano .

MICROBES OR FLAMINGOS

FLAMINGOS from above look like the pink algae they eat .

EASTER ISLAND REPLICA STATUES DESTROYED IN SEA FALL

A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .