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 .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
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 .
EXPERTLY camouflaged, this clever panther chameleon knows how to catch its prey by surprise .
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .
The dog having been pulled from the car - A police officer smashed a window in the blue Chrysler car to free the dog which was in visible distress .
The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .
This tranquil setting stretches for miles as the sun sets behind the mountain .
THIS may look like a dolphin through jumping hoops, but it is in fact nothing more than a clever 3D pencil drawing .
FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .
AN EXERCISING turtle and an ice-skating chick are hardly everyday exploits in the animal community .
