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.'
These adorable pictures show the moment two cuddly red panda cubs take their first look at the outside world and are weighed for the very first time .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
FROM a HOLLYWOOD actress to the face of an innocent child, these are incredible drawings with an unlikely twist .
WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .
FINALLY catching a meal, a pair of great white egrets fight over their dinner .
TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .
WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
