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 hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .
HUNDREDS of hot air balloons decorate the sky above Turkey as the rising sun illuminates the spectacular scenery below .
Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .
THE THOUGHT OF BECOMING shipwrecked on a remote destination would fill most holidaymakers with dread .
SOME OF the sea’s most terrifying creatures show their softer side as they join a group of diners for lunch .
An Indonesian farmer is dragged through muddy water as he clings to the tails of two charging cows .
A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .
FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .
A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .