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.'

Other great stories
CROC VS BAMBI

A BAMBI was dramatically caught in mid-air by a greedy Nile crocodile in a once-in-a-million flying pincer move .

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 .

ABANDONED TEXTILE MILL

HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .

MYSTERY OF THE CROOKED COTTAGE

THIS is the fascinating abandoned house, complete with mystery portraits and homely items, that has been dubbed - crooked cottage .

AVATAR-STYLE WISTERIAS WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING TREE-UMPHANT

A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .

UNLIKELY PLAYMATES: BRAVE CHICKS PLAY WITH A PYTHON

A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .

IPAD GAMES FOR KITTIES TURNS THEM INTO PI-CAT-SSO

Is your cat bored? Do his usual playthings simply not do it for him anymore? Not to worry - there's an app for that .

EYE PAINTER

MEET the painter who makes his living squirting paint from his EYES .

VETERAN BEATEN IN REMEMBRANCE WEEKEND ATTACK

A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .

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 .

FLYING PENGUINS LEAP OUT OF THE OCEAN

Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .

ASTOUNDING VIEWS FROM THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD

WITH the mystical clouds forming a thick blanket and the electrifying lights below, these stunning pictures provide a unique view of the cityscape of Dubai taken from the tallest building in the world .