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.'
WITH THEIR adorable big round eyes and fluffy white fur, these baby seals are cute enough to melt any heart .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
AN OLD ENGLISH cottage packed full of history and valuables has been left to rot .
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
With the full moon looming behind him, this polar bear nestles down for the night .
LIFTING their heads high and bumping beaks, these aggressive pelicans clash over fish .
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS - 250 DRIVERS ARRESTED FOR STREET RACING IN BIRMINGHAM- In Pic - The start line on the Heartlands Parkway Nechels Birmingham .
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 .
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
Sam Notaro built his own flood defences to protect his four-bedroom home in Moorland, Somerset Flooding is likely to get worse around Somerset as groundwater levels continue to rise .