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.'
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
When couples talk about wanting a white wedding, few will be referring to getting hitched on a glacier sat on top of an active volcano .
PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .
GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .