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 brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
MAKING himself at home, this little snail perches happily on top of this frog's head .
A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .
LUMINOUS green rocks could easily be a beach from Superman's homeland of Krypton .
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
From squids to Star Wars, these flipping marvellous creations are pancake portraits .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
FROM KISSING an alligator on the nose to walking over broken glass, this fearless daredevil is a real life female JACKASS .
A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
NATURE PAPARAZZIS prove you don't have to be Justin Bieber or Cheryl Cole to attract a pack of photographers .
A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .