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.'
CLINGING onto nothing but ice, this brave climber reaches heights of 1000 FEET as he scales frozen solid waterfalls .
A trio of ants are locked in a tug of war over a fly as they pull the bug by its legs .
FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .
These are the amazing close up pictures of North Korea's mass games - after photographers were previously banned from taking shots so close to the dazzling formation dances .
As sunlight cascades through its vibrant stained glass windows, every inch of the Nasir-ol-Mulk Mosque bursts with colour .
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
Fetching a tiny carrot and a head-shaped snowball, a red squirrel builds the perfect snowman .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .