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.'

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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 .

FIGHT CUB

JUMPING and bouncing off one another, these young cheetahs enjoy some harmless fun .

PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN

A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

OPEN WIDE! CHEEKY MONKEY GIVES FRIEND AN UNEXPECTED DENTAL CHECK-UP

This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .

HUNGRY HERON STRUGGLES TO HOLD ONTO ITS CATCH

A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .

DRIVER TRAPPED UNDER 4x4 FOR AN HOUR IN HORRIFIC MOTORWAY CRASH

This was the chaotic scene when the driver of a 4x4 vehicle became periously trapped under his vehicle for an HOUR when it overturned after a crash on a busy motorway .

DIVERS EXPLORE UNDERWATER CANYON WITH 100M VISIBILITY

A diver explores the crystal clear waters of the Silfra canyon in southern Iceland, which is the only place on Earth where you can dive or snorkel between two continental plates .

FUNKY BUMP

HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .

VISOR FASHION FAIL

FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .

ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN

BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .

BIRD FISHING

DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .