SMOKE ART

PATTERNS of colourful swirls and twirls of smoke help to create these imaginative spellbinding photographs. The hypnotic and psychedelic images were created by American psychologist Mark Scalco, 49, who refers to his work as 'smokreations'. 'I've always enjoyed the patterns made by kaleidoscopes or some geometric screen-savers,' says Mark, of Durham, North Carolina. 'I remember as a kid looking for shapes in clouds and smoke.

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RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT

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 .

BENGAL TIGER PLANS ATTACK ON UNSUSPECTING DEER

SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .

ASTOUNDING ASTRONOMICAL IMAGES TAKEN IN GARDEN

AN ARRAY of colours, from pinks to blues and oranges, fill the night sky to create an amazing collection of interstellar patterns .

AMAZING LIGHTNING PHOTOGRAPHY

STRIKING photos capture nature at its most raw and powerful during Earth’s most electrifying event .

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?

Fetching a tiny carrot and a head-shaped snowball, a red squirrel builds the perfect snowman .

A SMILEY GECKO SHEDS ITS SKIN AS HEATWAVE HITS BRITAIN

STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .

PARTNERS IN GRIME

MASKED intruders look sinister but really they are a gang of urban exploring pranksters .

HUNGRY WHITE-TAILED KITE

SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .

CHRISTMAS SNOWMAN ATTRACTS CURIOUS SQUIRREL

Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .

CHIPMUNK YOGA

ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .

THE BEAUTIFUL MOSQUE OF COLOURS

As sunlight cascades through its vibrant stained glass windows, every inch of the Nasir-ol-Mulk Mosque bursts with colour .