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.
From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .
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 .
STEPFORD wives from the 1950's and 60's are performing history's most sexist exercise programme .
SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .
A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .
An elegant snowy owl spreads her wings and glides effortlessly above the snow covered field .
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .
THIS is the incredible moment a pelican throws a fish into the air and SLAM DUNKS it into its enormous throat sack .