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.
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
These uninvited guests ELEPHANTLY make their annual trip through the reception of this welcoming lodge .
CLIMBING, falling and tugging on his weary mum, this little orangutan is up to all kinds of trouble .
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 .
VENTURING into the ocean with self-made spears and nets, the fishermen of Zanzibar put their lives on the line when they catch food for their families .
A diver attempts to control rising numbers of lionfish by feeding the venomous species to Caribbean reef sharks .
In the calm waters of Greenland, gigantic icebergs dwarf everything around them .
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 .
SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .
THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .