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.They feature over 100,000 people in the performing art displays that include tens of thousands of gymnasts synchronizing movements in line with a background of card-turners who entertain spectators. About 20,000 of them form the background to the show holding large books whose pages flip simultaneously to produce the huge displays.The rapid change of images sees one card exchanged for another in a swift and synchronized movement that takes hours of rehearsals and detailed choreography.Photographer Werner Kranwetvogel, 40, captured the stunning shots after he gained rare access to the communist country's public displays.
FISTS fly as two gorillas take each other on in a dramatic battle .
STANDING on its hind legs, a nosey polar bear presses its paws against the window of a truck and takes a peek at the tourist inside .
SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .
COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .
GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .
WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow .
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
Vikki Jose, 26 loves nothing more than lavishing gifts on her loved ones at Christmas time .
GIANT garden sculptures don't beat about the bush .
A medical student has gone from chunky to hunky after being dumped by his ex- girlfriend for being too 'chubby' .
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .