These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create. Japanese illustrator Takanori Aiba, 58, has built the intriguing scale models of windmills, lighthouses and even the Michelin Man.He delicately uses craft paper, plaster, acrylic resin, paint and plastic to create the host of sprawling miniature communities that wrap around the tiny trees.Following his work as an illustrator for Japanese fashion magazine POPYE he has spent the last nine years producing the detailed mini worlds.The creations take at least three months to construct with his Ice Cream Package Tower taking an astonishing 18 months work. Since 2003, he has made eight models, with 10 more planned over the next few years.
An osprey soars through the air at 30 miles per hour before swooping down to catch its prey from a lake .
THE CRAZE for mimicking the video game Streetfighter has spread to the streets of London .
ONCE A doctor’s surgery, family home and office, an array of medical equipment is scattered throughout this abandoned home .
At first glance it might look like someone has taken their revenge on the makers of those infuriating insurance ads .
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
SKIPPING on the spot, an adorable little owl embraces the 'running man' challenge .
SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
A woman with a rare condition that means she collapses every time she laughs fears she may have passed the rare illness onto her young son .