NATURE'S MOST STUNNING SHAPES AND PATTERNS

FROM ICE bubbles to boiling lava, these photographs highlight the stunning shapes and patterns found in nature. The series of extraordinary images were taken by German software engineer Thorsten Scheuermann after he decided to examine his surroundings. A trip to the city of Kalapana in Hawaii, home to the Kilauea Volcano, provided Thorsten with the setting for his lava picture, while a visit to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon offered him the opportunity to photograph ice bubbles up-close. The 37-year-old, now of Washington, USA, said: 'These are sights that can gain greater significance and have their beauty exposed when excluding everything else around them.'

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MOUNT BROMO METEOR SHOWER

A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .

HITCHHIKING BIRDS

LINED up one by one on a deer’s back, these little birds give their wings a break as they catch a ride across London .

SOMERSET FLOODING

Villages on the Somerset Levels have faced weeks of flooding with no respite from the conditions in sight .

UNDERWATER DIVERS FEED TIGER SHARKS

SOME OF the sea’s most terrifying creatures show their softer side as they join a group of diners for lunch .

AVATAR-STYLE WISTERIAS WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING TREE-UMPHANT

A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .

I LOST 10ST AFTER GIVING UP 1,000 CHOC BAR A YEAR HABIT

A former chocolate addict, who used to gobble more than a THOUSAND bars a year, has shed an astonishing 10st after giving up her favourite treats .

MISCHIEVOUS FOX CUBS

A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .

CANCER DRUG FIGHT DAD DIES, EVEN AFTER LYING TO GET TREATMENT

A former soldier who bravely took on penny-pinching NHS bosses in his fight against terminal cancer has died, aged 37 .

YOGI - BEAR - POLAR CUBS MORNING BEAR-ROBICS

A young polar bear cub becomes the yogi bear as she stretches off for a morning aerobics session .

CLOWNFISH OPENS WIDE TO REVEAL A CREEPY INTRUDER

A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .

STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS

STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .

FRILLED LIZARD SINGS FOR THE CAMERA

A frilled lizard appears to be belting out a tune as it sits in a tree with its mouth open wide .