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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INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE

An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .

MISCHIEVOUS FOX CUBS

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

THE JUMP

High up in the mountains and thousands of feet off the ground, a party of climbers were in for a shock as they came face to face with this frightening leap of faith .

HAVING A HOOT: BABY OWL HAS A CHUCKLE

Something appears to have tickled this baby owl as he seems to be having a real HOOT .

CHEEKY BABY ORANGUTAN

CLIMBING, falling and tugging on his weary mum, this little orangutan is up to all kinds of trouble .

BABY BEARS COPY FIGHTING ADULTS

SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .

FLORESCENT PLANKTON LIGHT UP AUSTRALIAN SEA

An Australian beach is illuminated by an enticing neon blue glow as a rare phenomenon lights up the water .

EMPTY LONDON UNDERGROUND

USUALLY full to bursting, these London Underground stations stand silent and completely commuter free .

BIKINI SWIM WITH JELLYFISH

A BIKINI swim with jellyfish sounds like the most painful past-time on the planet .

BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL

At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .

RECORD BREAKING GRAN'S COLLECTION OF NEARLY 800 SHEEP

RECORD BREAKING GRAN'S COLLECTION OF NEARLY 800 SHEEP HOTSPOT MEDIA – WITH PICS 0121 551 1004 By Katie Thompson A record-breaking baa-rmy gran with a love for sheep has amassed a collection of nearly 800 woolly wonders .

POLAR BEAR STRETCHES

Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .