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.'

Other great stories
AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: HOTEL WITH A TWIST

These uninvited guests ELEPHANTLY make their annual trip through the reception of this welcoming lodge .

PELICANS CLASH OVER FOOD

LIFTING their heads high and bumping beaks, these aggressive pelicans clash over fish .

ADORABLE POLAR BEAR CUBS PLAY-FIGHT IN THE SNOW

A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .

COUGAR: I FELL FOR MAN 18YRS MY JUNIOR BUT MY SONS DIDN'T COME TO OUR WEDDING

A woman has revealed how she left her husband of 24 years, after falling in love with a man, 18 years her junior .

WOMAN SPENDS £30K ON HELLO KITTY ADDICTION 

A shoe designer from London has spent a whopping £30,000 on Hello Kitty memorabilia .

HUNDREDS OF HOT AIR BALLOONS DECORATE TURKISH SKY

HUNDREDS of hot air balloons decorate the sky above Turkey as the rising sun illuminates the spectacular scenery below .

SCUBA-DUPER DIVER BREAKS RECORD FOR 50 HOURS UNDERWATER

A British diver has set a new world record for the longest warm water scuba dive by spending a mammoth 49 hours and 56 minutes under water .

WALLABY FEEDS PIGEON

THIS caring wallaby shares her lunch with a hungry pigeon .

GIRAFFES DUCK FOR COVER

DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .

SNOOZING SEAL PUP

RESTING his weary head on his flipper, this little seal pup takes a much needed nap after an afternoon of strenuous yoga .

CAGE -FIGHTER BF FRACTURED MY EYE SOCKET, NOSE, BIT MY FACE AND FORCED ME TO MAKE HIM A SAUSAGE SARNIE AT KNIFEPOINT

After Leigh Hancock, 36, joined Fallon Bramall's boxing gym she owned with her husband, the pair took him under their wing .

HEAVY RAIN AND WILD WEATHER FOR SOUTHERN ENGLAND AND WALES

Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .