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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SPLASHING KINGFISHER

CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .

CLIMBERS TACKLE 200FT TOTEM POLE

TOWERING 65 metres into the sky, this terrifying accent is a dream for climbers .

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 .

GLOWWORMS LIGHT UP TOURIST TRAIL

IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .

BRAVEHEART: BABY GIRL SURVIVES HEART SWELLING TO SIZE OF ORANGE

A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth .

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 .

GAME, SET-TEE AND MATCH: COUPLE INSTALL TENNIS COURT IN LOUNGE

A WIMBLEDON-mad couple will be creating a racket this summer - after installing a TENNIS COURT in their living room .

LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL

HOTSPOT MEDIA - LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL: Zoe Mitchell when she was two-weeks-old .

FIRST FEMALE JACKASS

FROM KISSING an alligator on the nose to walking over broken glass, this fearless daredevil is a real life female JACKASS .

EYE-CATCHING TRIBAL HAIRSTYLES

BRAIDED, sculpted and beaded, these are the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola .

RAINBOW CAVES

WELCOME to the 750-foot deep rainbow cave that leaves visitors bewildered by its multi-coloured mood lighting .

CHINESE FISHERMEN FISHING WITH RARE TECHNIQUE

SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .