Nature and wildlife at its most beautiful: Photographs from around the world reveal our planet at its very best

From wonderful waterfalls to figures trudging through the snow this stunning collection of pictures show the beauty and ferocity of nature.
They were all finalists in the Great Outdoors photography competition, which was won with a shot of a camel herder entitled Homebound by Indian Times photographer Sudipto Das, from West Bengal.
It shows a camel seller leaving a fairground with unsold camels after the world's biggest camel fair is over at Pushkar in Rajasthan. Camel sellers from remote villages in Rajasthan gather at the fairground yearly to trade camels which continues for seven day.
Second prize went to Brit mountain guide Andy Teasdale, from Gwynedd, north-west Wales, for his picture of four skiers battling through the snow on Gran Paradiso in the Italian Alps.

And third prize went to another Brit, model turned photographer Paul Reiffer from Dorset for his shot of Horse Shoe Bend in Page, Arizona.
The competition was organized by the The Society of Nature and Wildlife Photographers, an association for photographers worldwide, based in Wales.
Spokesman Phil Jones said: 'The theme of this competition was the ‘Great Outdoors’ and photographers were encouraged to let their creative juices flourish. 

Images that depict this vibrant topic were welcome to be submitted, and could include landscapes, seascapes, panoramas, underwater or whatever your creativity captures in this all-embracing photographic competition. 'In the end we had 802 images submitted and they were judged by a panel at the Society.'
Shots that made the final from the UK include a plane coming in to land at City Airport in London and a lighthouse at Whitley Bay on Tyneside.

Other finalist Andreas Ettl, from Germany, captured a rainbow next to Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall in southern Iceland.
Mr Jones added: 'The competition produced a load of quality images.
'We have been blown away by the variety and the fact that so many pictures came in from all over the planet.
'As an organisation it shows there is so much talent around the world and we look forward to building on that in the future.'

He's not famous... he's a real no body! Bizarre statues depicting 'invisible' men that play tricks on the eye

Sculptures pictured here are the work of French artist Bruno Catalano

The 53-year-old says the invisible bodies represent a world citizen

Ever feel like you've forgotten something? These people might.
The amazing sculptures pictured here look like they're missing vital organs. They are work of French artist Bruno Catalano who says the invisible bodies represent a world citizen.
Mr Catalano, 53, is originally from Morocco but a lifetime of travel as a sailor has inspired these quirky pieces of art, which often cause passers-by to do a double-take

Now living in Marseille, France, Mr Catalano and his daughter Emilie work to create masterpieces like these.
Made out of bronze, Mr Catalano starts the process by carving the characters from clay - and will then spend a further 15 days working on them.

Mr Catalano said: 'I have travelled a lot and I left Morocco when I was 12 years old. I felt that a part of me was gone and will never come back.
'From years of being a sailor, I was always leaving different countries and places each time and it's a process that we all go through.

'I feel like this occurs several times during life and of course everyone has missing pieces in his or her life that he wont find again.
'So the meaning can be different for everyone, but to me the sculptures represent a world citizen.
'I get inspiration mainly from people around me - familly, friends, neighbours, even colleagues or strangers. My other source of inspiration is the travel.'
Mr Catalano has been sculpting for 20 years and often works with others in an art foundry when making big sculptures.
An exhibition will take place in Marseille in September, to celebrate its status as the European Capital of Culture 2013 with ten life-size sculptures exhibited at the port of Marseille.

 Two of the sculptures at the waterfront in Marseille by French artist Bruno Catalano

Fisherman survives for 60 hours in an air pocket after boat capsizes off of Nigeria

Fisherman was trapped for two days in the pitch dark with no food or water

Harrison Okene could hear fish eating his dead colleagues in sunken ship

Divers found him in an air bubble in a cabin 30 metres underwater

A fisherman survived for two days trapped 30 metres underwater by managing to breathe from a tiny air bubble in his sunken tugboat in the Atlantic ocean.
Harrison Okene, a 29-year-old ship's cook, is the only known survivor from the boat of 12 men, which capsized on May 26, 20 miles off the coast of Nigeria.
Mr Okene was left fighting to breathe inside a four-foot high bubble of air in the adjoining toilet and bedroom where he was trapped, with the waters slowly rising around him.

Before closing the cabin door to stop the water coming in, he had seen three dead colleagues in the water.
Quick-thinking Mr Okene took two mattresses from the beds and sat on top of them, hoping to stay afloat.
'I was there in the water in total darkness just thinking it's the end,' Mr Okene told Reuters.

Although he could not see anything he said: 'I could perceive the dead bodies of my crew were nearby. I could smell them. The fish came in and began eating the bodies. I could hear the sound.'
After days soaking in the salt water parts of his skin began peeling away and he was gasping for water as he could not drink the seawater that he was trapped in.
South African divers came down to search for any survivors on May 28 and they were stunned to find Mr Okene still alive.

Paul McDonald, a member of the rescue crew, said: 'All on board could not believe how cool he was when being rescued.
'The divers put a diving helmet and harness onto him. It was amazing to be part of this rescue.'
Mr Okene said: 'I hammered the side of the vessel hoping someone would hear me'.
He spent another 60 hours in a decompression chamber where his body pressure was returned to normal.
If he had been exposed immediately to the outside air he would have died.
Divers have recovered 10 dead bodies and one remaining crew member has not been found.
Kurt Glaubitz, a Chevron spokesman, said the boat overturned while towing a Chevron oil tanker in the Gulf of Guinea.

Beach is turned into a giant salad by mysterious ‘sea lettuce’ algae that has swamped the shoreline

A seashore looked more like a meadow after huge piles of seaweed was washed up onto the shoreline.
A beach in Rizhao, Shandong, has been given a whole new look after the lush green mess lay tangled on the beach.
The pile of seaweed – also known as sea lettuce – arrived on Saturday, and shows no sign of disappearing as the sea waves are constantly pushing them on to the land.
Enteromorpha prolifera is edible, and rich in magnesium and many other nutrients, the Shanghaiist reported.
But clean up teams will have to work quickly to clean up the green stuff, before it decomposes and begins to rot.
Tidal currents are predicted to move the seaweed to Qingdao next.
In 2008, when Qingdao was inundated with the sea lettuce, the government had to step in, theAtlantic reported.

Because it was the site of many sailing events for the Summer Olympics, soldiers were  sent to speedily remove the mess right away.
Seaweed has been praised as being a vitamin-rich food source that can help improve skin and lower blood pressure.
This particular type of seaweed can grow up to 50cm in length, typically growing near the shore, on rocks or other algae, on open coasts or in estuaries and harbours.
The Shangdong province lays in the east of China, and borders on the Bohai and Huanghai seas in the east.
It overlooks the Korean Peninsula and the Japan Archipelago and is frequently affected by marine monsoons.