Outstanding photography in extreme weather

Photographer Matteo Zanvettor looks like he's on top of the world as he composes his shots in the Italian Alps thanks to a combination of clever perspective and rare weather conditions.The 41-year-old photographer had to battle against 100kmph winds and driving snow to get landscape shots.

Matteo ended up being the subject of some of the best pictures taken by his friend Edoardo Brotto, as frozen snow whipped up around him gave the illusion he was standing on clouds in the Alps.

He said: 'I've never been on top of a mountain with such strong winds - I was worried we might have to turn back but we decided to carry on.We got to Lagazuoi, which is part of the Ampezzo Dolomites in the Italian Alps'.

Stunning landscapes completed in months and years

Mr Wouter Van Buuren, a Dutch photographer, has spent seven years creating his stunning collection of images - with each individual portrait taking between two months and two years to complete.He scales 70m-high electricity pylons, cranes, bridges and even skyscrapers in a bid to take the vertigo-inducing snaps.He then spends months arranging the photographs to make up one huge landscape - giving the effect of looking down on the whole world.

Mr Van Buuren said: 'I started to make the "total landscapes" in the Netherlands when I was climbing in electricity pylons. I was stunned by the beauty of the landscape I thought I knew so well.When I looked at the landscape from above, the mundane seemed more divine, so I decided to look around for what else I could take images from - and started climbing cranes, bridges and buildings and other countries all over the world'.

Image taken in Hoogvliet in the Netherlands

Image taken in New York

Image taken in Nanjing, China

Image taken in Almere, the Netherlands

Image taken in Shanghai

Nature’s most spectacular sights

Photographer James Appleton from Cambridge braved the mighty flames of the Fimmvvrpuhals volcano and the frozen bite of the harsh Icelandic winter – and was rewarded with these incredibly rare shots.They capture two of nature’s most spectacular sights - the northern lights and an erupting volcano in Iceland - in a single shot.

Photographer James Appleton has spent the past seven years capturing the volatile and stunning landscapes of Iceland, and when he was told the Fimmvvrpuhals volcano was erupting, he immediately knew he had to see it.Working alongside vulcanologists, Mr Appleton, 25, got within a few hundred feet of the erupting volcano to get the perfect shot.

‘I never dared to hope it might actually happen, but seeing it for real put all the hairs on the back of my neck up.When I saw the photographs come through the camera I was jumping around with excitement.’ James Appleton said.

Sunset over the bay near Husavik

Ice fields around the volcano

A volcanic erupts on the Fimmvvrpuhals mountain pass in Iceland as Aurora Borealis lights up the sky

Gas shoots into the air and molten lava starts to pour across the landscape as the northern lights flash

Molten lava flows away from the eruption site

Lighting up the dark

The images were taken throughout Japan the effect was achieved by using different exposures and apertures on his Nikon camera.The unique phenomena of lightning bugs being able to light up come from bioluminescence, which is created when a pigment and chemical react.

It is most often seen in sea creatures. According to io9.com, up to 90 per cent of marine life use bioluminescence. The astounding feat is often seen in deep sea trenches and other parts of the ocean where sunlight does not reach.Fireflies use two chemicals – luciferase and luciferin. The former glows when combined with the latter, which is an enzyme that triggers light emission.

Thrilling photography : Images taken from the edge of skyscrappers

Photographer Tom Ryaboi is one of the crusaders of Rooftopping. The 27-year-old, from Toronto in Canada, has climbed more than 100 buildings and produced some of the most stunning examples of the craze. Rooftopping is the heart-stopping photography movement which involves thrill seekers climbing to the top of city skyscrapers, hanging off the edge and taking pictures of the spectacular view.

Tom Ryaboi said: 'It's addictive and I am always looking for a higher roof in the city. But I still feel the buzz whenever I reach the top and feel the wind. It's a pure rush of adrenaline.'I try to blend in as much as possible. In an office building I dress like I work there, on a construction site I dress like the workmen'.

'It's in my blood. When I was a child one day, my dad came home from work and found me sitting on top of the fridge.They had no idea how I had got there, but obviously I just liked climbing things.'

Life Grows On : WWF photo competition

The WWF present “Life Grows On”, their first ever photo contest, aimed at raising awareness of species and land conservation issues around the world. In partnership with CVS/Pharmacy Photo.

This was one of the most amazing sunrises I've ever seen. The sun broke over the mountains, the light filled the valley and the arch took care of the rest!

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

After being dropped off a quarter mile away from our cabin near Ailiak Glacier, our guide towed the kayaks to a better landing spot in the still, glassy waters of the Alaskan wilderness.

Glacier National Park

Antelope Canyon

The light in this photo is some of most incredible I've seen. This was shortly after a rainstorm passed by and the golden light of sunset was just filtering down through the misty canopy.

Hocking Hills State Park

Yellowstone National Park, Montana

Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains

Western Greenland

Kulala Wilderness Reserve, Sossusvlei region, Namib Desert, Namibia

Beautiful frozen droplets - Must see

A drop of liquid explodes into a multicoloured splash in these pictures taken at a ten thousandth of a second by photgrapher Jim Kramer.The photos were captured using a timer which tracks the path of falling drops.With amazing accuracy a flash set off at the exact split second captures the water on impact.IT manager Jim Kramer used water and cream, coloured with food dye to create the eye-catching scenes.

All of the pictures were taken in the basement of Jim's home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Using an underwater pump linked to the timer, he was able to shoot a jet of water into the air to collide with the falling drop
Jim Kramer: "The picture of the multicoloured droplet was created by putting food dye on a blob of cream. I then released a droplet of cream onto that and caught it on camera as it exploded''.

Eye catchy work of art by Mark Mawson : Aqueous II

Some people see huge fiery mushroom clouds like the results of an atomic bomb and others see toadstools - but these images are just splashes of paint dripped into water.

The creative 42-year-old has been taking pictures for 22 years but recently came up with his eye-catching method of creating the watery blobs. Mark, who specializes in shooting underwater scenes and people.

He takes different kinds of paint and drops them into a tank before snapping the outcome with his camera, using a strobe to light up the scene.

His works have caught the eyes of art collectors from as far afield as Hong Kong and Mark is hoping to turn his series into a new book.He said"I have had great responses. Viewers can see different things in them and interpret them for themselves".

When shooting, Mark needs to be quick with his camera-finger because the shapes last only for a split second. "It's a laborious process but worth it when you see the images," he added.

Water wonderful world

Photographer captures amazing images in a single droplet.
These incredible images are little drops of magic - capturing iconic images within a single droplet of water.

Photographer Markus Reugels spends hundreds of hours painstakingly trying to capture the impressive and beautiful images.Mr Reugels, from Schweinfurt, Germany, can spend weeks agonising over snapping the image just at the right moment - but the results are stunning.

This image of the globe from space looks uncannily true to life when pictured through a droplet of water. Photographer Markus Reugels spends hundreds of hours painstakingly composing these shots. This image has been flipped upside down due to the reversing lens-like effects of the water droplet.

In one of his images, an image of the earth from space sits neatly inside the water droplet.In another, the moon is brought into focus by a single drop of water, the flat image of the background distorted into a spherical result that appears uncannily true to life.

This image of the moon is given incredible clarity seen through the natural lens created by dripping water. Mr Reugels began taking the photos after he saw similar ones posted on an online forum. This image has also been flipped.

And in other humorous images, the Batman and Spiderman silhouettes are projected through the water.

This fleeting glimpse of a map of the world showing borders shows how the process can take flat images and make them look spherical.

Mr Reugels began his career as a family portrait photographer but began to take more artistic and adventurous images three years ago.He said: 'My pictures of the water drops are all taken with my self made setup rig - all handmade out of wood.

'I fix all my valves and flashes tot he contraption, and can put the image I want to project behind the dripping water.'Sometimes I take 500 pictures and only a couple of them are really perfect in my opinion.

The setup that Mr Reugels uses to capture the stunning images.