These stunning coloured images show detailed x-ray images of everything from skulls to light bulbs. Artist Paula Fontaine, from Westminster Massachusetts, created the images using a process called digital map painting. To create the images the x-ray emission source – the head of the machine on an arm which focuses the beam – is placed over the object. Paula then retreats behind a shielded screen before activating the x-ray exposure. Here: Brain storm, conceptual composite X-ray. (Photo by Paula Fontaine/Barcroft Media)

British artist Nick Veasey used an X-ray machine to show us exactly what's going on under people's clothes. The equipment took copies of items separately before they were mashed together to create characters and situations. The work is part of Veasey's latest exhibition named “X-ray Voyeurism”. In order to create the work, the 51-year-old has spent the last 20 years exposing himself to harmful radiation in his studio. Photo: “Stripper”: Has tucked her cash away safely. (Photo by Nick Veasey/Barcroft Media)

British Institute of Radiology artist-in-residence Hugh Turvey creates images with x-rays to reveal the hidden contents of wrapped presents.

Italian actress Sophia Loren attends the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, 1954. (Photo by AGIP/RDA/Getty Images)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

These picture look like an artist has painted abstract patterns on canvas – but in fact they are natural rivers captured on camera. The spectacular rivers in Iceland's central highlands and southern parts originate from glaciers, which is why the water is a milky colour. They are shallow rivers and the water spreads quickly over a flat and sandy surface, creating random and beautiful patterns. Photographer Andrey Ermolaev from Moscow, Russia, flew 500ft above the unique sight in a small plane. (Photo by Andrey Ermolaev/Solent News)

A Polish Air Force MIG-29 fighter (R) and an Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter patrol over the Baltics during a NATO air policing mission from Zokniai air base near Siauliai, Lithuania February 10, 2015. (Photo by Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

An undated archive picture shows a dog pulling a Belgian machine gun at an unknown location in northern France. A Viscount in the Armoured Cavalry Branch of the French Army left behind a collection of hundreds of glass plates taken during World War One (WWI) that have never before been published. The images, by an unknown photographer, show the daily life of soldiers in the trenches, destruction of towns and military leaders. The year 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI. (Photo by Collection Odette Carrez/Reuters)