These images of abandoned hospitals across Italy are not for the faint-hearted. Both of the hospitals featured in the photographs are Italian asylums – known as manicomios – that were used as mental hospitals. Shut down by law in 1978, the derelict buildings are visibly overgrown and make for very eerie portraits. Photographer Thomas Windisch, 32, of Graz, Austria, said the asylums, located in top-secret spots, can get very creepy when there aren't many people there with him. Here: a hallway within an abandoned hospital. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

US based toy inventor Steve Casino, 48, has spent almost two years turning peanut shells into these tiny figures. He has made almost 100 of the tiny four-inch statuettes to date- including well-known stars like Elton John and Johnny Depp. The intricate designs can often take up to 20 hours to create. Steve has even turned his unusual passion into a business, selling privately commissioned peanut statuettes as gifts and wedding cake toppers. (Photo by Steve Casino)

Gohei Hayashi of Kyoto University is seen in side his movable eco and healing house, “Kujira (Whale) House” July 21, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. The house is made from Japanese paper, bamboo and tatami mat. Hayashi has travelled 500 km from Japan's ancient city, Kyoto to Tokyo with his eco house to promote his house which can be placed both out inside and outside to provide a private space. The Kujira house is available at the price of 800,000 yen (roughly US$6600). (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

In this photo illustration, an endangered Chinese box turtle which hatched at Bristol Zoo is placed on a box of matches on August 12, 2008 in Bristol, England. It weighs just 15 grams and measures around 4cm long whereas an adult box turtle weighs around 800 grams, measures around 16 cm long and can live up to 50 years. Chinese box turtles are hunted for their meat for use in medicine or as pets and have been listed as endangered on the International Union for Endangered Species Red List. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Inside the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia’s Danakil desert, camel caravans are used to carry salt. For centuries, the essential mineral has been mined by the Afar people, known for their ability to withstand extremes. The terrain is rugged, travelers are scarce and so are motor vehicles, where the average annual temperature is the highest in the world, and can rise to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, 50 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Ziv Koren/Polaris)

Artist Matthew Albanese creates amazing miniature landscapes made from sugar, chocolate and even bits of ostrich in his living room. All the models were painstakingly recreated in his living room, which he uses as his studio. Each gruelling piece can take up to as many as 700 hours to complete. Photo: A stormy version of “New Life 2” created by Matthew Albanese. (Photo by Matthew Albanese/Barcroft Media)

Joseph Ford is a 39-year-old photographer from Brighton, UK. He creates images seamlessly camouflaging people into backgrounds using knitwear made by Nina Dodd. It can take Dodd, 51, up to 40 hours to knit one item of clothing. This image of a man posing in knitwear, camouflaging into tiles of the steps and wall, is a personal favourite of Joseph’s. (Photo by Joseph Ford/South West News Service)