These Stunning selection of images have been collated by Barcroft Media press agency showing their most striking picture led stories of 2013.
Founded by Sam Barcroft in 2003, Barcroft Media specialise in covering the amazing side of life, From quirky human interest stories to compelling wildlife in action shots.
The birth of Prince George on July 22 sparked global hysteria, and Barcroft's shot of Kate Middleton and Prince William leaving St Mary's Hospital in London the following day with the royal baby made front pages around the world.
In April, Barcroft obtained exclusive shots of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston bombers, and in September they were first on the scene after the Nairobi mall massacre to capture the defining shot of an ex Royal Marine who shepherded over 100 people to safety.
The content provider, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, was also on hand to document cluster balloonist Jonathan Trappe's attempted trans-Atlantic crossing in September.
In January they captured surfing legend Garrett McNamara riding the biggest wave in history, a 100ft monster, in Nazare, Portugal.
The end of year round-up includes staggering images of lava kayakers, high-liners, storm chasers, giant afros, tiny waists, as well as some of the year's most breathtaking wildlife photography.
Barcroft Media's Pictures Of The Year 2013
(01 of22)
Daredevil climbers hang upside down as they climb a giant frozen waterfall. The towering Helmcken Falls in British Columbia, Canada has been dubbed the world's hardest climb and stand at 450ft tall. But despite freezing ice spray, Brit climber Tim Emmett, Raphael Slawinski, from Canada, and Klemen Premrl, from Slovenia, conquered the notorious ice climb. Canadian photographer Wiktor Skupinski captured the pro climbers hanging upside down as they struggled over huge icicles that measured up to 6ft. British Columbia, Canada
(02 of22)
(L-R) Andrew "Goofy" Saunders, Dashawn Martin and Raymon "Lex" Santos perform dynamic dance moves while hanging upside-down from the handrails in a New York City subway car.
(03 of22)
Stanley Colorite, 41, poses for a picture by one of the dream houses in his bedroom where his largest part of Barbie collection is displayed in Hudson, Florida.Welcome to the home of Barbie-mad Stanley Colorite - where more than 2,000 of the dolls are spread over four rooms of his house. The 41-year-old, also known as the Barbie Man, has been building his incredible collection for 16 years and now it?s thought to be worth a staggering $80,000 dollars.
(04 of22)
Skinny Michele Kobke has shrunk her waist from 64 cm to just 40cm by wearing a corset EVERYDAY for THREE YEARS ? even when she sleeps. The 24-year-old, from Berlin, Germany, says she aims to get down to just 38 cm to be like her idol ? American Cathie Jung ? who currently has the record for the world?s smallest midriff. Single Michele believes she has the perfect feminine figure - but it's come at a huge cost to her health.
(05 of22)
A young penguin drifts into the jaws of death as a ravenous leopard seal lunges in to feast on its flesh. These graphic images highlight the daily threat penguins face each day in the Antarctic Peninsula. The young birds are particularly vulnerable as they are yet to adapt to the dangers on their doorstep and often get ambushed and dragged into the sea to drown.
(06 of22)
Daredevil Eskil Ronningsbakken lives life on the edge - by performing a one-arm handstand 2,000ft above a fjord. The extreme artist performed the jaw-dropping gymnastic pose on Preikestolen, a rock above the Lysefjord in Norway. Battling bitter winds and a lethal drop, Eskil managed to hold the one handed pose despite exerting his lower and upper arm to extreme pressure. The Norwegian claims his latest feat is the world's first one-armed handstand at such a height.
(07 of22)
This lion was flipped five metres into the air by a buffalo in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The buffalo bull was conducting a daring rescue mission in a bid to save his friend from certain death. Two young lions had been silently stalking the buffalo for about 45 minutes when one finally made its move. But the predator was so focused on bringing down his prey that it left itself open to a surprise attack. The astonishing images were captured by Ian Matheson, 52, during an early morning game drive with his son Oliver, 16, and two of Oliver's friends in the Mjejane Reserve on the border of the Kruger Park. Amazingly all of the animals walked away from the encounter with no major injuries, except perhaps some bruised egos on the lion's part.
(08 of22)
Bouncy Aevin Dugas boasts the world's biggest afro - measuring an incredible four-and-a-half foot around. It takes TWO days to wash and dry and has got so big the 38-year-old struggles to see out from it. The Louisiana native has become a cult hero in her hometown and says everyone from toddlers to grandmothers have been inspired to 'go natural'. However, her record-breaking hair also brings its fair share of trouble. She is unable to drive a car with it up and also ties it back when out on first dates in case it 'overwhelms' them.
(09 of22)
A daredevil climber has smashed a 'waterlining' world record - tiptoeing an incredible 250m along a slack line above a beautiful mirrored lake. Extreme sports champion Mich Kemeter, 25, walked the length of almost THREE football pitches to complete the energy-sapping challenge. It took the Austrian almost 20 attempts - and several falls - over 20 days to break his own record at the Green Lake in Tragoess, Austria.
(10 of22)
These incredible pictures were captured by professional storm-chaser Roger Hill during this year's hurricane season. The 56-year-old zigzagged his way across the country with wife Caryn and tours of amateur storm enthusiasts in search of extreme weather formations like tornadoes and super-cells. The pair covered nearly 50,000 miles during this year?s storm season, traveling everywhere from Texas and the Canadian Prairie provinces to Montana and Illinois.
(11 of22)
Legendary American surfer Garrett McNamara rode the massive wall of water, estimated to be about 100ft-high, on the waters off Nazare, in Portugal, on Monday (January 28). If confirmed, McNamara will have broken his own record, which he set riding a 78ft high wave in late 2011. The moment was captured from the hillside overlooking the bay by Portugese photographer Tu Mane
(12 of22)
AN off-duty SAS soldier is being heralded as a hero following reports he saved 100 adults and children from the Nairobi shopping centre massacre. With a handgun tucked into his waistband, the man is pictured here aiding two women out of the Westgate mall moments after a terrorist squad attacked. The soldier, who cannot be named, was reportedly enjoying a coffee with friends when Islamists armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades stormed the building. He is reported to have re--entered the building 12 times during the shooting to help shoppers to safety.
(13 of22)
These images show what is believed to be Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev boxing at the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts center in Boston, MA. The native Chechnya, dubbed Suspect 1 by the FBI, and has been reported as dead. He was described as a heavyweight fighter at the gym, and allegedly hoped to fight for the US, because his home nation was not recognised in the sporting world.
(14 of22)
Seven floors of the once-mighty Ark Royal lie exposed in the Turkish sun as the scrapping process approaches the halfway mark. These exclusive photographs show the former flagship of the Royal Navy almost dissected in two at a scrapping facility near Izmir, west Turkey. About 80 staff from ship recycling firm Leyal started scrapping the 22,000-tonne warship on June 10.
(15 of22)
These photographs show smoke billowing from a London Duck Tours amphibious vehicle on September 29, 2013. The vehicle was close to the north bank of the River Thames, near to Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. The images show passengers donning fluorescent life jackets, clinging to the outside of the vehicle and jumping overboard to flee the smoke.
(16 of22)
Balloon aviator Jonathan Trappe's attempt to cross the Atlantic using helium balloons has ended - just twelve hours into the journey. The cluster balloonist was forced to make an early landing in Newfoundland, Canada, due to a technical issue. Thirty-nine-year-old Trappe messaged his followers on Facebook saying he had landed at an 'alternate location' but was safe and well. The IT consultant from Raleigh, North Carolina, US, took off yesterday (THURS) morning at 6.30am EST attempting to be the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean via cluster balloon.
(17 of22)
Curvy Mikel Ruffinelli has the world?s biggest hips - measuring a staggering EIGHT feet round. The 39-year-old?s waist measures just 40 inches but her 100 inch hips are as so wide she can?t fit through doorways and has to buy two seats on planes and trains. Incredibly, the mum-of-four's unusual dimensions are completely natural and Mikel, from Los Angeles, insists she doesn?t want to lose weight, believing bigger really is beautiful.
(18 of22)
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge show their baby to the assembled press at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on July 23, 2013 in London, England.
(19 of22)
A Brazilian family have taken the trend for exotic pets to new extremes. Not content with the standard pooch or moggy, the Borges brood have been sharing their home with a pack of SEVEN tigers. Aryas Borges, began his love affair with tigers when he found two of the big cats living in a bad state at a circus ? and decided to bring them home. His daughters Nayara, 20, Uyara, 23, and Deusanira, 24, grew up sharing their meals, beds and playtime with the fully-grown predators and walking them on a leash. And Nayara, a real-life female Tarzan, regularly hops into the family swimming pool to take a dip with her furry friends. After his success with the rescue tigers, Ary started breeding them, and the tigers still have the run of the house at the Borges family home in Maringa, near Sao Paulo. The family have forged an incredible bond with the tigers after living under the same roof for so long.
(20 of22)
Meet the only man in the world who can withstand a full-scale assault by a 400lb tiger. Fearless Randy Miller, 45, has trained big cat Eden to leap 15 feet and pile-drive him into the ground in a an inch-perfect fake tiger attack. It then looks like Randy's days are numbered as the huge predator then mauls him on the floor. But it's all part of the duo's purr-fect act - as Randy walks away unharmed. Dad-of-two Randy rears his star animals from birth and uses his lifelong bond with them to achieve wild things on the big screen. He bottle fed Eden when she was a cub, and eventually taught her to jump on him for food rewards. Randy's predator stunts are so astonishing they landed him a top stunt award for his work on Russell Crowe blockbuster Gladiator after - they superimposed Crowe's face onto Randy for a famous scene when main character Maximus was attacked by one of Miller's tigers, Tara, in a Colosseum battle. At his special animal training facility in Big Bear, California, Randy has trained amazing creatures for roles in Transformers 2, The Last Samurai and many other movies.
(21 of22)
A Jaguar ambushes a stunned caiman - by exploding from a river like a CROCODILE.†The 20-stone cat then sinks its teeth into the eight-foot reptile before dragging it back across the water and into the jungle.†The unbelievable kill sequence was captured by photographer Justin Black, 39, in the Pantanal Wetlands of Brazil.
(22 of22)
A brave kayaker runs with a flaming oar after it caught light on molten lava. Fearless Pedro Oliva, from Brazil, paddled within feet of the red-hot lava flows pouring down from Kilauea volcano, on the island of Hawaii (Big Island). But as if that wasn't enough, he decided to get out and explore the expanding coastline - on foot, setting fire to the paddle. Wearing white sunglasses to protect him from the lavas glare, Pedro walked on recently cooled flows which rapidly expand the islands size. Carrying his kayak and oar on his shoulder, he nonchalantly posed for photos - even taking time to sip from a can of drink. Pedro was part of an expedition to explore some of Hawaii's lesser known kayaking routes with Chris Korbulic and Ben Stookesberry. They were filming the latest leg of TV program Kaiak, an adventure kayak series aired on Brazilian channel Canal Off. During the trip the team explored four islands - Big Island, Maui, Kauai, and Oahu - scouting over 300 waterfalls and rivers.