At 10,582 square kilometres, the Bolivian salt flats – otherwise known as Salar de Uyuni – are the largest on the planet and contain between 50 and 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. After exploring Chile and Argentina, photographer Joel Santos decided to travel to Bolivia in January 2017 to check the salt flats off his bucket list. With an electrical storm rolling in, Joel and his two travelling companions were the only souls left on the vast flats and captured the eerie flats without a person in sight. (Photo by Joel Santos/Barcroft Images)

A child plays in front of “Etnias”, a large graffiti wall by Brazilian graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra created ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Porto Maravilha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 30 July 2016. The Olympics start on 05 August. Eduardo Kobra hopes to set a Guinness World Record for the largest graffiti created by a single artist. (Photo by Lukas Coch/EPA)

Kira Walkenhorst of Germany (L) signals as Doaa Elghobashy of Egypt (R) watches during the women's Beach Volleyball preliminary pool D game between Ludwig/Walkenhors of Germany and Elghobashy/Nada of Egypt the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Beach Volleyball Arena on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 07 August 2016. (Photo by Antonio Lacerda/ANSA)

Revellers enjoy the atmosphere during the opening day or “Chupinazo” of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls fiesta on July 6, 2015 in Pamplona, Spain. The annual Fiesta de San Fermin, made famous by the 1926 novel of US writer Ernest Hemmingway entitled “The Sun Also Rises”, involves the daily running of the bulls through the historic heart of Pamplona to the bull ring. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

Cuban girls dressed as nurses and a lizard wait for their turn to dance during a visit by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington in Havana July 13, 2015. The choir made its first appearance on July 12, 2015 in Cuba as part of a tour that will include a dozen concerts in the context of the restoration of relations between the island and the United States. (Photo by Enrique de la Osa/Reuters)

A demonstrator attends a protest against fare hikes for city buses in Rio de Janeiro January 16, 2015. Amid a marked economic downturn and high inflation, bus fares went up in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, from 3 to 3.50 reais, and in Rio, the former capital, from 3.0 to 3.40 reais. (Photo by Mauro Pimentel/Reuters)

Revelers dance during the “Ceu na Terra”, or Heaven on earth, carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, February 7, 2015. Rio's over-the-top Carnival is the highlight of the year for many local residents. Hundreds of thousands of merrymakers are beginning to take to the streets in open-air “blocos” parties. (Photo by Felipe Dana/AP Photo)

Vultures gather to eat waste in Bica beach, on the banks of the Guanabara Bay, with the Sugar Loaf mountain in background, 500 days ahead the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro March 24, 2015. As part of its Olympic bid, Rio promised to clean up 80 percent of the bay for the games. But local government officials have already admitted that a cleanup by 2016 is not achievable. Despite millions of dollars of investment over the years, the bay still stinks of sewage. Sailors who visited the city for test events complained of a floating sofa and a dead dog in the water. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)