Kieron Connolly’s new book of photographs of more than 100 once-busy and often elegant buildings gives an idea of how the world might look if humankind disappeared. Here: Bodie, Mono County, California. Gold was discovered at Bodie in 1859 (just after the initial California gold rush) and it went from mining camp to boomtown. Its decline began in 1880, when word spread of new boomtowns elsewhere. The Standard Consolidated Mine closed in 1913, and four years later the Bodie Railway was abandoned. By 1940 the population was down to 40. Today, Bodie is maintained in a state of arrested decay as a visitor attraction. (Photo by Alamy Stock Photo)

Indian students with face painted pose for a photo during an inter-college face painting competition at the Government Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Polytechnic College in Bhopal, India, 17 February 2020. Over fifty people participated in the event and made face paintings on various issues including the coronavirus or COVID-19. (Photo by Sanjeev Gupta/EPA/EFE)

Body builders preparing at the backstage during the Bodybuilding Cup in Kiev, Ukraine on November 7, 2015 which includes classic bodybuilding, physicist and body fitness and bikini in the competition. (Photo by Nazar Furyk/Pacific Press)

A female body builder prepares backstage to participate in the first national Miss Saraighat Body Building Championship in Gauhati, northeastern Assam state, India, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

Hundreds of houses painted in bright colors in what organizers claim is Mexico's largest mural, is part of a government-sponsored project is called Pachuca Paints Itself, in the Palmitas neighborhood, in Pachuca, Mexico, Thursday, July 30, 2015. German Crew is the artist collective responsible for painting the mural project. Director Enrique Gomez, who goes by MYBE, said the crew has painted 1,500 square meters with 20,000 liters of paint. Working hand-in-hand with residents, muralists have painted the facades of 200 homes bright lavender, lime green, incandescent orange – hues more commonly found in a bag of Skittles than in the drab, cement-and-cinderblock neighborhoods where many of Mexico's poor live. The project aims to bring the community together and rehabilitate the area. (Photo by Sofia Jaramillo/AP Photo)

Shakar Rustami (L) and Zulaikha Amini, organizers of the“'Smart Way” book and painting exhibition stand in front of painting in Kabul, Afghanistan, 21 August 2023. Young female artists in Kabul held a painting exhibition to express the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls. The exhibition also featured books displayed by students to promote reading culture. Some of the girls called for the Taliban to lift the restrictions against women and girls. Many female students turned to painting and drawing after schools and universities closed. (Photo by Samiullah Popal/EPA/EFE)

Maria Jose Cristerna is a mother of four, tattoo artist and former lawyer. 90 percent of Maria’s body is tattooed and modified with subcutaneous implants and therefor she is also called Vampire Woman. Her tattooed skin, body piercings and transformations make her look stunning, even to persons who are familiar with extreme body modifications. She is famous and a regular on television shows and events.

A cat walks in front of the body of a man killed by unknown gunmen in Manila, Philippines early October 18, 2016. A sign on a cardboard found near the body reads, “Pusher Ako, Wag Tularan”, which translates to “I am a (drug) pusher, don't be like me”. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)