Model Olivia Culpo (L) and host Nick Jonas, after getting slimed, backstage during Nickelodeon's 28th Annual Kids' Choice Awards held at The Forum on March 28, 2015 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/KCA2015/WireImage)

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 65th mechanized brigade smoke on position of a Soviet-made 2s1 Gvozdyka 120mm howitzer in the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine, 15 November 2023, amid the Russian invasion. Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory in February 2022, starting a conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. (Photo by Kateryna Klochko/EPA)

Performers walk past a light installation “Butterfly Effect” designed by Japan artist Masamichi Shimada, at the Battersea Power Station in London, Thursday, January 25, 2024. The Light Festival involved seven light installations from British and international artists at Battersea Power Station, which illuminated the winter evenings between Jan. 25 and Feb, 25. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Groups of dressed-up pals took to the streets of Leeds, United Kingdom for famous Otley run on Saturday, March 2, 2024. (Photo by NB Press LTD)

Hundreds of flamingos take flight in the Rift Valley in East Africa early September 2024. The birds gather in the region’s saline lakes to eat the blue-green algae that grows in abundance. The red-orange pigment in the algae is what gives them their distinctive pink plumage. They also use the site to breed. (Photo by Alexandre and Chloe Bes/Naturagency/Solent News)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

“Alice in Waterland” is a beautiful series of photographs re-imagining the Lewis Carroll classic underwater. It’s a creation of photographer Elena Kalis, who lives on a small island in The Bahamas, surrounded, she says, “by pristine clear warm water. Underwater is where I spend a lot of time; snorkeling, diving, photographing. It is fascinating how the world changes down below: light, sound, gravity and proportions are different from what we are used to”. (Photo by Elena Kalis)

Shephen Shine, 27, who lost a leg when serving in Iraq in 2007, is tattood with a regimental tattoo reading “Their Sacrifice – Our Freedom” during the Ink For Heroes event on June 18, 2011 in Catterick, England. Ink For Heroes is a charity event to raise money and awareness of the soldiers that get injured during service, with all proceeds going to both “Help The Heroes” and “The British Legion”. Injured soldiers can also get tattooed for free during the event. (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)