A visitor looks at a creation by Russian artist Irina Nakhova presented at the Russia's pavilion during the 56th International Art Exhibition (Biennale d'Arte) titled “All the Worlds Futures” on May 5, 2015 in Venice. (Photo by Gabriel Bouys/AFP Photo)

“Red Land: Sunset Cloud Village is one of the most picturesque places in Red Land, China. As its name indicates, it's best to see before sunset. The reddish brown soil turns redder after rainfall and after farmers plow the land”. (Photo and comment by Peng Jiang/National Geographic Photo Contest via The Atlantic)

Labourers stack dried bricks inside a kiln, where they will be fired, at a brick factory on the outskirt of Sanaa, Yemen, June 1, 2016. Traditional mud brick tower houses have always been a source of pride to Yemenis, and over a year into a devastating civil war, they are also providing some much-needed jobs in the ancient capital Sanaa. (Photo by Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters)

A woman rides a donkey during a donkey race in Roum village, Jizeen countryside, southern Lebanon, August 9, 2015. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)

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.

Contestants of a tattoo competition pose for photographs at the China TATTOO convention in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, October 24, 2015. The annual convention was held in Nanning from October 23 to 25 this year. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A Nepalese Hindu devotee bathes in the Bagmati River on her way to the Pashupatinath Temple to offer prayers to Lord Shiva, Hindu god of destruction during Shravan festivities in Sundarijal, on the outskirts of Kathmandu on August 3, 2015. According to the Nepali calendar, Shravan is considered the holiest month of the year with each Monday of the month known as Shravan Somvar when worshippers offer prayers for a happy and prosperous life. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Shortlisted: Pooyan Shadpoor, Houcheraghi. While walking along the shore of Larak, Iran – an island in the Persian Gulf – Shadpoor came across this luminous scene. The “magical lights of (the) plankton ... enchanted me so that I snapped the shot”, he writes. (Photo by Pooyan Shadpoor/2016 EPOTY)