Family members pose for photos near lava flowing from Pacaya Volcano near El Patrocinio village in San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala, Friday, April 16, 2021. (Photo by Moises Castillo/AP Photo)
A conscript hugs a girl as he says goodbye to family members at a local railway station during departure for the garrisons, in Sevastopol, Crimea on November 9, 2022. (Photo by Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters)
A Thai Marine instructor drinks a cobra's raw blood after killing it as he gives instruction to US Marines and South Korean Marines during jungle survival training as part of the multinational joint military exercise Cobra Gold 2018 at a Force Reconnaissance Battalion camp in the Royal Thai Naval Base, Sattahip district, Chonburi province, Thailand, 19 February 2018. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/EFE)
A toddler sits on the winner of the giant pumpkin category during the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) London Harvest Festival Show at RHS Lindley Halls on October 6, 2015 in London, England. The traditional harvest themed show runs October 6-7 and showcases a wide range of late summer grown fruit and vegetables. (Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)
People look at the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship leaving the STX shipyard of Saint-Nazaire, western France, for a three-day test offshore, on March 10, 2016. With a capacity of 6.296 passengers and 2.384 crew members, the Harmony of the Seas, built by STX France for the Royal Caribbean International, is the world's largest ship cruise. (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP Photo)
Grand banqueting halls, opulent lobbies and vast ballrooms; you could easily be forgiven for thinking this was a collection of photographs was documenting some of Europe’s grandest hotels. However, a closer look will reveal the majestic rooms to be engulfed in swathes of dust and moss; hotels that once hosted royals and high society abandoned to the elements. This is the latest result of urban exploration photography, going beyond “no entry” signs to capture images of dilapidated buildings across Europe. IT worker Thomas Windisch, from Graz in Austria, indulged his passion for photography by traveling across the continent, visiting over 100 abandoned hotels along the way. Here: inside a hotel in Austria. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)
South African maidens wrap themselves in blankets as they head to a ritual bath in a local river on September 5, 2014 at the eNyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma in the KwaZulu-Natal region ahead of the 13th anniversary of the Reed Dance (uMkhosi woMhlanga) celebrated by the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithin. As part of the ceremony, the young women dance bare-breasted for the king, each carrying a long reed, deposited later as they approach the King and is a cultural celebration that promotes respect for young women, and preserves the custom of keeping girls as virgins until marriage. (Photo by Marco Longari/AFP Photo)