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 technician disinfects official balls before the Group F Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021 football match between Mauritania and Gambia at Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Limbe on January 12, 2022. (Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP Photo)

A girl plays with pigeons in front of Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on February 24, 2023. (Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP Photo)

A man dressed as a demon poses for a picture as he participates in a ceremony known as Los Talciguines, as part of religious activities to mark the start of the Holy Week in Texistepeque, El Salvador, March 26, 2018. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

Store owner Sidney Graham removes storm damage debris at Living Loved Lash and Body Studio on West Walnut Avenue Sunday, May 26, 2024, in Rogers, Ark. Powerful storms left a wide trail of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. (Photo by Charlie Kaijo/The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP Photo)

This photograph, taken in Cognocoli-Monticchi on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on November 14, 2023 shows lenticular clouds above Corsican mountains. (Photo by Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP Photo)

Students learn how to use an airsoft gun from Taiwanese military instructors at Kaohsiung Municipal Sanmin Senior High School in Kaohsiung on January 11, 2024. Kaohsiung City launched a national defence education program using digital technology for all its high school students. The program also promotes drug prevention in cooperation with the Taiwan defense ministry. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

A Cucumber and a Chuta Cholero hug during the traditional festival “Desentierro del Pepino” (unearthing the Cucumber) to mark the beginning of carnival on January 21, 2024 in La Paz, Bolivia. People dug up the cucumber from the cemetery and walk through the streets with two characters, the Ch'uta and the Chola. (Photo by Gaston Brito/Getty Images)