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.

“Sir Thomas John Woodward, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), (born 7 June 1940), known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer, particularly noted for his powerful voice. Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Singer Tom Jones with a small potted plant, 17th February 1965. (Photo by Bob Haswell/Express/Getty Images)

Zhang Shifan's sixth-generation facekinis in Shandong Province, Qingdao, East China. A woman credited with inventing the bizarre swimwear known as the “facekini” has now proudly presented the sixth generation of the iconic beach clothing. The new facekini models are not only more comfortable, they also come in a wider variety of colours and patterns, bringing both style and practicality to beach-goers in Qingdao City, in East China's Shandong Province, who fear tan lines. (Photo by CEN)

Slick Glamour – Capturing a slicked up Herieth Paul and Jeneil Williams, photographer Daniel Sannwald (Management Artists) offers this high gloss vision for an Yves Saint Laurent feature published in Pop’s fall-winter edition. Styled in lingerie looks by fashion editor Tamara Rothstein, the beauties wow in jewel toned eyeshadow courtesy of makeup artist Frankie Boyd and wavy coifs by hair stylist Laurent Philippon. (Photo by Daniel Sannwald)

A participant of the Castle Party festival poses for picture as a man walks past in Bolkow, southwestern Poland, July 16, 2015. The annual festival features around 50 musicians and artists playing on various stage Gothic rock and other styles of the dark music subculture. Outside Germany, it is one of the biggest festival with this genre of music, the event attracts regular international audience of up to 5000, the organizers said. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Italian artist Marcello Barenghi draws incredibly realistic everyday objects that appear almost three dimensional with the help of colored pencils and occasional enhancements using markers or watercolor. Each work appears ever so slightly stylized which I think sets these apart from similar hyperrealistic drawings that are meant to ‘trick’ a viewer. If you want to see more, Barenghi runs a YouTube channel where he documents the process of almost every drawing.

Women wearing traditional hats, known as a non la, sell fruits in Hoi An, Vietnam April 4, 2016. The non la hats are made of readily available materials such as palm leaves, tree bark and bamboo and are visible everywhere in the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Hoi An's history as a busy trading port is evident throughout its architecture, a mix of eras and styles, with traditional wooden Vietnamese houses, Chinese temples and French colonial buildings. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)