Thanks to plenty of salt minerals and heavy elements in the soil, the Dallol volcano in Ethiopia produces brilliantly colored pools of water at the top of its caldera. And, as if to add greater effect to the already stunning sights, the volcano stands apart from the salt plains around it like an island. This hotspot was created through phreatomagmatic eruptions caused by magma interacting with water, and was further altered due to the presence of salt water. (Photo by Francisco Pandolfo/Caters News)

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)

A statue is seen at the theme park “Love Land” on October 19, 2011 in Jeju, South Korea. Love Land is an outdoor sеx-themed sculpture park which opened in 2004 on Jeju Island. The park runs sеx education films and features 140 sculptures representing humans in various sеxual positions. It also has other elements such as large phallus statues, stone labia, and hands-on exhibits such as a “masturbation-cycle”. (Photo by James Jiao/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Dancers perform at the Harajuku Omotesando Super Yosakoi Dance festival in Shibuya, Tokyo on August 27, 2022. Super Yosakoi festival, is a two day festival that sees thousands of dancers, in hundreds of teams, energetically perform this unique Japanese dance style that combines traditional and more modern elements of movement and costume. (Photo by Damon Coulter/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Brave photographer Masa Ushioda captured the shots of this wild gator in vast marsh land in the Everglades National Park, in Florida, USA. He said: “Bright sunlight and blue sky were critical elements in this picture – in addition to getting a wild 10-foot alligator in the middle of the viewfinder with a perfect angle”.

Vietnamese artist Hoang Tien Quyet produces curved paper forms using a difficult technique known as wet-folding. This adds an element of sculpture to the work, making Hoàng’s origami animals truly remarkable. Too little water and the paper dries before the folding is done; too much water, and the paper will rip.

An artist has given classic paintings new hope – by adding Star Wars elements into the famous works. David Hamilton, 50, put his unique twist on paintings by the likes of Monet, Munch, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. The creative artist, from Livingston, Scotland, came up with the idea while flicking through a book of classic paintings. As a Star Wars fanatic he thought to himself how funny it would be funny to see a Stormtrooper incorporated into one of the works. Here: Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. (Photo by Dave Hamilton/Caters News)

René Maltête was a French photographer and poet. His pictures were based on the element of surprise and incongruity, often having a humorous and even philosophical side to them. At the start of his career, he often had to resort to manual labor as an addition to his to his profession in order to pay the bills. However, René's talent of seeing and being able to capture in time humorous moment of mundane, day-to-day life payed off in the end. Over the years, his works were published in a number of magazines in addition to numerous exhibitions that were held worldwide to popularize his work. (Photo by René Maltête)