A “Maya” girl sits in an altar during the traditional celebration of “Las Mayas” on the streets in Madrid, Spain Sunday, May 10, 2015. The festivity of the Maya comes from pagan rites and dates from the medieval age, appearing in ancient documents. It takes place every year in the beginning of May and celebrates the beginning of the spring. Girls between 7 and 11 years old are chosen as “Maya” and should sit still, serious and quiet for a couple of hours in altars on the street decorated with flowers and plants and afterwards they walk to the church with their family where they attend a ceremony. (Photo by Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP Photo)

The 30th anniversary of the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant that caused large amounts of radioactive particles to be released into the air will be commemorated on April 26, 2016. Photojournalist Sean Gallup returned to the area to document the lasting effects of the world's worst nuclear power plant accident. Pictured, children's beds are seen in an abandoned kindergarten in Kopachi village located inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone, September 29, 2015, near Chernobyl, Ukraine. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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 photographer has shared his stunning gallery of African sunrises and sunsets. Paul Goldstein says he has spent years trying to photograph the perfect beginning and ending of the Masai Mara day. Thanks to his role as guide for Exodus Travels, there have been countless opportunities to document the beautiful natural spectacle. Photo: “African Fire”: Ostrich at sunset. (Photo by Paul Goldstein/Rex Features)

Over the years a large population of grey herons have made an unlikely home in urban Amsterdam. Julie Hrudova documents how the birds integrate into city life. Here: Hundreds of herons come to the city during winter to find food and shelter. (Photo by by Julie Hrudova/The Guardian)

Roland Miller is on a mission to document the deserted sites of America’s space race. He has photographed launch pads, bunkhouses and research facilities across the country, some of which no longer exist or are closed to the public on secure military bases. His book, “Abandoned in Place”, is published by the University of New Mexico Press in March. Here: Launch Pad and Gantry with Hermes A-1 Rocket – V2 Launch Complex 33, White Sands missile range, New Mexico in 2006. (Photo by Roland Miller)

Photographer Joana Choumali’s latest project explores body image and beauty by documenting the men building Abidjan’s clothing models. The “Awoulaba” mannequin is a customised model designed with the African ideal of beauty in mind, curvier than the stick-thin examples usually seen in the west. They first appeared in 2011, and have since become a familiar sight outside the numerous clothing shops dotted throughout Ivory Coast’s capital, Abidjan. Here: An apprentice lines up his work on a roadside. (Photo by Joana Choumali)

This adorable gallery reveals the astonished expressions of dozens of puppies as they try to gobble up treats flying through the air toward them. Photographer Christian Vieler, 48, has been documenting pooches, with their eyes bulging, mouths wide open and looks of love on their faces, in his studio as part of the project “Dogs Catching Treats” since 2013. (Photo by Christian Vieler/Caters News Agency)