Kieron Connolly’s new book of photographs of more than 100 once-busy and often elegant buildings gives an idea of how the world might look if humankind disappeared. Here: Bodie, Mono County, California. Gold was discovered at Bodie in 1859 (just after the initial California gold rush) and it went from mining camp to boomtown. Its decline began in 1880, when word spread of new boomtowns elsewhere. The Standard Consolidated Mine closed in 1913, and four years later the Bodie Railway was abandoned. By 1940 the population was down to 40. Today, Bodie is maintained in a state of arrested decay as a visitor attraction. (Photo by Alamy Stock Photo)

Balinese man dances in the middle of burn coconut husks during the fire fight ritual called Mesabatan Api on March 21, 2023 at traditional sub village of Nagi, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. The mesabatan api ritual is held annually on the eve of Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence, the Balinese Caka New Year, and only takes place in Pakraman Nagi village in Gianyar regency, around 30 kilometers from Denpasar. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

Body builders preparing at the backstage during the Bodybuilding Cup in Kiev, Ukraine on November 7, 2015 which includes classic bodybuilding, physicist and body fitness and bikini in the competition. (Photo by Nazar Furyk/Pacific Press)

A female body builder prepares backstage to participate in the first national Miss Saraighat Body Building Championship in Gauhati, northeastern Assam state, India, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

Police officers hold a revolver as they offer prayers to their weapons as part of a ritual at their headquarters on the occasion of Dussehra, or Vijaya Dashami, festival in Ahmedabad, India, October 8, 2019. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Hindu women perform a ritual known as Aarti around a Shivling (a symbol of Lord Shiva) on the last day of Jaya Parvati Vrat festival in Ahmedabad, India, July 10, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A relative performs rituals for a man who died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before his cremation at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, November 19, 2020. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

A woman takes part in a Vodou ritual at a cemetery in the Haitian capital to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2024. (Photo by Patrice Noel/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)