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)

A Hindu devotee bathes in the Shali River during the Swasthani Brata Katha festival, marked with auspicious bathing in water bodies hoping for a prosperous life and conjugal happiness, on the outskirts of Kathmandu on January 28, 2021. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Afghan military and officials leave Kandahar city during fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, in Kandahar, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, August 12, 2021. (Photo by Sidiqullah Khan/AP Photo)

A blue tit takes umbrage at a wing mirror at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Arger Fen & Spouse’s Vale reserve in United Kingdom on April 16, 2021. (Photo by Angela Lord/Triangle News)

A drone photo shows an aerial view of a part of Augusta Ancient City, belonging to the Roman period, revealed following the withdrawal of water level of Seyhan Dam Lake, in Adana, Turkey on September 07, 2021. (Photo by Eren Bozkurt/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A girl goes to school just before sunrise in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, December 11, 2019. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

A surfer takes some air off a wave while surfing after sunset in Cardiff, California, U.S., January 7, 2020. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Armed police officers and soldiers strengthen their training in seawater in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Province, China on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)