At 10,582 square kilometres, the Bolivian salt flats – otherwise known as Salar de Uyuni – are the largest on the planet and contain between 50 and 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. After exploring Chile and Argentina, photographer Joel Santos decided to travel to Bolivia in January 2017 to check the salt flats off his bucket list. With an electrical storm rolling in, Joel and his two travelling companions were the only souls left on the vast flats and captured the eerie flats without a person in sight. (Photo by Joel Santos/Barcroft Images)

A man dressed as a bear and wearing a protective face mask amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) stands in front of a fountain in central Kyiv, Ukraine on August 11, 2020. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is seen over the sky near Inari in Lapland, Finland on February 14, 2019. (Photo by Alexander Kuznetsov/Reuters)

Relatives and friends react during the funeral of Bryan Sandoval, 17, a victim of a landslide that has left at least 112 dead and 350 missing people, in El Cambray II village, Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala, 04 October 2015. The landslide took place on 01 October 2015 when heavy rains saturated the soil. (Photo by Esteban Biba/EPA)

A three wheeled “cabin” scooter manufactured by German aircraft engineers Messerschmitt & Co at factories in Regensburg. (Photo by Hans Enzwieser/BIPs/Getty Images). 1955

Ahead of May Day, AFP' s video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies. Here: Mohammad Ashgar, 65, an Indian rickshaw puller, poses for a photograph next to his rickshaw in Kolkata on April 21, 2018. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

People admire “Dinosaur”, a pigeon sculpture along the High Line in New York, on Monday, October 21, 2024. The hand-painted sculpture by artist Iván Argote celebrates the pigeon's distant past as the birds descended from dinosaurs. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Kim Bui of Germany competes in the Women's Uneven Bars Final during the Artistic Gymnastics competition on day 4 of the European Championships Munich 2022 at Olympiapark on August 14, 2022 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)