By Nick Whigham
There are plenty of places in the world where humans once thrived but for whatever reason picked up and left, leaving behind abandoned homes, buildings shopping malls and castles.
Whether it's because the money dried up or an area became contaminated, when humans vanish we cede the space to nature which slowly reclaims it.
The result is often eerie ghost towns full of quiet monuments to a more thriving past. It's the type of thing French photographer Jonathan "Jonk" Jimenez loves to take pictures of. He thinks it highlights the ephemerality of the human reign on Earth, reports news.com.au.
For example, he recently explored a greenhouse standing next to a boarded up castle in Belgium, climbing through a broken window to take some snaps.
