A PHOTOGRAPHER has captured the crumbling remains of some of the world’s places of worship.
The haunting images, shot by Matthias Haker, 31, from Potsdam, Germany, include golden chapels, overgrown synagogues and eerily silent rooms that were once used for prayer.
Adding to the general intrigue of his pictures, Matthias never discloses the location of a snap – not even the town country or continent.
He says keeping the location a secret is “simply to protect them”.
Matthias doesn’t believe background information is important for such pictures, allowing people to use their imaginations to envisage what a location was like.
Sunlight streams through the shattered windows of one former place of worship, while debris and rotting wood cover the floor.
Though aging, decaying buildings – and images of them – may stir feelings of sadness, Matthias tries to bring out more vibrant emotions in his photography.
He said: “In general I’d say my work is all about beauty.
“Even though I can understand the sadness that overcomes some people when seeing those buildings in the desolate state they are in, I usually do not try to express sadness, creepiness or anything like that in my work.”