World-renowned photographer, Eugene Tan of Aquabumps, has teamed up with Sydney Water to release a series of photographs that demonstrate the severity of Australia’s worst drought to date.

The images, all in birds-eye-view, were snapped just a week before heavy rainfall raised dam levels by a massive 40%. They serve as a reminder of the importance of conservative practices needed to save water for the Sydney population.

Although Tan’s style is usually water-dominated, for this series he’s captured the complete opposite. Photographs taken of Greater Sydney and the Illawarra region, Clovelly’s dry headland and Surry Hills’ Prince Alfred Park, to Eastern Creek and the city’s dams all show the extent of Australia’s drought issue and how it isn’t just rural areas suffering.

Here’s a selection of images from the series:

Notice the emphasis on the lack of colour and overall dryness of the images. The blandness of the surroundings showcases the severity of the drought-affected regions in Sydney. What is usually beautiful, bursting with colour and teeming with life now seems so barren, dusty, and lacklustre.

“As someone who photographs the beauty of Sydney’s coastline on a daily basis, I wanted to be part of this project to inspire people to continue to take care of our water resource. It’sso important we continue to be considerate in how we use water around the home. If this drought and project has taught me anything, it’s that water is a finite source that brings an enormous value to the thriving culture we have in Sydney,” 

said Eugene

Catherine Port, Executive Drought Lead at Sydney Water, hopes that the images will contain some shock value for the audience to motivate them to continue saving water. She said that there were “savings of more than 10% to date since the beginning of water restrictions. We ask that you keep up the positive water-saving behaviour. We live in the driest inhabited country on earth and saving water needs to be a way of life for us.”

Even the simplest of changes like keeping showers to four minutes and turning the tap off while brushing your teeth is a step in the right direction. For tips and advice on ways to make water saving a daily habit or to find out more about the Level 1 water restrictions currently in place, visit LoveWater.Sydney.