Sustaining Clean Drinking Water Solutions

My journey to give a sustainable clean drinking water supply around the world has been quite a learning experience. Having the best technology in the world is part of the solution, but a robust combination of teaching, continuing education, and data tracking are all a part of a total solution.

I write this blog from Liberia, Africa...my latest adventure for giving clean drinking water. How did a guy like me get to Liberia, Africa on a clean drinking water mission? Well it all started in Fiji.

In August of 2008, Give Clean Water was born with a goal of providing a sustainable clean drinking water solution for everyone who needs it. Our focus was on the country of Fiji. With around 110 inhabited islands and a total population of approximately 900,000 people, Fiji is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Fiji Water is also manufactured on the big island of Viti Levu. So why in the world would we choose Fiji?!

Well it turned out, Fiji is just like almost every other country in the world. There are a great number of people who live in rural areas. Approximately 50% of Fijians live in remote rural areas where infrastructure logistics are quite a challenge. Imagine driving for hours into a mountain area in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and then getting out to hike for 45 minutes to a remote village located in a valley below, nearby a running river. It's there where you will find one of Fiji's greatest treasures...its beautiful people! But living in remote villages can be challenging when it comes to a clean drinking water source.

Just up from the same river where villagers gather water, animals deposit their feces into this same water source, creating many health problems, just like those common to so many rural villagers around the world.

The Fijian government is making great strides in enhancing their country infrastructure and remain committed to providing solutions for the great people of Fiji. The Ministry of Health is also very involved in improving the health of the Fijian people. Creative solutions are being employed to address the current need for a whole country to drink clean water. Give Clean Water has become part of the rural village strategy.

Give Clean Water has served under the guidance of the Fiji Ministry of Health since our beginning, offering a simple sustainable solution of clean drinking water that fits into the overall strategy of the Ministry of Health's programs of wellness. Simple gravity fed water filters have been deployed across the country to provide a low-tech method of water purification. Each filter removes 99.99% of all bacteria from any water source, and has a flow rate of over 300 gallons of water per day! The filter simply needs to be back flushed to ensure years of clean drinking water!

Providing sustainable clean drinking water filters to remote areas like this has become my passion in life. That's why I'm in Africa right now! In my next post, I'll talk about my commitment to sustainability, and the hard work of development.

Imagine entire countries where everyone will drink clean, bacteria free water! Imagine the whole world with this solution? That's where a great team of partner organizations are headed with a multifaceted approach that provides an overall solution to the clean drinking water problem!

I know what you are thinking..."how can I get involved in this great project?"

Stay tuned!

Finally, a small camera with amazing image quality!

People ask me all the time, "what kind of camera should I buy if I'm looking to upgrade from a point and shoot?" I've been a Canon fan for quite some time. Although I LOVE my 5D Mark 2 and quiver of lenses, that rig weighs a ton. My search for a smaller camera with great image quality has always come up short, until recently.

I did my homework and purchased a Sony NEX 6 mirror-less camera. What makes this little guy stand out is its big image sensor. It has a 1.5 crop factor, slightly bigger than the Canon crop sensors. The NEX is small, but delivers amazing images...right on par with my Canon 5D Mark 2.

Not only does the NEX 6 weigh almost nothing, the price tag is 1/3 of the price of the 5D Mark 2! The lenses are small too, but deliver amazing results.

I have to say, I LOVE the Sony! I would highly recommend this camera over a larger DSLR. I believe mirror-less cameras are going to be the wave of the future! Seriously, who wants to lug around a back breaker?

The other great thing about mirror-less cameras is that you can buy an adaptor ring that allows you to use all the big lens formats.

I've tried the Nikon, Canon and Sony mirror-less cameras, and to me...the Sony is the clear winner! Another great choice would be the Fuji, although it is nearly double the price of the Sony. For sure stay away from the Canon mirror-less. It is terrible! They are supposed to release a newer model and correct some of their blunders of the EOS M.

For my landscapes, I went for the Sony 10-18. I am including a couple of shots from this camera. Email me with any questions. tropicalphotosbylarson@gmail.com

Keep you eyes pealed for a software class where I will show all me secrets! Comment on this post if you are interested in this class.

Happy shooting!

My Favorite HDR Shots

Photobucket Album

I hadn't shot the OB Pier in a while. This particular sunset was one that featured a low tide. The tide exposed some tide pools I'd never noticed, so I went over and took lots of shots from different angles.

The seagulls were cooperating very nicely by not moving for my HDR shot. I bracketed 3 shots in the camera at -2, 0, +2, then combined them in Photomatix Pro. Looking North on a clear day provided a fun shot.


Next, I moved to the North side of the pier as the sun was setting. Since there were no clouds, the sun was pretty harsh. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't get any lens flare so I waited patiently for the sun to set lower on the horizon. The OB pier is a really long pier that forks out at the end. I used my Canon 17-40L at 17mm on my 5D Mark 11... same HDR settings as before. All in all, it was a fun night with lots of cool angles....another beautiful night in San Diego!

Catalina Mini Get Away

The holidays were very relaxing this year. Although the weather was a bit cold, there were still a few photo opps to be had. As a storm approached, I caught this shot at the San Luis Rey river mouth in Oceanside. The wind was howling and the sky was nice. I almost didn't go out thinking it would be too cold. Well....I'm glad I didn't let a little cold slow me down. The scene was totally worth bundling up a bit.




The close of my holiday vacation provided a last minute opportunity to visit Catalina Island. It is the "off season" there and my wife and I almost had the whole Island to ourselves. I woke up early Monday morning to catch the sunrise. The sky wasn't that great in the morning, but as the clouds rolled in, the afternoon session got better. I wanted to get a shot of Avalon bay from one of the mountain tops so we rented a golf cart and cruised up to the top lookouts over the harbor. If you ever get a chance to visit Catalina Island, make sure you rent a golf cart for a couple of hours. We were able to get ours for 1/2 price which was a bonus. Here's one of the lookout shots to Avalon harbor.

La Jolla Cove & KPBS

It's been a busy holiday season. I've had a few oppportunities to get out and shoot and one of my favorites was a super low tide day at La Jolla Cove. The tide was almost a -2 which is really low and there were lots of things exposed near the water as a result. The first shot was featured by KPBS on their blog page.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://blogs.kpbs.org%2Findex.php%2Fculturelust%2Fcomments%2Fsan_diego_weekend_the_midwinters_low_tides_polaroid_sunset_and_more%2F"




I had just picked up my new Canon 5d Mark 2 but didn't have the batteries charged yet when I came on this scene. So...I shot this with my 40D and my 10-22 lens....always a good combo. I didn't have my tripod with me...party foul...but decided to try and hand hold a bracketed shot for an HDR. I guess it all worked out in the end. Here is another shot of the low tide day.


I've been doing lots of portraits lately. It's always a fun family shot when you can do it at the beach and not a studio. Below are a couple from this week.


I can't wait for the holiday break. Time to break out the new 5D and capture God's beauty!

Give Clean Water

Our Fiji trip was a great success. We installed 405 clean water filters in 6 different Fijiian villages in 4 days. It was very fulfilling seeing apple juice colored water that came from a well, turned into clean drinking water, simply by pouring it through our water filters. Over 2000 people in Fiji are now drinking bacteria free water every day!

We're already planning our next trips. We'll take 3 or 4 in 2009 and hope to do it on a full-time basis soon. It was very clear that this pilot program was just the beginning of a world changing idea!

I was busy leading this project so I didn't have much time for photo opps. One of these trips I'll stay longer and just take photos around the islands.

Once I returned home, I was really eager to

shoot some new stuff. I took a few shots of the Oceanside Pier this week, and some of Buckaneer Beach in Oceanside. I hope you enjoy them.

Canon 40D with Canon 10-22 lens.