Photographer Jason Rath took to the air to capture this image of the $48.2-million Los Osos Water Recycling Facility in San Luis Obispo. Using a quadcopter with an attached camera, Rath documented crews placing concrete early one morning. “While I usually avoid shooting into the sun, I was able to block the sun using the concrete pumper’s boom and grab a bunch of detail that would normally be underexposed,” he says. Photoshop enabled Rath to combine four photos into one panorama. Scheduled for completion in March, the facility completes a four-phase effort to upgrade the area’s water collection system, which includes 49 miles of gravity sewers, force mains and recycled water pipelines; 21 pump stations; and eight acres of leach field. Rath says he hopes his images “help the general public see what goes into making the facilities that make modern life possible in the most aesthetically pleasing way I can.”

Photographer: Jason Rath, On Instagram @sanluisobispo
Submitted By: County of San Luis Obispo  Public Works Dept. San Luis Obispo