Heartwarming scenes of Cambodian farmers, schoolchildren and workers have been captured by photographer Dusan Stojancevic, using an innovative technique. The 37-year-old Serbian shot the images through water droplets, giving them a beautiful, dream-like quality.

According to our report Wild Water, Cambodia is making great progress in improving access to safe water – a third more Cambodians now have access to this life-saving resource than in 2000. Dusan said he wanted to celebrate that progress, and highlight the impact that safe water has on people’s lives.

The unique series was produced together with WaterAid to mark World Water Day – March 22.

Dusan has worked with the technique before, but never applied it to portrait photography.

“I hope I’m the first person in the world to capture people using this method. I like to call this type of photography ‘droplet microcosms’, because it seems that in a tiny droplet you’re reflecting a much bigger story,” Dusan explained.

Watch Dusan at work in this short film.

Despite progress, a quarter of Cambodia’s overall population still lack access to safe water – 3.8 million people. The chance of being able to access basic supplies is even lower if you belong to the country’s rural population, which is more likely to suffer the effects of unpredictable weather patterns caused by climate change.

Dusan worked together with WaterAid on the series to raise awareness for the 663 million people who live without access to safe water. “When you come to a country like Cambodia you see a lot of poverty, but I’ve also seen a lot of amazing people with hope because they now have access to clean water.”