Blog Post 4

This is a picture of the sunset that I took next to the Zambezi River at the Royal Livingstone Hotel. Although I had taken many pictures of wildlife, Victoria Falls, and many other places in the city, this picture stood out to me the most because it captured a moment where I felt completely at peace. I had been feeling very stressed in the weeks leading up to this Livingstone trip with trying to get my research off the ground and finding people to interview. I often felt burnt-out whenever I came home. But being able to just sit and watch the sun go down for an hour as music was being played on drums was so therapeutic for me and gave me time to reflect. In the first weeks of the program, I found it difficult to adjust to how slow things moved in Zambia. It always seemed as though no one was ever in a rush to do anything. In the states, especially at Cornell, my life move much faster and I often strive to finish tasks quickly. But having the chance to sit and practically do nothing for an hour helped me to realize that not everything has to be done right now and that taking time for myself and my happiness should be something to prioritize. When taking this photo, I was mindful not to capture any faces in the photo or to black them out through photo editing. In this way, I was engaging in ethical photography.