Emily Livingston {Be Featured with Haley}

I love taking photos of everything + everyone. I love travel. I’m fond of bands that play banjos. I like good books, not bad ones. Some days I take more pictures on my phone than my camera. I can never decide between the ocean or the mountains. Anthropologie is one of my favorite things ever. I also love photo journalism. Along with photography, I love drawing and painting. I’m a big fan of naps. And coffee in the morning. And tea at night.

“Swaziland” by Emily Livingston Photography

I am in love with Swaziland. These photos were taken last year, which was my second trip. Swaziland is a small kingdom in Southern Africa. This tiny kingdom has the highest AIDS rate in the entire world. While in Swaziland I wanted to capture the light of the orphans and young children, along with the few adults I met.

When people hear about countries in Africa, they usually just hear the numbers and statistics. I wanted to make people realize Swaziland wasn’t just stats and numbers, it was a place, with people, who have stories and everyday struggles. I wanted people to meet the faces I met by looking at my photos.

I love this photo because I loved that moment. This boy was standing in a crowd at church. We were all singing and watching some children dance. I looked down and saw this little boy watching me while I was singing. I noticed how shy he was, so I took a picture of him to see if he would smile, because that usually did the trick. It didn’t, so I just smiled at him. I could tell he was trying not to smile, but I don’t think he could help it. That’s why this photo is my favorite. It reminds me of the power of random acts of kindness.

  Travel is my favorite thing ever. As far as where…it’s a dream of mine to go to Machu Picchu, as well as France and Spain. I’d also love to visit the Middle East and India. I really just love experiencing different cultures.

 To see the rest of the beautiful photos captured by Emily: http://emilylivingstonphotography.com/swaziland/