Photos courtesy of Amelia Edmondson
“There is such a need for authenticity and emotional realness, and that’s what I want to bring to my work. I want to be an authentic creator and a positive influence,” Amelia Edmondson said.
Edmondson is a sophomore whom in her own words said she has chosen to dedicate her passion for capturing life’s organic beauty toward her future career.
“I want to be able to create a beautiful image and express myself,” Edmondson said. “The love I have for documenting parts of my life has given me so much gratitude, I’m able to visualize my growth from knowing where I was and how far I’ve come, each experience is so unique because we are in a different place both physically and emotionally.”
Her passion for multimedia began at a young age, she said, inspired by her mother who has made a career in photography. Edmondson described her childhood to be one where the lens was rarely out of sight. Edmondson is an Integrated Marketing Communication major and Multimedia Design minor, and intends to utilize both to create a blog that she says will hopefully transform into her career.
“When I was little, there was photos of me posing on the beach with lipgloss in my diaper, Edmondson said. “She always took photos of me; I have every moment of my life documented. She was the first person to really introduce me to the idea of snapshotting the special moments. It created a sense of self for me because I want to be present where I am, but I also want to be able to look back on the emotions and feelings associated with each place and each photo.”
Edmondson aspires to bring awareness to brands and companies that may not have received exposure prior, while incorporating her own stylistic vision.
“If I could create a life where I could make a career out of promoting brands that I feel reflect who I am, that would be my goal,” Edmondson said. “It’s a really powerful tool in advertising when companies utilize branding through a means of blogging; it helps people to see someone else making a product their own. I find that really cool, especially if I could incorporate traveling into it.”
Edmondson said she possesses an intense passion for the environment and strives to create a blog where she is able to promote the well-being of the earth.
“My brand is free-spirited, and I know that sounds terribly cliche, I want to create a blog where I travel but also promote healthy living and healthy lifestyles,” Edmondson said. “In making the blog, I want to focus on promoting brands that are on the right path of creating awareness about the environment to the people that are using the products.”
While Edmondson said she takes great enjoyment in modeling and photography, the settings of her personal photography and the work she is featured in frequently involve earth’s awe-inspiring beauty. Edmondson says capturing unique places and moments while exposing earth’s natural elements encompasses the great loves of her life for others to peer in on and to find inspiration.
“I would love to help create content for an organization that is trying to raise awareness, paid or not, I would find so much gratification being an influence in helping to affect change,” Edmondson said. “I’ll be walking around, and I see all of the plastic water bottles in the trash — it’s such a waste. If each person had their own reusable bottle, it would help out environmental efforts more than people know.”
Edmondson grew up in West Virginia with her family, and she said she realized her adoration for the environment stems from her hometown. The coal business is very prominent there, but she hopes that people who currently reside in West Virginia and other parts of the nation realize the overall mindset needs to shift from economy-focused to environment-focused, in order to preserve nature’s resources.
Traveling has always held a unique place in Edmondson’s heart, which is another reason she aches to see as much of Earth as she can while documenting her time in each place for others to read and reflect upon.
“I hope to have my blog up within the next few months, not only to show the beauty in all of the places I travel to, but I also want to reflect on how I feel at the time, and how my travels reveal something I may not have learned about myself otherwise,” Edmondson said. “When we travel we learn new parts of ourselves.”
Edmondson said she values being at peace in the present moment, but also wants to provide a way for people to subscribe to and share in her experiences through her blog entries. She said she aims to make people feel as though they were behind the lens with her.
“In the next 10 years, I would love for my blog to grow and for it to become my career,” Edmondson said. “I want to expose myself in an emotional, honest way because that inner-rawness is so shielded in media, but I want to bring that to my blog and to others.”
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