About a Girl: Photographer Annie Edmonds

Annie is one of those women. If you know one… you need not any more words to understand what I mean. She exudes ease, poise, humor (and delightful sarcasm), around every corner in life. Nothing takes her off solid ground. She is steadfast, honest and… really… a photographer whose vision always will go outside the lines you brought with you. She’s FAST too… and anyone in the creative industry knows this is gold among copper. She simply knows what she’s got, knows when she has it, knows when to move on… all attributes I admire greatly.

I wanted to introduce you all to Annie, for she and I have joined forces many times around to bring you “stying stories“, short editorials exclusive for the blog…. and for you. Every month, when this team gets together, a little bit of magic between us all is created. Fashion, clothes, dressing oneself… it should be fun. That’s where we are every time we create; making sure we are smiling, loving, laughing and not taking it all sooooo seriously. Annie creates beauty. I’m happy I found her in this life, for she is one to know for lifetimes.

Annie! You brilliant being, you. First… lets start at the beginning. Where did you grow up?

My home is a tiny little town in eastern Washington just outside of Spokane.  I grew up on a ranch with mom, dad, and bro, horses, pigs, cows, chickens, donkeys, and mules.

Tell me the progression of your moves… travels, whereabouts, and how each place affected you? Northwest, East Coast… LA… any places in between there?

Well, as soon as I knew I wanted to hold a camera for the rest of my life I went off to school in Santa Barbara to Brooks.  Lemme tell you, SB is the most amazing place to be when you are discovering who and what you are.  It’s where I fell in love with California.

The second I graduated I moved to NY to intern for Mary Ellen Mark.  I have never felt so infused with so much energy and life. I was truly inspired.  After that I moved back to Washington to have my son.  He was born in Seattle and it is a city that I still hold very dear.  You have never been around such genuinely caring people that love the world they live in.  The city itself is still one of the best I’ve lived in.  And finally back to Cali.  Los Angeles is where I call home.  There is something intensely mysterious, fun and magical about LA and you either get it or you don’t.

There is always a part of me that wants to live back on the farm again, or in my Brooklyn shoe box, or our old apartment on the water in Seattle, but every time that plane lands from wherever I might have been, I am so elated to see those palm trees, the golden glow, and that vast city view…I know I am in the right place…for now anyway ;).

07

19

When did you know photography was what you had to do? Was it immediate?

I was really struggling in school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  Every time I had to pick my college courses for the new semester I would get anxiety.  I decided to take some time off from school and then…I picked photo 101 just to see.

I was so in love I got my associates in a little over a year and high tailed it to California.

Why fashion… why not landscape or flowers?

I fell into it really.  In the beginning I wanted to go into photojournalism, I still love it — capturing that perfect private moment.  I think that I still approach my work that way.  When I first moved to LA I took a job working for a really small shoe company and it snowballed from there.

Speaking of flowers, you also own a floral business and are booked, pretty much, always…. how did that get started? Did you think it would be as successful as it is now?

Yes, it is in a word, amazing.  My business partner, Megan and I started The Little Branch about 6 years ago and we never imagined it would become what it is.  There is something so special about working with your hands especially when your product is perishable and beautiful and only lasts for a week.  It also doesn’t hurt that we work so well together and have so much fun in our studio.  There is much laughter and goofiness going on always.  And I’m plugging our website… now: www.thelittlebranch.com.

Whenever I come over, I want to hide in a corner and never leave… hoping I can stay forever. What’s the secret and magic you put into your home? Where do you get most of your pieces… what, to you, brings harmony to a home?

Love, love, love.  Pieces I love and people I love.  As the years have progressed I have learned not to just go get something you need to fill a space.  It has to be special, to speak to you in a way.  I’ve learned to wait for things, whether it’s that perfect old ladder to turn into a shelf or my grandmother’s chair that I’ve reupholstered about 8 times, or that dining table that I couldn’t afford and my dining room was empty for months and months.  These are all things that I find myself touching as I walk by.  They bring me such comfort, and I think it’s because I waited for them, like an old friend.  My parents home was always so warm and inviting, lots of textiles and pictures, you will see that in my own home now.  And of course, my family is the cherry on top.  Without Cassius, Kevin, and little Petey, it would just be a house, not my home.

Your favorite item in your home?

Anything that was my grandmother’s, which there is quite a bit of.  And of course my vintage bottles and milk glass.  I love the history behind the old glass bottles, I feel like I have so many stories sitting in my windows and on my mantle.  And to answer your previous question, I get most of my things from weird little thrift stores and of course the ever epic Rose Bowl Flea Market.  I also have a habit of collecting things on road trips and shipping them back.

20

13

15

You just rescued a new pup… do tell…

Oh, little Petey!  He has been the most amazing addition to our fam.  It’s true what they say, “who rescued who.”  It was always, “I’m too busy, I’m too busy, I’m too busy”,  but I couldn’t resist my son’s big “pretty please” eyes anymore.  Petey has become this little dude that forces me to take much needed time-outs.  Otherwise I’d just keep the wheels grinding, but now we take time to go on walks and play and snuggle!  And to think that he was just going to be another pup put to sleep and never seen again is just insane to me.

If you were a flower… what would you be… why?

A Ronunculus.  They have more petals than any other flower – 250.  They need little water and last for weeks.  They are strong and quirky and beautiful.

An ideal day of shooting includes these things…

You, Free People wardrobe and the beach.  Wait…aren’t we doing that this Sunday?!  Yes, yes we are.  Gotta love it!

09

14

16

You can buy a ticket to anywhere in the world tomorrow… where are you off to?? Whatcha bringin?

Africa!!!  I’m dying to take Cassius there.  I want to show him the world.  I will be bringing my favorite old boots that have carried me across countries and back home.

Three things you wish to master/learn?

Italian, Cooking, Parenting.  Not in that order ;).

What you look for in a friend?

Acceptance, honesty, and an insatiable need for adventure.

What’s your perfect Saturday look like?

Brunch with the girls, a little shopping and margarita indulging on Olvera St, and then home for dinner with my family that I will cook without burning anything!

08

02

11

10

annie edmunds

Favorite author/painter/musician?

Oh, man so many.  David Sedaris/Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec/Nina Simone.

What has been your favorite shoot we’ve done together for this here blog?

Blues Traveler.  But that’s only because it was the most recent.  All of them are my favorite until we do the next one, then that one is my favorite.

Piece of advice for those wanting to make it as a photographer?

Never ever give up.  Ever.

Check out Annie’s incredible photography in our styling stories Hearts Like Ours, Fall in the Canyons, Star Light Star Bright, Bright Lights Big City, and Blues Traveler! Visit her website here.

0 0 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
15 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
10 years ago

Awesome!

xx
MacK @ SoulMakes | Blog

Marguerite
10 years ago

Her home is STUNNING! Loved this post– I will be inspired the rest of the day. (:

10 years ago

Oh my, that tunic is to die for. Such an accomplished, inspirational woman.

10 years ago

Wow this girls rocks and I love her home too!
xoxo Annejelina

Visit my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrownofCreationShop

Leanne
10 years ago

Great article! Where is her dress from?!

Eva
10 years ago

She’s awesome…and a Mom which makes her even more awesome. I also love that she chose a white backdrop for her place and the way she decorated her home…

10 years ago

Oh my goodness she is such a lovely being.

xo, Juliette Laura
http://juliettelaura.blogspot.com

kathleen rose
10 years ago

beautiful house and I’m so inspired now to keep going after my dreams.

Colleen
10 years ago

You are amazing Anne, always have been

Amazing house!

Welcome, where weird shapes happen:
http://weirdshaped.blogspot.co.at/

Milka
10 years ago

This was inspirational in every way, but especially her approach on decor, not in a materialistic but about creating a home. Hubby and I recently bought our first home and it’s perfect but there are some empty spaces that need to be filled and was I beating myself for being too choosy and not liking anything. It really got to me when she said to wait for things that are special and speak to you in a way, those are things that will make you smile when you see them. I absolutely loved that!

jessi
10 years ago

her house is so beautiful! its absolutely breathtaking. also that dress! I’m assuming its vintage or something but where can I find it or something similar?!

chries
10 years ago

I know her!!! Annie Edmonds… so fun, amazing, sweet :)

Sophia
9 years ago

Hi, I’m a photographer as well, and I am trying to take photos for Free People. How did you get in touch with them/how did they notice you? Thanks!

9 years ago

Read this at the most perfect time. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Xx.