Day 121: What Strength Of Atlantis Means

Four years ago on January 1st 2016 I started my photography business Strength of Atlantis. It had taken quite a while, however, to chose the name that would potentially come to define everything that I created. The name would have to be something that defined everything I create as well as challenge me to a higher level of creation. This is why I chose Strength of Atlantis.

When I began photography back in 2011, I had no idea where it would lead. All I knew was I had found a fun new hobby that was unlike anything else I had ever tried my hand at. It was fascinating and it soon grew to become a bigger part of my life.

Even though I had not idea where I wanted to take it when I started, I think I was aware that this was an area I wanted to pursue further. The more I created, the more I was drawn to fine art photography and the endless possibilities available through the means of creating. It had opened up an entire new world for me. This was when I began to realize I wanted to further my journey down this path.

Before there was photography however, there was writing. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to be a writer. One of my favorite and earliest memories of my writing adventures was when I stilled lived in Oklahoma. My entire family had congregated in our tornado shelter after the sirens went off during a spring thunder storm. My mom was helping me edit my first short story that I had written, at the time everything I wrote was under the pen name Atlantis M. Myers (M stood for mythology).

This was the very beginning of my name choice. I have loved fairy tales, myths, legends, etc. for as long as I can remember. I decided to write under the pen name Atlantis at age ten (or possibility younger), something about it just felt right. It captured my love of myths, the mysterious city that sunk into the ocean, and creativity, the fact that people can come up with such unique and captivating stories.

From there, I realized I wanted to pursue photography and decided to keep Atlantis. The beginning of Strength of Atlantis started out as a plan to send out a newsletter every month with stories and photos because my mom didn't want me to start a blog quite yet (I was 13 at the time). I was going to call it "Heart of Atlantis" because the stories were going to come from my heart and under my pen name I was Atlantis.

After I moved and really started working on my photography, I changed it from "Heart of Atlantis" to "Strength Of Atlantis." There was a book store in Oklahoma called Mardel and one time I had found a little silver ring with the word strength imprinted on it. I purchased it and wore it everyday up until it broke. These were the building block for picking the final name. Which in all reality, wasn't something I put much though into at the time.

I knew I liked Atlantis and had already been using it for years. I knew I liked the word Strength because it was a constant subtle reminder that I wore on my hand for years. It seemed only natural to combine the two.

It wasn't until much later, the past two years really, that I put real meaning into and behind the name. At the time I chose it because I simply liked it, but I have since come to understand that it is a name I am proud to have representing my photography. This is what Strength of Atlantis means to me.

Strength of Atlantis means ability of a story to move a person.

There are many definitions of the word "strength" my favorite being this: the degree of intensity of a feeling or belief. Not only does strength mean the actual strength of something, but it can mean the strength of a feeling being felt, the strength of emotions a person is going through. Feelings can have the power to literally move people and I believe art can move people with emotions. There is strength in the fact that a single story can literally effect someone emotionally.

Everyone knows the story of Atlantis, the island that sunk into the ocean to be hidden for the rest of time. For me Atlantis symbolizes creating and the ability to tell stories. Someone had to weave a story with a complex narrative in order to create the legend of the lost city of Atlantis. People are creating and making stories all the time. Every story has the power to last for generations and become a legend.

This name has become motivation to create stories that have the power to move people. To create emotions and feelings through the photos I create and the words I write. Strength of Atlantis applies not only to my photography but to my entire business and life. I hope to create beautiful stories in everything I do that allow people to really connect with them and to feel their strength and power.

That is what Strength of Atlantis means to me.

Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt