Today we’d like to introduce you to Korey Townsend.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
First, I’d like to say I appreciate you for what you do and showing any interest in what I have going on. I appreciate the opportunity to share a little bit about me. Thank you!
I’ve always had an interest in cameras ever since I was a child. My uncle had a photography business, so he was the first person I saw with a camera. I eventually asked for a camera one day and he gave me a cheap one.
This was around the age of nine. Back then, my love was Basketball. I played ball my entire life, so at that time I may have put down the ball to use the camera once of twice. That was the first time the camera came into my life.
After grad school, I moved to Charlotte. I met a friend who was into photography. Back then I thought I needed to go to school to use a camera, but he showed me otherwise. He was very talented, yet he didn’t go to school for photography. This inspired me to purchase my first camera.
This was around 2010 when I bought the camera. I just bought a Canon camera without doing any research because I was so hype. The excitement soon faded because I wasn’t willing to put in the work to learn about photography. Clearly, I wasn’t serious about it, so I sold the camera. That was the second time the camera came into my life.
Almost six years ago, I was playing pickup basketball and I ruptured my achilles. I was in between jobs and I didn’t have insurance. It was my right achilles, so I was home unless someone would take me out. Depression struct. Being injured I wasn’t able to go make money, I ran through my savings, and had to sell my cars to try and make ends meet.
During this time, my second nephew was in college and called me one day. He told me he was getting a camera and I should get one as well. I bought a used Nikon D3300, which I found off Craigslist. Being that I wasn’t mobile, I stayed in the house and tried to learn all that I could about the camera. That was the third time the camera has come into my life and this time, it changed my life.
As the saying goes, “the third time is the charm.” Sometimes things can be right in front of your face, but you have to be open to receiving it. Also, you may not want to listen, but life will make you listen. That’s how I feel about the camera. Cameras are only tools, but they’re powerful tools which have given me purpose.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I feel the struggles build you as an individual. The learning curve in whatever field you’re in can be very challenging because oftentimes you’re outside of your comfort zone and that can be a struggle. However, I’ve learned to appreciate the struggles and view them as lessons.
I’ve messed up photos for clients before, done bad business, wasted money on unnecessary equipment, lost files, etc. Those can be disappointing scenarios, but I look at it as a means of preparation and growth.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a photographer/videographer. I came up with VoicedTV as a way of encouraging people to use their voice. The tagline ‘The art of visual dialogue’ is the hopes that my art can inspire dialogue. Social media has a huge impact on people and it promotes many things, but oftentimes I feel authenticity is left out.
With that being said, I feel what sets me a part is my transparency within my work. Not only am I behind the camera, but I get in front of the camera to tell my story and show the highs and the lows. Nothing is perfect and there is beauty in the imperfections, so I try to showcase that with my art. There’s this promotion that a person has to have certain things, live a certain way, look a certain way, do certain things and so forth to be “living/successful” and that’s not true.
As I mentioned before the camera is a very powerful tool and what it’s used for can have much influence on people. That alone makes me feel as though I have a responsibility on what I put out. I capture life with the camera and tell stories, visually. We all can learn so much from one another and I aim to keep the conversations going.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to be you. There are so many things that can sway you one way or another, but you can’t get caught up in trying to be something you’re not. I got caught up in comparing myself with others and how their content looked versus mines. That’s exhausting and we’re unique individuals for a reason. I had to learn that. Invest in yourself and keep going. Believe in yourself!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voicedtv/
Image Credits
I took all of the photos, including the one of myself.
