Oct. 4, 2023
The Lens of Kamal X: A Journey Beyond Borders
Some stories are born out of loss—but transform into something far greater. In this conversation with Kamal X, a self-taught documentary photographer, we explore how a deeply personal experience turned into a journey of purpose, creativity, and global storytelling.
We get into how travel became a path to healing, how photography evolved into a powerful voice, and what it really means to capture truth in a world that often moves too fast to notice it. From documenting life across 40+ countries to being on the front lines of the 2020 protests, this conversation dives deep into resilience, perspective, and the responsibility behind telling real stories.
Episode Highlights
[02:57] - Kamal X shares the loss of his best friend and the moment that changed everything
[05:25] - Taking his first trip abroad and discovering purpose through travel
[07:27] - How photography unexpectedly became part of his journey
[10:22] - Learning photography from scratch and finding his unique voice
[14:55] - The deeper process behind storytelling through photography
[17:27] - Capturing powerful moments during the 2020 protests
[20:18] - The message behind “don’t be a slave to the algorithm”
[24:46] - Why photography is more than art—it’s discipline and dedication
[33:52] - The impact of being featured in Apple’s Hometown campaign
[37:08] - Navigating growth, pressure, and imposter syndrome
[39:22] - Using photography to spark empathy and understanding
[42:14] - Building trust and connection with subjects
[50:35] - The vision and meaning behind Black Astronaut
[57:03] - Where to find Kamal X and support his work
Links & Resources
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamkamalx
Follow Amelia
Instagram: @AmeliaOldOfficial
Website: https://AmeliaOld.com
If this conversation made you pause, reflect, or see the world a little differently, share it with someone who needs that perspective too. And if you enjoyed listening, be sure to follow, rate, and leave a review—it helps these stories reach further.
Chapters
00:00 - Photography as Healing and Purpose
07:41 - The Journey of a Self-Taught Photographer
12:58 - The Challenges and Purpose of Photography
18:10 - Photography's Impact on Social Discourse
22:59 - Transformative Experiences in Global Travel
34:00 - The Power of Visual Storytelling
43:39 - Photography's Power in Fostering Understanding
51:24 - Black Astronaut
59:54 - Appreciating Prince and Gratitude in Conversation
Transcript
WEBVTT
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Welcome to Voices of Inspiration.
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I'm your host, amelia Olde, and today you're in for a captivating conversation with Kamal X, a self-taught documentary photographer based in Brooklyn, new York.
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Kamal's journey is a testament to the power of storytelling through the lens of a camera.
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In 2015, kamal made a life-altering decision to travel the world, dedicating this adventure to his best friend, who lost his battle to colon cancer.
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This personal commitment ignited his creative spirit, shaping his unique style of revealing the hidden narratives of humanity, often overlooked.
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Kamal gained significant recognition in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protest in Oakland, california and Washington DC.
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His impactful images were featured in the New York Times and a series of beautiful Oakland DC earned him second place in lens cultures black and white photography awards.
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In 2021, kamal was prominently featured in Apple's Hometown campaign celebrating black photographers across America.
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He also self-published his debut book, a Quest Supreme, chronicling five years of travel to over 40 countries in search of inner peace.
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Stay tuned for Kamal's upcoming release, Black Astronaut on October 24, 2023, a visual masterpiece capturing a nationwide revolution sparked by the pandemic and George Floyd's tragic passing.
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Join me as we explore Kamal's remarkable journey in the powerful stories he's captured through his lens.
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Thank you so much for joining me today.
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I'm really grateful that you took time out of your busy schedule to be with me and to share your story and to talk about your journey.
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Yeah, I'm definitely so thankful to be here, excited, inspired even, because I think it's just beautiful connecting with new people and having meaningful conversation, because you, just you, really you know we're creating right now and you never know where it's going to go, but I really feel like something amazing and beautiful is going to happen.
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You know, I agree.
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Thank you so much.
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So your journey into photography started as a tribute to your late friend.
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Can you tell us more about how that decision unfolded and how it shaped your creative path?
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Yeah, it was very.
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See, I lost.
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My best friend Drew.
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We were, I think, 26.
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I'm 37 now and he he passed away from colon cancer.
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And I remember when that, during this whole process to chemo and everything, it was such a we didn't understand what any of it really meant.
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You know, at that age it was just like you'll be fine, like being supportive and being great friends in the way we could, but we didn't know the severity, we didn't think he would pass away, basically.
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So I remember it was a Thanksgiving and something made me come early.
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I was living in LA and he's in New Jersey.
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Something made me come back early.
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Like I was just like let me just spend some extra time.
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I didn't even know he was in the hospital.
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And I got there and he was in the hospital and he was.
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When I went to see him he looked you know nothing like who I, you know, used to seeing and I realized immediately how serious this was.
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But at the same time I still didn't think you know, I'm pulling from the pull through, you know.
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So when he unfortunately, you know, transitioned, my world completely collapsed and at that point I was a life coach and a personal trainer living in LA, I was working at Equinox actually, and I had my own little thing on the side I was doing and I remember I just literally dropped everything.
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I said I had nothing to give to anyone.
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This was such a catastrophic experience and it was so weird because I didn't even know how to feel about it.
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Like you watch movies, you hear about things, you see other people, but I guess at that age that level of that type of situation is just such a even a best friend at that, you know, not an associate or so, but a best close friend.
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I remember I didn't know how to navigate it.
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So I'm happy that I made the choice to just drop everything, because I just I don't know what else I would have done and what I did was he loved that I was a free person.
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So for him he was actually claustrophobic, is the funniest person I've ever met in my life.
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And he was claustrophobic, couldn't get on elevators.
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It was such a thing.
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When we went to clubs it was so funny but like no planes, nothing, you know.
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So I was at that point I lived in LA.
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I moved to Atlanta before, so he looked at me as like this freedom person like yo, I can't believe that you just get up and go and find a place and find a job.
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It was just such a he really loved that about me and to me it was just me being normal, fast forward.
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When that, when that happened, I said what can I do for my brother that he liked about me that I can just push, at times a thousand, and it was travel.
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So at that point I just decided to get a bag go to and I never backpacked.
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I never knew anyone in my family that did it.
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It wasn't like my friends.
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This is a completely foreign concept to go backpacking.
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And I went to Cambodia, thailand and Laos for 40 days and life shifting experience, to say the least, extremely uncomfortable.
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Didn't know what I was doing.
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I remember I came out there with like so much luggage.
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It was crazy, like I had this big, big bag and when I was with this group there was like hey man, how are you going to like get new stuff?
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It was like, and I had like all my gear, sneakers.
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I was.
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I didn't know how to be a traveler, you know, I was dressing like the way where I'm from and it was a life shifting experience and I grew so much and I became like I just kept going and that one trip ended up being off and on, traveling for five years to over 40 different countries.
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And between that time I was, I think, I was in Ecuador and I met a new friend named Anna and we were sleeping on a volcano and what was happened?
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And we were taking pictures of the erupting volcano that was across from us or something like that, and I was taking a picture with a 4S and she was like.
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She asked her what do you shoot with?
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Because she assumed I had another camera in my bag.
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I said this, this little 4S.
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And she had a real DSLR.
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So she's looking at me like uh, okay, you're going to have to change that around.
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You've been traveling the world, you've seen all these countries, you're seeing this.
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And then she took one.
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She had a tripod and everything.
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She was with another friend named Miles.
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They both were photographers and they showed me the picture from.
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It was like Canon 6D and I remember I was like whoa.
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She was like, yeah, this is full frame, like oh.
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So I remember looking at the camera like that picture versus my picture was whoa.
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So I immediately brought a Nikon D33, 3300, I think it's called and started shooting and that started to just taking pictures as I was traveling, I was finding healing, I was finding purpose.
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I still, you know, I'm trying to deal with the grief, and I was like getting it out through experiences and meeting people and getting to know myself on a different level, and all this was happening with a camera in my hand, so it kind of like naturally came out of, not out of nowhere, but it was very unexpected.
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It was very unexpected and people started giving me compliments like your photography is pretty good.
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I'm like, ah, you know, I'm thinking Instagram, algorithm stuff.
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I'm not thinking, oh, I'm an artist, I'm just like a person trying to, you know, get sponsors and things of that nature, and I remember it was a friend of mine when I was living in New York.
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She saw my place.
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She was like, yo, you're an artist, and I was like I accepted it.
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She was a teacher, and I was like you know what?
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Maybe there's something too.
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This people keep bringing it up, and I just kind of like leaned in and things started opening up.
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It wasn't easy, though, but I, I it was like it gave travel purpose, it gave the journey.
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I was on purpose and I knew I was seeing things that most people don't see, and it gave me, it gave me a amazing feeling to be able to bring people into my world Cause that like, if I say I've been to 40, 50 countries, like that's, I appreciate that, but a person that doesn't, they're just like oh, what does it mean if I can't show you?
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So for me, having that medium has always been a great way of expression and it's grown into a beautiful thing, and why we're here today you know that's so incredible.
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One thing I want to say back to about your friend is I think I want to commend you for being there for your friend, because my husband and I we we're on the board of a nonprofit Cancer for College and they give college scholarships to cancer survivors and a lot of the scholars that we talked to and that we've talked over the years.
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One of the things that they say is when they were diagnosed with cancer, you know, whatever age they were, friends tend to kind of fall off the radar.
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Friends kind of disappear, not because they don't care, but because they don't know how to deal with it.
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They don't know how to support them, they don't understand it, and so the easiest way for them is to kind of just like you know, close off and not be there, and so I really commend you for being there.
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I think that that is an incredibly important you know, as a self taught photographer, what have been some of the challenges or what were some of the challenges that you faced along the way of learning photography.
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Um, I would say I think it's a challenge for anybody, but I think it's finding your own voice, finding what you really care about.
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There's a couple photographers I remember like when you start out, you like taking pictures of everything, right, and then you don't really Upload much of it, are you upload a bunch of it and it doesn't.
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It's not good enough to show anybody, so it's taking up memory.
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And I remember this photographer was like why are you taking pictures of things that don't move you?
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It's like, hmm, that's interesting things that move me.
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So like I kind of, as I started going to things that moved me, it kind of pushed me into the space of, you know, documentary style street photography.
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Now, the challenge with that is that on Instagram and social media, which is where I kind of was just trying all this stuff out, which is most, all most creatives use that medium.
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That's not with the algorithm really likes, you know, like it's more about.
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Take a picture of you in front of Eiffel Tower wearing a nice outfit, go eating at a restaurant, but in terms of taking street photography showing what you're seeing and just being more, I would say, artistic, I would say that doesn't normally correlate.
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You know, if I do a picture of me, I Get a bunch of you know, and it feels good.
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But then when you put that other thing, that's what you really like, what you saw, it's not a lot, it's a lot of crickets off to times and, I think, learning.
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Thankfully, I kept researching and researching and finding older not older, but like more experienced photographers and seeing, like, the difference between and there's a difference between, let me say, a social media so yeah, social media photographer, which is no shade or hate on that versus someone that's like in the industry Photography right, there's two different worlds.
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They don't really collide the way people think.
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And once I realized that, I was like Okay, you're not, this isn't you.
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This space on Instagram just doesn't fit your aesthetic.
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And when I shifted it, it again help me find my voice.
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And just choosing to stick to my guns.
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Because when you don't have a Class or school, when you have Classmates and people can like you can talk to about these things, you're really in the dark room, like, you're really like is this good, is it right?
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Do I know what I'm doing when I'm talking?
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And especially in the beginning, when I was meeting photographers, they would talk to me with language I didn't understand.
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Like what do you shoot with?
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I was like what, what am I supposed to say when you say that to me?
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I don't even know what that means now.
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Obviously I'm well more versed in it, but I would say finding voice and and doing it was difficult.
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But I appreciate it was doing the work, meaning Learning all the information, like getting like I have over 80 photography books, like I started watching all these documentaries and like just interviews and just like even directors and seeing how to create movies and Luckily I have always loved Film.
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I just didn't realize it was my gift.
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Like, even though becoming a photographer was a surprise, I've always kind of gravitated towards cameras, keeping memories.
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I watch a lot of movies, so I guess it was kind of always there and it just like the roads collided in a great way.
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But, um, yeah, I would say just learning it on my own and being confident and being, but it's also, it was difficult, but it also gave me, I think, an edge because I didn't go through Then the normal route.
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I would say I kind of have learned to have a much thicker skin.
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I've learned to be very like this, what I feel, that's what I want to do.
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I'm gonna do it like whereas I think sometimes Having so many people to compare yourself to can kind of limit you because you won't kind of think for yourself Sometimes in terms of finding your own way, you know.
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So it's been difficult, but it's been beautiful.
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At the same time.
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I would say yeah.
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I mean, I think that that is.
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I mean, you're right on point with that Because social media, we see this person and we see that person and we're like, oh well, they're doing it that way.
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And they're doing it that way.
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Maybe that's what I need to do, because they're successful, and maybe I need to be just like them and we lose ourselves and we lose our own voice Along the way.
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So I mean you're right on point with that.
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How do you approach the process of storytelling through through your photography?
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doing.
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Oh, I don't know, it's actually a pretty heavy time.
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It's a probably more complicated like.
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It's Like I don't take pictures it's weird to say this, but like I don't take pictures of anything I haven't seen before.
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Like it's, it's a process.
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It's like if I'm feeling something, it like black astronauts, the book is coming out right.
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So obviously that's a little different.
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Because when George Floyd passed away at Montarbery the pandemic, women's rights, trump, all that was happening Before that I was sitting looking, learning about photography, seeing what happened in like the 70s, the 60s, the 80s, going through photography books.
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Eli read all types of photographers, that especially civil rights movement million man in March, and I'm just thinking to myself, while I would never get that opportunity, like what was it?
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It had to been.
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It sucked to be having those struggles, but to be a photographer during that time, to be able to take those photos like America doesn't do that anymore Like in terms of, from a photography standpoint.
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So in my mind, the intentions been there, like I hope something.
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You don't want it to be bad, but you're like I'm a photographer and I want to document something that really matters To the, to our country, in our history.
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And so when it.
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When that all happened, I knew I had to call.
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I knew this was like I'm ready.
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Like you know, there wasn't a oh, let's just do this.
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I was.
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I knew this is, this is a moment that I need to take seriously.
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I knew that I wanted to make something of this that matters to myself, my friends, my family and, hopefully, you know, other people, and so I think the the process is a very well Thought.
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Like the next project I'm working on is another one that I've been Just talking about with friends, and it comes like through me, versus it being like, oh, that's interesting, I want to do it.
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It's like a slow process and that way I'm more emotionally connected to the work, and I think when you're more emotionally connected to what you're shooting, it shows in the in the photography, versus if you're just taking pictures of things.
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It's like you might be really good at photography, so maybe like you're artistically amazing, but like the feeling you might miss, you know, and so that's kind of my, my process in terms of yeah.
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And the focus of your photography is on revealing hidden truths of humanity.
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Can you share an example of a story that you've captured that really Resonates with you in this regard?
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Well, it's funny because we're kind of talking about it one and a half and it's in this, the, the project, the black astronaut project.
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It's um.
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There's a photo where it's a woman in an astronaut suit.
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She's like been back, her hair is going down and she's looking to the sky and in the back it has a word saying don't be a slave to the algorithm.
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And within that photo there's also, if you look closely, there's going to, there's a lot of photos of iPhone.
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What X is on them, like just crossing them out, and the whole idea is like when I was taking those pictures and just like all throughout America, when America was locked down, I was risking it all, literally before we had the vaccine, before we knew how dangerous the actual COVID was.
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We didn't know, and I remember seeing all sides of the argument because I was just very open-minded and I didn't want to get one side of.
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I went everywhere and what I noticed was there was definitely levels of you know, outrage based on we're supposed to be outraged versus thinking about independently, about what you feel, what is actually going on, being able to listen, hear one another, like I saw so much discourse, fighting, yelling and I'm just thinking to myself like no one's talking with each other, y'all talking about each other, and I just I saw another A documentary on Netflix, I think the social dilemma I think it's called, or something like that when he goes into how phones are, like Getting our minds, you know, and I was just like man that's.
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I want to say something about this in my own way.
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Like you have to kind of Unplug and and get into the world, like because when you actually go into the world and talk to people, connect With people, you know it's from traveling, like when you meet people, it's a totally different reality than what you may see on your phone.
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And and it's becoming more and more prevalent that I think people are being warped in A more closed off reality and I just want that was my way of like, you know, making a statement to make people you know not make, but hopefully inspire people to think, definitely to take a step back, instead of always trying to have the answer, always having to check, like got it all together, like it's okay to not know, it's okay to be unsure, it's okay to take time to listen and not have anything to say for a change, you know, like, and that's kind of where I've been with a lot of things.
00:20:00.125 --> 00:20:16.403
I just and that's one thing I love about photography it gives me a moment to sit back and watch and it can get very real, emotional, but that's what makes life worth living to me, you know, like getting into the truth and getting uncomfortable in a good way, you know.
00:20:16.403 --> 00:20:18.339
So that's one of those photos?
00:20:18.381 --> 00:20:28.519
yeah, it's okay to sit back and to observe and to form your own opinion versus everything that you see on social media or on television.
00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:29.362
You're absolutely right.
00:20:30.278 --> 00:20:37.078
And it goes kind of to what we were saying about the photography in terms of you know, you take a picture.
00:20:37.078 --> 00:20:46.878
If you look at a lot of art let me not say art, but like in terms of photographers online I'll say you can start to see the same kind of photos over and over again.
00:20:46.878 --> 00:20:54.285
You'll start to see this pressure to fit into a box and you may think that you're, this is me.
00:20:54.285 --> 00:21:01.597
But the question is, is it you If you haven't taken the time to sit back and really ask yourself, like, how do I know I'm?
00:21:01.597 --> 00:21:09.263
Am I really so far out the box or am I following something and I haven't been in the world enough to really be able to get a real image of myself?
00:21:09.263 --> 00:21:11.422
You know, so self-reflection is so important to me.
00:21:11.422 --> 00:21:18.221
That's what helped me continue to be healing through the process with my best friend, and you know it's a powerful tool.
00:21:18.221 --> 00:21:20.682
It's difficult, but it's a powerful tool for sure.
00:21:21.323 --> 00:21:34.405
Yeah, you know, when you captured the 2020 Black Lives Matter protest, what was it like being on the front lines of such a historic movement and how did that influence your perspective as a photographer?
00:21:36.295 --> 00:21:38.723
Extremely emotional, like I was saying.
00:21:38.723 --> 00:21:59.239
It was there because, especially as being a Black man, you know like there were moments, especially tense moments, between police and civilians, with a very, a lot of yelling, a lot of great arguments being given, words of just truth and honesty, crying like just.
00:21:59.239 --> 00:22:01.625
And you're shooting these events.
00:22:01.625 --> 00:22:05.364
I'm taking these pictures but I really want to be yelling with them, you know.
00:22:05.364 --> 00:22:06.136
So it's not.
00:22:06.136 --> 00:22:10.481
It's a very confusing place to be, but you're there, but you want to.
00:22:10.481 --> 00:22:11.417
You know the images.
00:22:11.417 --> 00:22:14.342
That's my way of yelling, getting that image so it can live on.
00:22:14.342 --> 00:22:20.262
But I remember there were plenty of times where I just started crying as I was taking pictures.
00:22:20.262 --> 00:22:29.964
You know, I remember the first time I went out, actually there was a huge rally in San Francisco and there were, like it was, a lot of people.
00:22:29.964 --> 00:22:47.858
This is like in the beginning, when, like George Floyd just happened and they were doing, if you remember, there was like a lot of videos of like all these people marching and this was against the COVID lockdowns and this was a very large gathering and I remember I just started crying also because I was.
00:22:47.858 --> 00:22:52.101
You know I was, and this is San Francisco does not have a huge Black population.
00:22:52.101 --> 00:22:54.863
Oakland's a little different, but like San Francisco doesn't.
00:22:54.863 --> 00:22:59.744
So I remember standing out there and I was one of the few Black people, like in the area.
00:22:59.744 --> 00:23:13.703
But the level of sincerity and I guess I don't know what to call that, but just love I was receiving and it was very authentic and real was very uncomfortable for me but very emotional too.
00:23:13.703 --> 00:23:14.655
You know.
00:23:14.655 --> 00:23:20.960
You can just feel that we all were like we get it, you know, or we're trying to get it, and you know.
00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:24.615
So it was very, very real.
00:23:24.615 --> 00:23:32.565
It felt like every day and I was going out every day, every night, around the clock, you know, and it was never an easy moment.
00:23:32.565 --> 00:23:35.243
There was always something that was like a challenge.
00:23:35.243 --> 00:23:41.682
There was always something I needed to question myself and figure out and ask why do I want to take that photo?
00:23:41.682 --> 00:23:42.444
Is this worth?
00:23:42.444 --> 00:23:46.621
There were some things I saw that I think a lot of photographers would have taken pictures of.
00:23:46.621 --> 00:23:48.099
I felt like that wasn't right.
00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:49.497
You know, like so it's also.
00:23:49.557 --> 00:24:00.023
Discernment is also another thing and I think it ultimately it taught me the importance of being dedicated to what you're trying to say.
00:24:00.023 --> 00:24:19.260
You know, like, I think, people, often it takes a lot to really find your voice, find your way in anything, and I've never dedicated that much time and physical energy to anything and I would have never thought being a photographer was like this physical thing like.
00:24:19.260 --> 00:24:33.843
But you really do need to be in shape, like you're running, your body needs to be flexible, you have to get, and I'm six-five, so there's like a lot of times when I'm taking pictures of people and they might be shorter than me so I have to get really low quickly, like there's so much that goes into it.
00:24:33.843 --> 00:24:41.337
So it just taught me that photography is a sport, you know, and it's like you better be in shape if you really want to do it.
00:24:41.337 --> 00:24:42.643
And you got to go every day.
00:24:42.643 --> 00:24:46.201
It's not something that you can just like oh, I got my camera, I'm gonna take some pictures.
00:24:47.057 --> 00:24:54.506
Like this book took three years, you know, and the one before that, quest Supreme, took five, you know.
00:24:54.506 --> 00:25:00.189
So it's a very dedicated thing, but I love it.
00:25:00.189 --> 00:25:02.342
So you kind of have to love it if you really want to.
00:25:02.342 --> 00:25:06.619
I think excel in photography it's something you can't cheat it.
00:25:06.619 --> 00:25:09.202
You cannot cheat it, you just can't.
00:25:09.202 --> 00:25:20.559
You don't have to buy expensive equipment, you don't need to do that, but the work you have to every day you got to be like zoned in to do something I think special.
00:25:21.275 --> 00:25:22.922
Yeah, Absolutely.
00:25:22.922 --> 00:25:25.021
Now you just mentioned Quest Supreme.
00:25:25.021 --> 00:25:31.704
It documents your travels to over 40 countries, as you mentioned earlier, in search of this inner piece.
00:25:31.704 --> 00:25:36.901
What were some of the most transformative experiences during your global journey?
00:25:37.414 --> 00:25:40.285
Oh man, that's whoa, that's a lot.
00:25:40.285 --> 00:25:46.556
Oh, wow, so many, so many.
00:25:46.556 --> 00:25:50.786
Uh, oh, there's so many.
00:25:50.786 --> 00:26:03.164
I remember it was one in the beginning, there was so many, but there was one when I was in Thailand, the first trip, the 40-day trip, and we did the full moon party in Copenhagen.
00:26:03.164 --> 00:26:05.951
I didn't even know that was on the list of things to do.
00:26:06.152 --> 00:26:14.791
So like I'm so remote I don't know anything about like I remember, like because I was with a tour group of young people that were just like, so I, because I didn't know how to backpack.
00:26:14.791 --> 00:26:19.015
So I remember we will be like, hey, we're going to Cambodia.
00:26:19.015 --> 00:26:21.442
I was like, okay, what parts they're.
00:26:21.442 --> 00:26:25.082
Like, oh, you don't know where we're going, I don't know Everything wasn't surprised.
00:26:25.082 --> 00:26:27.211
Like they would take me to the, the temples.
00:26:27.211 --> 00:26:28.478
I'm like oh wow.
00:26:28.478 --> 00:26:33.252
Like I didn't know, I wasn't prepared, I just had really nice clothes, that's it.
00:26:33.252 --> 00:26:35.599
And we were.
00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:36.782
So we went to the full moon party.
00:26:36.782 --> 00:26:38.167
I knew nothing about what this was.
00:26:38.167 --> 00:26:42.910
They were telling me like, oh my God, it's like a big fray, even it's at night, in the full moon.
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