- [Elia] There's no longer a day-to-day routine.
Our life now is so different from what it was before.
Location independent is basically a more articulate way
of describing our lifestyle of being voluntarily homeless.
(gentle music)
It just means that we don't have
a single location that we call home.
(soft music)
- [Naomi] There came a point when we were travelling so much
that we thought to ourselves,
"What if we didn't live anywhere?
"What if we just traveled full time and lived in the world?"
- [Elia] I'm Elia Locardi.
- [Naomi] I'm Naomi Locardi.
- We're travelers, artists, and photographers.
(soft rock music)
We just wrapped up a two week photo tour in Tokyo
and we left about halfway through the day
to a town called Fujiyoshida.
This town has the best view of Mount Fuji,
it's pretty awesome, actually.
(playful music)
If I could some up Japan in one photo, this would be it.
It has a pagoda, Mount Fuji, and cherry blossoms
all in one spot.
The tricky part is the cherry blossoms
have such a short window of blooming
and they're so prone to damage from the weather
that sometimes you only have two or three days each year
that you can capture the shot.
Just arrived on location, it's 1:30 in the morning
but sometimes you've got to get up that early.
So we're gonna hike to the top, look at the beautiful
Chureito Pagoda with Mount Fuji in the background.
Time to climb all those stairs, head to the top,
see what happens.
(inspirational music)
I love to be in Japan as much as possible.
There's so much here to see and do.
Japan has this way of connecting with certain people
and there's this harmony in everything you see,
everything you do.
Yeah, that looks pretty good.
Looks like, finally, after hours,
Mount Fuji's gonna show itself.
(gentle music)
(zipper opens)
- Next stop, Kyoto.
(gentle music)
Seven-Eleven and FamilyMart convenient stores
are actually one of the easiest and cheapest
places to find food in Japan.
- Motorway rest stop sushi.
Top quality.
(inspirational music)
The reality of the most beautiful places
in the world is they're also the busiest.
The only way we can beat people there
is to be the first ones on location.
- [Naomi] But getting the chance to experience these places
by yourself, without anyone else,
is actually really special.
(inspirational music)
- No matter where I am in Japan,
I always feel comfortable and totally at peace.
For me, it just does something to my soul.
(birds chirping)
We are going to a high class sushi joint.
(elevator music)
It's so sophisticated and fancy
that everything comes out on conveyor belts.
This is the future.
(elevator music)
- [Naomi] This life has so many amazing opportunities
that it's given us but it's definitely
not without its challenges.
- [Elia] Things like staying connected,
office set up, blogging.
Sometimes the most simple things
can become the most complicated.
Our possessions are also severely limited.
We don't have a home so we have to travel
with clothes for four seasons.
Most of the time, we sacrifice luxuries
for the sake of maintaining this lifestyle.
- And in a way, we're totally isolated
from our family and friends.
Hey dad, it's me.
You miss out on a lot of things, being away
and unable to stay in contact.
(jet engine roars)
- [Elia] But on the other hand,
we never take things for granted.
The challenges, the ups, the downs.
- [Naomi] We are on a completely different path
at one time where we thought money and possessions
defined us but we found that we weren't happy,
it wasn't fulfilling and if that wasn't it,
what was it that we really wanted?
We just decided to take this huge leap of faith
and sell everything.
We knew in our hearts that we wanted to put the value
on the things that we were doing instead
of the things that we had.
- Tuscany is one of those places where I just want
to spend as much time as possible.
The hills, the valleys, the vineyards.
There are hundreds of little towns,
thousands of little farm houses,
nothing looks like Tuscany.
We just got to Val d'Orcia.
Beautiful place in Tuscany, probably the most photographed
because everywhere you look, it's just stunning.
Italy is where I really fell in love
with photography and travel.
We originally came here just to visit family
and I'd always been interested in photography
but up until that point, I'd never really considered it
more than just a hobby.
When I really started exploring,
it was like having an awakening.
I'd never felt more creative in my life.
Something with my photography just clicked
and I knew there was something there.
(rain falling)
Well, we're leaving Tuscany today.
It's a little rainy, but that's alright.
Heading to the coast.
Sometimes you visit for a week and it rains,
you don't get any shots.
The next time, it's sunny the whole time
and it's too sunny.
Part of photography is just putting in the time.
I'm drawn to places where humans have bonded
with the environment in extraordinary ways.
Ancient temples, seaside villages, places where rich
architectural history meets the natural world.
At the core, I want my photography
to trigger a strong emotional response.
I want my work to communicate all the fascination,
the love, experience, sensations of personal discovery.
All the things I feel when I'm standing
in these beautiful places.
This is the finale, the sunset finale.
It's pretty, right?
This is just, just cool.
- [Naomi] We're always kind of geared for this lifestyle,
in a way.
We thrive on change.
(crowd cheers)
No matter where we are, we're constantly planning
what our next location is going to be.
We're constantly figuring out the booking of the cars,
the booking of the travel, the research
for the times of year, times of day.
(glasses clink)
Getting to travel the world totally changes
your perspective in a way that only travel can.
And even though it's this weird life with all these ups
and downs, highs and lows, it's the path that we've chosen,
it's our path and we get to share
these experiences with each other.
(dramatic music)
- [Elia] Life is a series of actions, decisions.
You grab hold of the things that catch your eye,
things you love, the things you want, need, desire.
But other times, it's about letting go,
pushing past the things you think you need
to find the things you really need.
- [Naomi] So you can be open to opportunities
that life puts before you.
(inspirational music)
- [Elia] And in the end, we only regret
the chances we didn't take.
- [Naomi] That we look back on and say,
"Man, I should've gone for it."
(gentle music)