[footsteps]
- MANDY LEA: West Texas is very unique.
It is a whole different atmosphere.
The rocks are probably my favorite part of West Texas.
They are the weirdest colors and the weirdest formations.
Some of the canyons have just stripes of rocks.
It creates this amazing texture.
Love it.
He is not going to jump at me, is he?
Really neat.
[camera click]
I am Mandy Lea.
And I am a photographer.
[shutter click]
Home is in Phoenix.
Not the city.
Phoenix is the name of my camper which I live in.
I do not have a brick and mortar home anywhere.
I live full time in my teardrop trailer, just traveling.
[trailer passing]
This is Phoenix.
This is my home.
It is my bedroom, my living room, my office,
everything but my kitchen, which is outside,
and my bathroom, which is outside.
This is a queen-sized bed in here,
and that is pretty much where the walls are.
Probably about the size of my closet in my apartment,
it really is.
I had a nice big closet and this is probably
about the size of it.
Luckily I am a really tiny person, so a tiny home works.
What people do not realize is this is just the room.
I live outside.
And that's huge.
I have the most beautiful home of anybody.
There is this really cool spot, you can see the Rio.
It's really about living your life to the fullest
and realizing that life is too short to be unhappy.
In general, it takes work to get to the best spot.
I guess my mission is to try to show people things
they do not normally get to see,
to inspire them to do the things they would not normally do.
So I want to use my photography to do that.
Unbelievable!
[soft dramatic music]
It is so beautiful.
Today, there are these beautiful blues and yellows,
and great clouds tonight.
[bird chirping]
You can hear the birds.
You can even hear the river.
[soft dramatic music]
I do shoot a lot of landscapes,
because of that shift in perspective.
There we go.
There is something awe-inspiring that nature created that.
And I find beauty in the small things too,
but something about the mountains really draws me.
[shutter clicks]
[crickets chirp]
My parents and my sister and I would go camping,
every vacation was camping growing up.
And we did that around Colorado, but when I moved to Texas,
I took that spirit with me.
I am not sure if being outdoors slows me down,
but it does put life into perspective
and make me more aware.
[bird chirping]
[upbeat music]
This is going to be such a pretty sunrise.
It is going to turn red.
Pretty much the best way to wait for your coffee.
[coffee percolating]
Look at that!
The only routine I have is drinking coffee in the morning.
And as long as I get my coffee,
then the rest of the day is wide open.
I am giving workshops or speaking somewhere,
or I might get to shoot or hike or visit somebody.
Every day is different, and that is what is so amazing.
[doors closing]
It is really important to me to not be the couch-surfing,
starving artist.
I do not have a secret jackpot.
[metal clanging]
It is important to me that I contribute to society
and I am a working member of this world,
but I am convinced I can do that from the road.
[car passing]
I haven't figured out the magic formula yet.
I am poorer than ever, but I am happier than ever.
In my old life, it was very routine.
Every day was almost the same.
I had a steady nine to five job, and I would work every day,
kind of in a cubicle.
I was starting to get really burned out,
and I was getting burned out on photography,
which I really did not want to do because that was my passion.
So I decided to go on a photography workshop
to the Grand Tetons.
And the minute I was back in the mountains,
I instantly realized I was not living my life
the way I was supposed to be living my life.
And in the course of this one sunrise, I made up my mind
to just change everything.
I began camping around Texas at McKinney Falls and Pedernales
and Palmetto, all these state parks and then I realized
that was not going to be enough for me either
and I was going to have to expand to the whole country.
I turned in my notice for my apartment complex to be out
and I began getting rid of all of my things,
and I began to get my camper ready to live in.
And I was almost there, and I went out one day
and it was gone.
- NEWSCASTER: A photographer who was victimized my thieves
and her beloved trailer stolen.
The story that is now gone viral, Lydia.
- This is the area where the trailer was stolen.
Since then the owner has been pleading with people
to help her find it.
- I was just heartbroken and my first thought
was that I was going to have to cancel my plans.
- LYDIA: This is the plea Mandy Lea posted on Facebook,
and 78,000 Facebook users shared her post.
Then last night, her beloved trailer, found.
The trailer was in pretty rough condition.
No word yet on when she will get it back.
- It was a really tough month, but between insurance,
and this huge outpouring of support,
I was able to start fresh, and I left Austin
the day I picked up my new camper.
There is a lot of hard things about living on the road,
but not for one minute have I regretted what I am doing.
Oh, sweet!
I can get the whole thing right here.
Yea wide angle!
[shutter clicks]
Big Bend has the rocks and cactus.
[shutter clicks]
The Davis Mountains have a lot more grass.
In the higher altitudes you are getting into a little
brushier feel, and certainly bigger trees.
Plugged in to power and water,
it is like I can just do whatever I want.
[light switch click]
[velcro rips]
If it is raining, or not nice weather outside,
this is where I will sit and edit.
That is not bad.
It is not always the best conditions,
but there is always something fun to shoot.
[footsteps]
[shutter clicks]
You go to work, you go to the gym,
you go to the store and you go home.
And that becomes your entire world.
And then when you go outside and you see a mountain...
On top of the Davis Mountains!
...you realize this world is so much bigger than what you
are used to in your daily life.
And we forget about that.
[soothing music]
[fire crackles]
It is getting cool, and great night for a fire, actually.
[music]
When I embarked on this journey, I decided that I was going
to live this life as long as I was successful.
[light switch click]
Success to me is not becoming rich,
success is sustained happiness.
So as long as I can sustain this life and be happy,
I see myself doing it indefinitely.
I could spend the rest of my life traveling the
United States and still not see everything I want to see.
The magnificence of these mountains and the waterfalls...
it really makes you realize how small we are.
I have spent the last year shooting Texas,
and I still have not seen all of it.
This is a big, grand state.
People forget what is out there.
[dramatic music]
[light wind]