Guest Contributor: Kenneth LeRose

All Images Provided by Kenneth LeRose

I found Kenneth LeRose through my good friend John Montes when we were out shooting on Martha’s Vineyard together. I had been kicking around this guest contributor for photography tips for a while, and when John showed me Kenneth’s page I was like YES! This is why I need to do this series. I NEEDED to show as many people as possible these talented photographers and have them share their tips and stories!

Kenneth is literally living one of my dreams, driving around North America with his best friend – his dog – and taking the most magical pictures. He really shows off just how beautiful this part of the world is, and all while living in his Airstream full time!!!! To top it all off Kenneth is so kind, and has an old vintage soul that makes you want to get lost in his images and stories. You can learn from Kenneth directly in one of his workshops – www.photoroamers.com, or go say hello on Instagram!

While we all crave adventurous getaways, some folks crave a bit more. How about a life that revolves around adventure?  A life that allows you the freedom to roam as you please with your home being where you park it? Yes, a home on wheels…Can you picture it?  Have you ever daydreamed what it would be like to just get up and go wherever the road takes you?  

Hi, my name is Kenneth LeRose and I work full time as a freelance photographer.  I have been living and roaming the US in my itty bitty Airstream for a little over 2 years with my best friend (Sabu) who’s a rescue pitbul.  I’ve purged most of my belongings and live a minimalist lifestyle with no home base in just under 100 square feet of living space .  And this is how I make living in an Airstream full time work.

Shall we start from the very beginning? Ok Ok, I won’t bore you by going alllll the way back to my childhood, so let’s begin with, well, where it all began.  I picked up my first camera 4 years ago thinking a fancy camera is the ticket to becoming this world renowned “fitness photographer”.  For years I modeled (in my young days) and in the back of my mind always felt like I could do better than a handful of photographers I had worked with.  It was finally time to put this to the test.  It was Christmas Eve, and I had invited some friends and family over for dinner.  “Family Photo Time”, my friend Billy yelled.  I half jokingly and half seriously told him to put his iPhone away.  “I got this”, I said with a smug look on my face.  I pulled my brand new shiny camera out and started clicking away.  The photos were embarrassingly terrible.  I’m not exaggerating!  My confidence shifted to sheer embarrassment as I sneakily grabbed MY iPhone and snapped a few just to make sure I had presentable photos to share with everyone.

This fueled me to learn how to use this piece of equipment.  I thought you just pick up a fancy camera, keep it in automatic and click.  I mean, that is what iPhones and other smart phones do, and they do it well.  For the sake of not being long winded, I hit the grind and and started my photography journey, shooting someone new everyday for weeks and months and so on. I had some success and was to the point where people wanted to pay me to take their pictures.  I even got published in a variety of magazines.  

But something was missing!  A trip to San Francisco unveiled just what it was.  I brought my camera to the beach (6 months into picking it up for the first time) and crossed paths with a fellow meathead on the beach with a camera.  {At this time I was still a competitive bodybuilder so I’m allowed to call myself and others meatheads LOL}.  Two meatheads with cameras walking the beach and shooting landscapes, what are the odds?  I saw this big dark circle on his camera and asked what it did.  He told me it was an ND Filter and makes the waves look kind of smokey allowing for long exposures.  “Want to try it?”, he said.  Abso-Freakin-Lutely I do!  I clicked a few shots and realized THIS is what was missing, the nature aspect of photography.  I took a photo that looked like those really cool photos that one of those really good photographers take.

People are great and all but NATURE!  This is what tickles my soul and fuels every endorphin in my brain and then some.  In other words, it felt good! 🙂

So how did I end up living in an Airstream full time?  As with most decisions in life for me, it was spontaneous and unplanned.  I traveled so much and a friend suggested I buy an RV and just travel full time.  “People actually do that?”, I asked.  I had no clue about this lifestyle and it was never even on my radar until that day.  Three days later I drove from San Diego to Scottsdale, AZ to pick up this tiny 16 foot Airstream Bambi Sport I’d never ever even seen.  I already owned the Jeep so as long as my Jeep would tow this thing then LETS DO IT!  I’d also like to add that I had never towed anything EVER in my life before.  Lots of unknowns and risks but I tend to function best in those types of scenarios.  

A little over a week later, I hit the road with no specific destination in mind! Wait, how am I going to make money?  Crap, did I think this thing through? My original goal was to turn my Airstream into a “Gallery On Wheels” and I had a few showings and sold some art but it wasn’t enough to keep gas in the rig and the wheels moving.  I was grinding and selling as much art as I could to random people I met and through friends and family.  Heck, I even do some radio VoiceOver work for extra cash.

The Universe aka “The Gram” was starting to talk to me.  I didn’t realize or foresee I would inspire so many people based on my travel and adventures. Heck, if I made commission on every RV and Airstream sale from the people that I’ve met and talked to that purchased one, I’d be sitting on a pretty cushy road life.  I started getting more and more DMs from people that were looking to learn what I had learned about photography so I teamed up with my good friend Ryan Oswald and started offering workshops.

Check out Kenneth’s AMAZING workshops: www.photoroamers.com

Would you believe it, people actually signed up and wanted to pay us to teach them!  Elated and thankful I ran with it and built a list of workshops all over the western US and we keep adding more and more.  Finally we get to the juicy stuff here!  Ok, well its juicy to me because all the roads have led me here to what I’m most passionate about.  I LOVE teaching and inspiring as much as photographing vastly beautiful landscapes. Connecting with other creatives and showing others that they have the ability to step their photography up to higher levels than they’d ever imagine is so fulfilling.  I can go on and on about all the friendships I’ve made through photography and memories I will cherish for forever!

This is a glimpse into my story and so much is yet to be written.  By the way, I have fallen many times on my face during this journey of full time road dogging. Being consistent and believing in myself and my passions have been the TRUE secret in making this all work.  In closing, the greatest plans in the world will never go as expected.  Be kind, be true, and live with passion!  

If you enjoyed this incredible journey of traveling and living in an Airstream full time through photography then check out more articles on photography tips!

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