Living the Dream
Living the Dream
Ellicottville Native Takes His Love for Photography, Travel, and Abandoned Buildings and Publishes His First Photo Book
We all love to hear about one of our locals making it big, following their dreams and crushing their goals. In that regard, photographer Kevin Lacy has definitely exceeded expectations. At the end of this month, his first photo book, Deserted Dreams: California’s Abandoned Oasis, will be available for purchase. How did he get this far? What was his inspiration? EllicottvilleNOW had a chance to catch up with Kevin during his recent visit back to the 14731 to chat details.
eNOW: It’s been a while since you’ve been back home. Where have you been, what have you been doing lately, and how did you get there?
LACY: I’ve been living in Long Beach, California for the past 10 years, working as a photographer/videographer, mainly working with tourism and travel companies with my wife, Kelly. She works for American Airlines, and we have access to free flights, which is how I built my portfolio initially. Over the years, we figured out different ways to monetize our traveling through social media promotion and content creation, which we eventually incorporated into a business under the name, "The Awkward Tourists”.
eNOW: Your first photo book will be out January 27th. What made you decide to do a series on abandoned places? How do these spots speak to you?
LACY: For whatever reason, I have always been drawn to abandoned places. Even as a kid, If I saw an old building on the side of the road, I wanted to see what it looked like inside. As photography became a bigger part of my life, I started to document these places. The way that nature reclaims an area once people stop maintaining it is so fascinating.
A couple years ago I started a YouTube and Instagram account dedicated to documenting these places called, "The Abandoned Project.” I had a few videos go viral on the Instagram account, and a publisher reached out to me asking if I would be interested in creating a book. The publisher works with different photographers all across the USA who specialize in abandoned photography. Each book is usually focused on a city, or state, or general area.
Living in California this last decade, I have explored in the desert quite a lot and In turn, documented a lot of abandoned places in that area. Maybe it's from growing up in a place like Ellicottville that is so heavily forested and lush, but the California desert is such a crazy landscape to me. It's harsh and unforgiving, and there are miles and miles of empty spaces. The way that buildings decay in this area is really beautiful. Not to mention how many forgotten places there are in the California desert. Lots of closed mining operations, gas stations, motels, and ghost towns. There's a lot to see if you're willing to drive a bit. I was even able to document an abandoned railroad line for this book, with collapsed tunnels and abandoned trains. The Book is called Deserted Dreams: California's Abandoned Oasis. It is available on Amazon.
eNOW: Obviously you do a lot of traveling… Where will your next adventure be?
LACY: We are still negotiating most of our jobs for the new year, but it looks like Japan in February will be the next big trip. I always try to get back to the Ellicottville area every few months to visit family. It’s been great to be back home this last week, catching up with family and friends.
eNOW: Looking back, what have your favorite photo opportunities been so far?
LACY: We’ve been lucky to have some great opportunities over the years. One that stands out is a trip to Iceland in May of 2021. Iceland had just opened back up to International tourists after the Covid-19 lockdowns, and we were working with a camper van company to promote travel around the country. We had free reign of this camper van for two weeks to travel around the country. There really wasn't anyone traveling at that time, so we had all the top tourist destinations to ourselves. This was also about a month after the first volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, so we were able to hike to the crater and see this new volcano erupting from about a mile away. We watched the volcano erupt for about 8 hours sitting on a hilltop and that was probably the coolest thing I have ever witnessed with my own eyes. We made a YouTube video about the experience on The Awkward Tourist YouTube Channel if you want to check it out.
eNOW: Do you think you'll ever do a photobook of your hometown area?
LACY: This is my first photo book, so I'll see how this one goes. Ellicottville is very picturesque, so there are definitely opportunities for a photo book there.
eNOW: Is there anything you'd like to share with the community?
LACY: Ellicottville was a great place to grow up and I still have some strong ties to the community back there. I appreciate all the friends and family who have supported me throughout the years.
Keep your eye out for Kevin’s book on Amazon and make sure to like/subscribe to The Awkward Tourist Youtube Channel to get a front-seat view of all his unique travel destinations.
