Working as an editor for the Daily Cougar and Houstonian yearbook didn't begin to cover the high cost of film, photographic paper or gasoline for road trips. Lacy accepted higher-paying jobs covering weekend assignments for the Houston Chronicle. As a freelancer, he covered assignments the average work-a-day journalist likes to avoid, including survivalists, paint ball warriors and skydivers. He was trampled by police horses in a riot, but stood in long enough to make the great picture all other photographers missed.
To pay off college bills, Lacy produced publicity photos and trade show graphics for major record companies and environmental equipment manufacturers. He became a master of connotative images and determined calculated approaches to marketing and feature photography. A photograph of the "Vietnam Veterans Statue" in Washington, D.C. came to life in his viewfinder. He explained, "I saw that I could make this static monument appear to the viewer as a photograph of live action."
IN THE PHOTO ABOVE Lacy photographed the Vietnam Veterans Statue in Washington D.C., giving it life-like qualities with warm lighting, the illusion of fire and a motion-blurred flag in the background.
