I have always been drawn to the light. From my younger days of playful games and fishing along the Stillwater River near Dayton, Ohio, to this day, the Light calls me out and beckons my spirit to come. The adventure and risk that are part of the call of this desire in my soul, stir the passion within me and I moved to experience endless opportunities around every bend or beyond the next rise.
It wasn’t until I was doing my tour in the early 70's in the US Navy that I began to explore the qualities of photography. With a friend and advocate for adventure, I would explore with my camera, the new found territories of international countries while on leave. I was learning by trial & error as I experimented with tips & techniques from various photographic publications. My success was simply the great joy I received from capturing a “Moment in Time” through the “Window” of my experience from the place I was exploring.
It was an amazing time that would not let go of me. Connecting with my Spirit was a yearning from the depths of my soul. So, after my duty I used my benefits to enroll at Ohio University in the College of Fine Arts for a major in Photography. I indulged myself in all the school had to offer, studying 4x5 techniques day or night and committing to year round efforts to learn in the classroom and the studio as well as in the field. My summers were spent working with the Soil & Water Conservation District doing field reports with my 35 mm camera slung over my shoulder, always ready to capture the essence of the “Place” I was experiencing.
After 24 years as a Professional Photographer working in Photojournalism, Corporate, my Commercial Studio and Editorial endeavors I have now discovered the “Man I was Created to Be” as I now respond to the artist child within. It's as if my Spirit, like the Spirit of the Living God moves about like the wind, has been here in the mountain peaks, the pine and aspen groves, the rock formations or the lakes and waterfalls all along and I am now just catching up to it. Even yet not knowing where it came from or where it is going. I do know that God has given me the gift of creativity by the nature of Him being the ultimate creator and this is what I have discovered inspires my spirit and motivates me to respond to His Kingdom of Splendor and His children.
Life is amazing and has a way of bringing us full circle at times, back to where our hearts were when we were once innocent, sensing an energy and a passionate desire, yet unable to identify just what “it” was that called to us or beckoned our spirit. As life and all it’s experiences chisel away our superficial pretense or pride, leaving us with our true selves, we become more comfortable with who we really have been all along.
Enjoy the exploration of “Life” and live in the wholeness of the experience.
Go In Peace.
Raymond M. McCoy
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