Ray McMullen Fine Art Photography

I can attest that there’s nothing more exciting than finding your organ donor. But imagine coming home after a hard dialysis treatment and wishing you didn’t have to do them anymore and there was no light at the end of the tunnel; only to have your best friend, soulmate and wife tell you that she got a call and that she was an excellent match for a kidney transplant.  I had been battling cancer and dealing with dialysis treatments 3 days a week for 2 years. I had been given the news that my cancer was in stringent remission however, I still needed to do dialysis treatments until I could get accepted into a transplant program. I finally did get accepted into the transplant program at Vanderbilt University, the only problem was with my blood type. I was looking at a six to eight year wait. I was happy just to be in the program.  My journey continued, day after day, dialysis treatment after dialysis treatment. I felt like the walls were closing in on me and there was no end...

When you are lying in a bed without the ability to get up and walk away, it makes you to really face the feelings of hearing the words “you have cancer”. You don’t truly know the seriousness of the situation until you hear the words “you are within hours of expiring” and that everyone is going to do everything possible to give you a fighting chance. I was told that the type of cancer I had, Multiple Myeloma, was not going to be a sprint to the finish, where they could just remove the affected area and work with the chemo drugs. But a marathon, and that I needed to pace myself for a long process of treatments and recovery, and even after all the treatments I would always have the cancer. We would have to control it for the rest of my life with drugs. On top of all the cancer and treatments, I was additionally told that the cancer had taken my kidneys. So not only was a now a cancer patient I was also a dialysis patient. The reality in my mind was, had I gone in as soon...

One more waiting room.

      Leaving the familiar and allowing yourself to  follow a dream  can be a very difficult thing to do. I was successful in my career, but it wasn't fulfilling and there was something missing. I found that missing piece in photography, and it quickly became my passion. I was torn between my photography and a job that would provide for my family. After a lot of soul searching, I decided to  follow a dream .      I left that job to pursue my passion. Now I spend my days looking for new places to discover and shoot. My pay check may be a bit smaller, but I am happy getting up every morning to follow my passion.      I'm just a guy with a camera trying to capture life one click at a time.  I want my photography to tell a story. Every photo has something different to say.  I can't wait to see what the future has in store for me. The lesson learned... Don't let anything stand in your w...