Cape May | Where It Began
More than a decade ago, someone asked me a simple question that I wasn't prepared to answer.
"What drives you, Bill? What are your passions?"
At the time, I didn't appreciate the question. In fact, it irritated me.
Looking back, though, I can see that conversation for what it really was. It marked the beginning of the path that eventually led to Bill McNamee | The Art of the Create and the creative work I continue to pursue today.
A few days later, I packed my camera gear, tossed it in the back of my Jeep Wrangler, and headed out for Cape May, New Jersey.
I wasn't chasing a particular photograph. I wasn't working on a project or trying to build a portfolio. I was simply trying to reconnect with something I felt I had lost.
That weekend, though, became much more than a casual photography trip. It was the moment I stopped waiting for inspiration and went looking for it.
Shortly after returning home, I wrote about that weekend.
Passion Reboot: Cape May, New Jersey
It was the winter of 2012. I was talking with a friend one cold February day in Maryland when she asked, "What drives you, Bill? What are your passions?" She wasn't asking out of simple curiosity. She was being critical and challenging me to rediscover and redefine myself.
Although I didn't realize it at the time, she was doing me a favor. Her questions, and the way she asked them, unsettled me. I had been in a creative and photographic slump for quite some time. I knew I wanted to rebrand both my business and myself, but I hadn't taken any meaningful steps toward making that happen. Truth and honesty often hurt.
Her prodding, though, was the kick in the ass I needed.
After our conversation, I planned a weekend photography trip to jumpstart my creative passions. The destination I selected was Cape May, New Jersey.
Cape May is a small beach resort in southern New Jersey. With the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Delaware Bay on the other, it is known for its historic district, romantic bed and breakfasts, and beautiful Victorian homes and grand hotels.
Cape May is also a place I knew well. Growing up, my family had a mobile home near the Delaware Bay side of Cape May, and I spent my first eighteen summers roaming and exploring the Jersey Shore from Cape May in the south to Atlantic City in the north.
I had a classic Jersey Shore childhood. My days were spent at the beach, floating on a rented raft in the swells of the Atlantic. My nights were spent hanging out on the boardwalk in the arcades. Skeeball, anyone?
Packing my camera gear into the back of my Jeep Wrangler, I headed out for Cape May on a cool February weekend in the Mid-Atlantic. My goal was simple. I wanted to capture Cape May during the off season. I envisioned images that felt cold, stark, and empty, with a black-and-white or tonal treatment.
Although the temperatures were mild, I only managed one nice overcast day before the wind became an issue along the beach and boardwalk. I was also disappointed to find much of the boardwalk under renovation and inaccessible.
Still, a photographer works with the conditions at hand. While they are rarely perfect, limitations often produce unexpected creative opportunities. Creative vision is ever present.
Looking back, I owe my friend a warm thank you. She reminded me of who I was at my core and helped relight a creative fire that had begun to fade. At the time, I had no idea where that weekend would lead.
More than a decade has passed since that February weekend in 2012, but I understand its significance far better today than I did then.
That trip marked the beginning of a creative journey that eventually led to Bill McNamee | The Art of the Create and, more recently, the work I am now developing through Kerrsplat Publishing.
Cape May never left me.
It continues to draw me back, both for the memories it holds and the inspiration it continues to provide. That inspiration lives on in Off Season: Cape May, New Jersey, a project I am now revisiting for publication through Kerrsplat Publishing.
Looking back now, though, I don't think Cape May was my creative catalyst. The catalyst was grabbing my camera gear and heading out in my Jeep Wrangler.
The place matters because it holds deep personal meaning for me. It was the decision to act, rather than continue waiting, that changed everything.
Creative journeys rarely begin with a grand plan. They usually begin with a single idea and the willingness to explore and pursue it.
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Technical Notes:
These photographs were captured in February 2012 in Cape May, New Jersey, using a Canon DSLR and Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens. Most images were processed in black and white to emphasize the quiet atmosphere and textures of the off season, while a small number were intentionally left in muted color to preserve details that contribute to the story. Processing was completed in Adobe Lightroom Classic. An assortment of aspect ratios were used.
