Jay Fleming is an American photographer specializing in the documentation of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

’s

watermen A waterman is a river worker who transfers passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries in the United Kingdom and its colonies. Most notable are those on the River Thames and River Medway in England, but other rivers such as the ...

, wildlife, and environmental issues affecting the region. Based on the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Ma ...

, he has published the books ''Working the Water'' (2016) and ''Island Life'' (2021) and conducts photography workshops focused on Chesapeake Bay culture and ecosystems.

Early life

Fleming was born and raised in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, and also lived in

Lewes, Delaware Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 3,303. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Del ...

. His parents’ careers influenced his early life; his father worked as a photographer for ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'', and his mother held a position at the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. I ...

(DNR). His exposure to both nature and photography began at a young age. His father often took him along on photography excursions, allowing him to learn photography hands-on with a

Nikon (, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...

film camera handed down from his father. Fleming's experiences with the Maryland DNR also shaped his interests. During high school, he interned with the DNR, participating in activities such as fish tagging and monitoring projects with biologists, giving him early exposure to environmental work on the

. Fleming graduated from

St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Fun ...

in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in economics.

Career

Fleming's worked for the Maryland DNR's seafood marketing program. He developed strategies to connect consumers with locally sourced Maryland seafood, including launching the "True Blue" program to promote local sourcing. This role inspired his idea for a photography project focused on the Chesapeake Bay's seafood industry, leading him to explore the lives of

on the Bay. In 2015, he left the DNR to pursue a full-time career in photography, capturing images that documented the Bay's watermen and natural landscapes for various publications and personal projects. Fleming began offering photography workshops in 2015, initially leading small groups to Smith Island to photograph watermen, wildlife, and island landscapes. These workshops have expanded over the years to include multiple locations across the Chesapeake Bay, such as Deal Island and Cove Point Lighthouse. Over 150 people attended the workshops in 2024. Fleming operates his workshops with a custom-built

Privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

boat, which is designed to navigate the Bay's shallow waters and handle workshop logistics. In 2021, he relocated his photography studio from Annapolis to

Stevensville, Maryland Stevensville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States, and is the county's most populous place among both CDPs and municipalities. The community is the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The ...

. In 2016, Fleming

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

his first book, ''Working the Water'', a photojournalistic collection that illustrated the lives of watermen, crab pickers, and boat builders. He spent three years gathering images, immersing himself in the Chesapeake's seafood culture and capturing scenes from harvesting to processing. Fleming's second book, ''Island Life'', published in 2021, focused on Smith Island and Tangier Island, exploring the unique cultures of these islands in the Chesapeake Bay. His photographs documented local traditions, as well as the impacts of

rising sea levels The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

and

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

on the Bay's islands.

Personal life

Jay Fleming resides in Annapolis, Maryland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Jay Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Annapolis, Maryland Photographers from Maryland 21st-century American photographers People from Lewes, Delaware St. Mary's College of Maryland alumni People from Stevensville, Maryland American nature photographers