Jay Fleming is an American photographer specializing in the documentation of Chesapeake Bay’s watermen, wildlife, and environmental issues affecting the region.

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

[1] His parents’ careers influenced his early life; his father worked as a photographer for National Geographic, and his mother held a position at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

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 Chesapeake Bay.

[2][3] 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.