For many, the modern Chesapeake Bay is synonymous with two things: seafood such as rockfish, crabs, and oysters; and environmental woes. When we’re not eating the Bay’s bounty, we’re fretting about its troubled future.
However, there is another Chesapeake world out there we often miss. Vibrant and dynamic, full of incredible creatures and deeply rooted traditions, this other Bay goes largely unseen. Photographer Jay Fleming seeks out these rare, forgotten scenes, accompanying watermen on their trips or donning a wetsuit to explore the Chesapeake’s submerged landscapes.
As Fleming’s photographs attest, the Chesapeake Bay is still a thriving environment, but also in transition. Disappearing islands and fisheries in flux have transformed the traditional landscape and economy. But life goes on—new species have made the Bay their home, and the Chesapeake’s culture persists. In Jay Fleming’s photographs, the Chesapeake Bay is a place where the past and the future subtly overlap, whether on a remote island or down on the Bay’s bottom. Fleming shows us that change can be beautiful.
This special exhibition is open June 25 through November 20, 2015 at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland.