A thoughtful and thorough review of Island Life by writer and publisher Wilson Wyatt that originally appeared in the Delmarva Review . Wyatt’s annual publication is a literary journal dedicated to the discovery and publication of compelling new fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction from emerging and established writers of all backgrounds.
Copies of the Volume 14 (2021) of the Delmarva Review are available for purchase.
PHOTOGRAPHS MARK OUR EXISTENCE IN TIME; the camera becomes a clock for seeing, to borrow from Roland Barthes in Camera Lucida. About a dozen years ago, photographer Jay Fleming began a quest to document Chesapeake Bay life on two of the last inhabited islands in the Bay—Smith Island, Maryland and Tangier Island, Virginia—the focus of his latest narrative photography book, Island Life.
Island Life is an important contribution to building an understanding of Chesapeake Bay life— now and in the future, above and below the surface. Smith and Tangier islands are surrounded by and dependent on the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary* in the United States and one of the five largest in the world. I recommend Fleming’s book for its beauty as well as its living narrative about the history and current life of this region and its place on our planet.
Fleming has a passion for photography and life on the water. Having photographed the last house on Holland Island, months before its collapse into the Chesapeake, in 2010 (p. 54), and photographing life on the bay for his first book, Working the Water (2016), he began a serious journey to document-in-time life on the islands featured in this book.
...I was motivated by a deep desire to capture a moment in time for these incredible islands, as the very forces that sustain them also threaten to take them away.
The book is divided into three sections: Island Scape, Way of Life, and Harvest. Together, they tell stories about Tangier Island, Smith Island, islands of the past, wildlife, and even life underwater. As he worked on this book, he became familiar with the people who live on the islands....their communities, strong sense of identity and public service, religion, education, their work, food, hunting, and how they approach health care, and off- island jobs from such a remote region. The Harvest section describes the economic and human requirements of running family businesses built on fisheries, harvesting crabs, oysters, and other seafood—dependent on long hours of commitment, all at the mercy of nature, through the seasons. The ending is, appropriately, “the blessing of the fleet.”
This book captures a pivotal moment in time for Smith and Tangier, documenting the ways their culture and environment are shaped by isolation from the mainland and the forces of the Chesapeake Bay.
In addition to his photography business, he developed a series of photographic workshops to lead interested amateur photographers to the islands capturing images of “the abundant wildlife, beautiful landscapes, and iconic working waterfronts and watermen.”
Fleming renovated an old 22-foot center console fishing boat to navigate the waters for the workshops. Over the years, since his last book, he and his workshop explorers interacted with the island inhabitants and the surrounding natural environment. The stories of the islanders are authentic and personal, far different than what a reader might expect from a photo book.
As he became familiar with the islander families, he developed a deep understanding of the changes to the islands due to climate change and associated sea-rise. To be precise, however, the book is not a treatise on climate change. Fleming leaves that realization to the reader. Instead, the book’s photos and narration document the uniqueness of island life, in time, with caring attention to detail and the human passion that weds the islanders to a life dependent on the surrounding bay
For those readers who enjoy photography, Fleming’s 271 images (most in color) will treat readers to fine landscapes, seascapes, sunsets, sunrises, and vessels and watermen at sea, under various climate conditions. The images also reveal the unique island life on land, with diminishing shorelines. Some images are touching—some are surprising. He includes artistic underwater photographs, as well as seascapes. For “foodies,” there are even photos showing the construction of Smith Island cakes.
If you treasure the Chesapeake, Island Life belongs on your history shelf or coffee table. It is bound to increase your knowledge and appreciation of Chesapeake life and this unique place on Earth.
ISLAND LIFE, by Jay Fleming
©2021 - Jay Fleming, 280 pages, 271 photographs, ISBN 978-0-9977468-1-5