Photography
I find it crazy that you can just push a button and stop time. Pausing life to investigate or replay just a single moment or even a fraction of a moment. Photography has gone from just pushing buttons to a full-blown passion for me over the past few years. It is such a powerful tool for conservation, especially when combined with today’s media platforms. You can capture jaw-dropping encounters and bring the beauty and mystique of our oceans to humans who have never had the chance even to smell the sea air. To me, that is almost surreal. Not only can we bring a voice to those who can not speak for themselves, but it means we can inspire even those living the furthest from nature to fall in love with it.
Jay works full-time as a professional photographer & cinematographer covering multiple genres from underwater and nature to adventure travel and lifestyle. He is available to hire for commercial photo or film shoots in Baja or anywhere around the world. To date, he has worked on projects in over 30 countries across the globe for a variety of magazines, brands, and media outlets. Scroll down to check out some of his work. For information on Jay’s current availability, rates, and potential partnerships, or to pitch a project, please send a message here.
Make sure to follow Jay Clue on Instagram for more pics! If you want to purchase a print or license a photograph, please contact us for more information.
Quick Jump to a Section:
Wildlife & Nature Photography | Lifestyle & Model Photography | Nightscape & Astrophotography
Wildlife & Nature Photography
I want to do something different for this post. I tend to always showcase the crazy marine life that makes me love the ocean so much, but today I want to share with you some of the human side that keeps me falling in love with the ocean over and over again.
I’be just returned from a @paditv shoot in the Maldives and something about this shoot really reminded me why I love working in the ocean so much. We had horrendous weather the entire time we were there making this shoot particularly difficult, yet every day was filled with good energy and laughs from all these incredible passionate humans.
One of my favorite moments of this shoot was getting to capture the awe and joy on the faces of these local Maldivian children that stopped by for a school trip to visit the SHELL research center run by @maldivesunderwaterinitiative Seeing these young kids learn about marine science and our oceans and the pure joy on their faces was beyond heartwarming. Really can’t wait to share more about MUI’s work with you all!
Massive thanks to @sixsenseslaamu and @deepbluediversmaldives for the incredible hospitality and making us feel like family! Can’t wait to come back!
All shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 and A7C II with help from @nauticamhousings
So stoked to finally be back in Tiger Beach diving with one of my favorite sharks! Our first dive we had 9 of these massive beautiful ladies hanging out with us. Even got to see my old buddy / the boop master herself, Miss jitterbug, and a small juvenile tiger shark!
This year has been mental with being on the road almost nonstop since basically the beginning of January. Finally get a quick little break after this trip to work on moving to my new ‘home’ before hitting the road again. But days like this remind me why I continue to choose this crazy life. Yesterdays crazy winds have finally died down and we are heading back out to the beach now! Fingers crossed the ocean brings us another awesome day.
Shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 in a @nauticamhousings with their WACP-1 using natural light at f9, 1/320s, iso 100.
Wrapping up an incredible week shooting for @paditv in The Poor Knights islands of New Zealand. It’s been a while since I’ve been diving in cooler waters, but have been completely blown away by just how beautiful it truly is. The kelp forests here are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I could spend weeks just shooting the kelp. And the marine life is a true testament to the great things marine reserves can do to protect the remarkable diversity and beauty our oceans hold.
Massive thanks to @divetutukaka and all the awesome humans on their team for making us feel right at home in New Zealand. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and passion with us while taking us to experience the beauty of the Poor Knights. I already can’t wait to come back!
Shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 with @nauticamhousings at f7.1, 1/250s, and ISO 320 using the Sony 28-60mm f4 and Nauticam’s WACP-1 with 2 @seaandseaimaging YS-D3 mk II strobes.
How sweet is this baby whale snuggling her mom?
Sometimes the ocean surprises us and reminds us we all need a little love. Last week in Socorro one morning we spotted this mother and calf relaxing near shore. I sent up the drone and found the calf was rubbing against her mom and rolling around her nose. Whale moms are very tactile with their young. When the mom is resting or sleeping the baby will leave her side to go up to the surface and breathe, while swimming in a half circle before going back down to her other side and rub against mom to let her know she’s safe.
Shot on the @djiglobal Mavic 3
Wrapping up another epic trip to Socorro. Curious mantas, playful dolphins, tons of sharks, and the list just goes on and on. These incredible islands really are unlike anywhere else in the world.
This blackjack found a peculiar hiding place just below the mouth of this oceanic manta at Roca Partida. We watched as it followed the manta around staying in the same spot even as the manta did a backflip. That’s some dedication!
Shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 with @nauticamhousings WACP-1 and Sony’s 28-60mm f4 lens at f6.3, 1/250s, iso 640 using @seaandseaimaging YS-D3 Mk II strobes
Back on land from another epic trip to the Revillagigedo! This oceanic manta came swimming up to me as I was just getting in the water at Cabo Pearce in Socorro. She then spent the next 46 minutes alternating between getting cleaned by Clarion angelfish and playing with us. Sometimes she wanted to just get a little bubble bath, other times coming right up to my mask to check me out. These incredibly magical islands never cease to amaze me no matter how many times I visit them. Massive thanks to all the awesome humans that made it such a fun trip!
Shot at f6.3, 1/200s, ISO320 on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 using the Sony 28-60mm f4 with @nauticamhousings WACP-1 and @seaandsea YS-D3 Mk II Strobes
Sunset reflections in @deathvalleynps
Love capturing candid human moments like these 2 watching the sunset reflect off Badwater Basin together. Tag someone you want to explore Death Valley with.
Captured on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 using the Sony 100-400 GM lens on a @sliktripods CF Pro 834 at 300mm, f11, 2s, ISO 100.
Little sneak preview from last night in Death Valley.
Over 10,000 years ago an ancient lake once flowed here that reached over 600ft deep. Today it’s home to the Badwater Basin salt flats, one of the lowest points on earth at 282ft below sea level. In late August, a massive storm ravaged Death Valley National Park leaving behind a shallow body of water across most of Badwater Basin. These flood waters mixed with endless bright white salt and clear winter skies that are filled with thousands of stars create such a surreal environment. It feels like you’re standing on miles of mirrors with stars just reflecting all around you.
Captured in a single shot using the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 with the Sony 20mm f1.8 G lens at f2, 10s, iso 3200 on a @sliktripods PRO CF-834 tripod
👨🚀: @stanmoniz
Last week I was finally able to try something I had been dreaming about for over a year—using my rebreather to dive with the jacks of Cabo Pulmo. What you are looking at is commonly called a jack tornado. This spawning behavior sees a massive school of jacks begin circling just above the sand then spiraling al the way up to the surface some 18 meters (60 feet) above. It’s believed that the behavior acts as a funnel, keeping eggs and sperm together within the tornado while also helping create better mixing of genetic diversity.
I’ve dived Cabo Pulmo hundreds of times over my years living in Baja, but diving it on a closed circuit rebreather (CCR) was unlike any other dive I’ve ever experienced there. Normally the jacks and other fish tend to move away from scuba divers, dodging their bubbles and breaking up their courtship displays. But on CCR the jacks constantly moved towards me, almost as if they were trying to pull me into their tornado. 🌪️
Captured on the @diverite84 O2ptima CM CCR using the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 with @Nauticamhousings WACP-1 at 1/250s, f7.1, and ISO200 using 2x @seaandsea_official YS-D3 MK II strobes and custom white balance.
Lifestyle & Model Photography
Landscape & Astro Photography
