Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Barred owl in the oldest and largest mahogany hammock in the Florida Everglades. When still, it can be easily overlooked because of its camouflaged pattern - like this one almost was!
    Everglades Barred Owl
  • Very young hatchling alligator in the Shark River Valley of the Florida Everglades. Singled out of a clutch of about thirty chirping babies, this one sat still enough for me to get this image, until the mother appeared and gave me a direct warning to leave them alone.
    Baby Alligator
  • Everglades daisy photographed in the dry season of the Big Cypress National Preserve. Look for them in large numbers in the spring!
    Everglades Daisy
  • This fast little warbler was seen in the Florida Everglades foraging along the edge of a pond.
    Palm Warbler
  • Eastern ribbon snake lunching on a treefrog in the Florida Everglades. Just in the right place at the right time for this shot!
    Eastern Ribbon Snake
  • Double-crested cormorant with beautiful turquoise eyes during breeding season, Florida Everglades.
    Double-Crested Cormorant
  • Simpson's grass-pink orchid growing in a prairie in the Florida Everglades. The height of these orchids makes them easy to spot over these vast grasslands.
    Simpson's Grass-Pink (Calopogon tube..nii)
  • Simpson's grass-pink orchid  in the Florida Everglades. This is a subspecies of the common grass-pink, and is slightly larger with wider leaves. It is only found south of Lake Okeechobee.
    Simpson's Grass-Pink (Calopogon tube..nii)
  • A young adult alligator with a freshly caught great blue heron. An incredible sight to see in person!
    American Alligator with Great Blue Heron
  • This massive yet common airplant in the wilder parts of the Florida Everglades blooms in the winter among the cypress groves and hammocks of the swamps.
    Cardinal Airplant
  • Swamp lilies growing deep in the Fakahatchee Strand. In the summertime, these can be found just about anywhere there is standing water in the Florida Everglades.
    Swamp Lilies
  • American Alligator in the Sweetwater Strand area of the Florida Everglades. This was taken in the beginning of mating season, when they tend to get a little aggressive.
    American Alligator
  • High contrast photograph of dewdrops sparkling on a spiderweb at dawn in the Florida Everglades.
    Spider Web
  • Deering's partridge pea growing in the Everglades National Park, where they will flower year-round.
    Florida Keys Sensitive Pea
  • Prairie milkweed growing out of the marl of a dried-up bog in the Everglades National Park near Long Pine Key. These draw all kinds of butterflies!
    Prairie Milkweed
  • Alligator close-up in the Everglades National Park.
    American Alligator
  • The prickly pineland acacia growing in the Everglades National Park. This plant can be a "surprise" while trying to travel through the rough spots in the 'Glades! Ouch!
    Pineland Acacia
  • Alligator close-up in the Everglades National Park.
    American Alligator
  • Alligator close-up in the Everglades National Park.
    American Alligator
  • A cormorant dries its wings at Everglades National Park. Since they do not have waxy feathers, this enables an incredible underwater mobility which is used to chase down and catch fish, but in return results in waterlogged plumage that needs to air dry.
    Double-Crested Cormorant
  • Alligator swimming in the Everglades National Park.
    American Alligator
  • The incredibly spikey purple thistle is a very common and often very tall wildflower seen in any disturbed areas in all of Florida, this one on Long Pine Key.
    Purple Thistle
  • The very pretty flowerbud of the purple thistle about to open in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails of Collier County, Florida.
    Purple Thistle
  • Swamp mallows are a very common member of the hibiscus family in the Everglades, as seen here in the Fakahatchee Strand.
    Swamp Mallow
  • White-tailed buck photographed in the Fakahatchee Strand. These are often seen here and other places in and around the Everglades.
    White-tailed Deer
  • A squirrel treefrog (individuals can change their color from green to brown based on their environment) found among the cypress knees in the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida. These frogs are most active at night.
    Squirrel Treefrog
  • Close-up of the tiny unusual flowers of the Florida Adder's Mouth orchid in the Fakahatchee Strand.
    Florida Adder's-Mouth (Malaxis spicata)
  • Florida adder's-mouth found growing deep in the Gator Hook Strand in SW Florida. I found one colony here with over 100 individual plants here. Just be warned - there is a huge vicious alligator out there than nearly got me! No kidding!
    Florida Adder's-Mouth (Malaxis spicata)
  • This is a particularly large Florida adder's mouth orchid found in the Fakahatchee Strand - about 12 inches high. Generally they are in the 4 to 8-inch range.
    Florida Adder's-Mouth (Malaxis spicata)
  • Florida adder's-mouth found growing deep in the Fakahatchee Strand. If one can find perpetually damp or wet logs in the Fall, then there are sure to be some of these tiny orchids around!
    Florida Adder's-Mouth (Malaxis spicata)
  • Florida adder's-mouth found growing deep in the Fakahatchee Strand. Occasionally I'll find a single plant, but more often these are found in massive colonies of up to 50 or more plants.
    Florida Adder's-Mouth (Malaxis spicata)
  • Extreme close-up of the detail of a wild American alligator.
    American Alligator
  • A pair of native Florida redbelly cooters bask in the sun just outside of Miami in the Florida Everglades. These small river turtles reach about 12 inches in length and are found only in Florida, except a couple places on the southern border in Georgia.
    Florida Redbelly Cooters
  • The endangered and highly variable Florida tree snail found on Long Pine Key in the Florida Everglades. Each one has a unique pattern or in this case, lack of a pattern.
    Florida Tree Snail
  • The endangered and highly variable Florida tree snail found on Long Pine Key in the Florida Everglades.
    Florida Tree Snail
  • Florida Everglades. Absolutely Beautiful!!!
    Florida Everglades
  • Extreme close-up of an adult alligator's mouth in the Florida Everglades.
    Gator Teeth
  • This near-perfect example of a Palamedes swallowtail was photographed deep in the Shark River region of the Florida Everglades. Found from coastal Virginia to Eastern Texas it is found throughout all of Florida.
    Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palam..des)
  • A pair of baby gray squirrels peeks from their nest in the Florida Everglades. Gray squirrels are perhaps the most adaptable and hardy of all modern squirrel species, and can thrive in the most diverse kinds of habitat. Not only increasing their range in North America, but are beginning to spread into other continents too, wiping out or displacing native populations.
    Baby Eastern Gray Squirrels
  • A juvenile grey squirrel cautiously watches from the safety of height and distance in a tree in the Fakahatchee Strand - part of the Northern Everglades near Naples, Florida.
    Juvenile Grey Squirrel
  • This baby alligator is probably only a couple of months old where it basks in the late afternoon sunlight in the Shark River Valley of the Florida Everglades. Notice the bold black and yellow camouflage pattern - this will help hide it in its early years from hungry herons, storks, otters, raccoons and other hungry predators in the swamps until it turns the tables and begins to hunt the same animals that once used to hunt it!
    Baby Alligator Close-up
  • This very wary 7-8-foot adult American alligator is poised to launch itself out from under the cocoplum bushes if I wade any closer deep in the wilderness of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida. As part of the Northern Everglades watershed, this area is very rural, there is often no dry land for miles. No help either in case of an emergency.
    American Alligator in the Big Cypress
  • In some parts of the Fakahatchee Strand in the northwestern Florida Everglades, it is very common to wade into areas heavily populated with alligators - especially if there are floating logs with sunshine for them to bask in. I managed to get quite close to this one. While alert, it stayed calm as long as I moved slowly and stayed low in the water with it.
    Juvenile Alligator
  • Mangrove roots at dusk in Chokoluskee, Florida with the Ten Thousand Islands just beyond.
    Chokoloskee Mangroves
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • The setting sun deep in the Florida Everglades.
    Sunset over the Pay-Hay-Okee
  • Little blue heron (Egretta caerulea) close-up in the Florida Everglades.
    Little Blue Heron
  • Costa Rican ladies'-tresses hidden deep in the Florida Everglades. These tiny orchids are nearly impossible to find among the hardwoods.
    Costa Rican Ladies'-tresses (Beloglo..sis)
  • A tri-colored heron stalking its prey in the Florida Everglades.
    Tricolored Heron
  • The stunning oceanblue morning glory growing on the edge of a hardwood hammock in the Florida Everglades on the Anhinga Trail.
    Oceanblue Morning-Glory
  • Great blue heron on the lookout in the Florida Everglades.
    Great Blue Heron
  • Great blue heron with crest in the Florida Everglades.
    Great Blue Heron
  • The beautiful and multi-hued green heron in the Florida Everglades National Park.
    Green Heron
  • Great blue heron portrait in the Florida Everglades.
    Great Blue Heron
  • Great blue heron close-up shot with tongue sticking out in the Florida Everglades. Who knew herons had such long tongues?
    Great Blue Heron
  • Close-up of the butterfly orchid deep in the Florida Everglades in Miami-Dade County.
    Butterfly Orchid (Encyclia tampensis)
  • Butterfly orchids in flower deep in the heart of the Florida Everglades. These were found growing in a cypress dome - which dot the vast sea of sawgrass.
    Butterfly Orchid (Encyclia tampensis)
  • A beautiful cluster of cardinal airplants in bloom growing in a cypress tree in the Florida Everglades near Homestead. These endangered epiphytes are often visited by hummingbirds.
    Cardinal Airplant (Tillandsia fascic..ata)
  • Julia butterfly in the Florida Everglades near Homestead.
    Julia
  • Palm warbler in the Florida Everglades. These tiny and delightful winter visitors are often seen looking for food in the grass and palmettos.
    Palm Warbler
  • The threatened Bahama senna in full flower near Long Pine Key in the Florida Everglades, where it is still a common shrub, but has a very limited range.
    Bahama Senna
  • The exotic and unusual alligator lily growing out of a swampy region in the Florida Everglades. These flowers are freshly opened, and naturally have this "ragged" edge.
    Alligator Lily
  • Great blue heron close-up in the Florida Everglades. These huge wading birds ore often found at the water's edge hunting frogs and fish.
    Great Blue Heron
  • Dawn in the Big Cypress National Preserve in the Gator Hook Strand.
    Big Cypress Sunrise
  • A healthy cluster of tall twayblade orchids in bloom in the Fakahatchee Strand.
    Tall Twayblade Orchid (Liparis nervosa)
  • This is a common orchid in the Fakahatchee Strand during the hottest part of summer, and so far I have not seen it anywhere else but here. It is easily spotted by its large lettuce-like leaves growing from any submerged log or cypress stump.
    Tall Twayblade Orchid (Liparis nervosa)
  • Yellow helmet orchid growing in Monroe County off of Loop Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve. Prepare to go into the water to see these orchids!
    Yellow Helmet Orchid (Polystachya co..eta)
  • Tall twayblade orchid found in the wettest part of the Fakahatchee Strand. In the hottest and most miserable part of summer, these beauties can be found quite easily!
    Tall Twayblade Orchid (Liparis nervosa)
  • Close-up of the unusual tall twayblade - photographed here in knee deep water in a wet dark part of the Fakahatchee Strand.  Since it was growing on a cypress knee, it was very easy to photograph at waist level.
    Tall Twayblade Orchid (Liparis nervosa)
  • The firebush is a real beauty of the tropics and is a commonly encountered native shrub in South Florida and many parts of Mexico and Central America. A relative of coffee, the firebush (also known by many other names such as Mexican firecracker, hummingbird bush, scarlet bush, and redhead) attracts large numbers of butterflies and hummingbirds who feed on the sweet nectar provided by the bright orange and red tubular flowers. This one was found growing deep in the Fakahatchee Strand in the northern part of the Florida Everglades in Collier County.
    Firebush
  • This wildflower is seen often in South Florida anywhere that is sunny and is wet. This was taken in the Florida Everglades.
    Glades Lobelia
  • An osprey sits patiently in its nest in the Florida Everglades while its mate is off hunting.
    Osprey in Nest
  • A pollinated night-fragrant epidendrum orchid bears fruit deep in the Big Cypress National Preserve in the northern Florida Everglades. Still visible are the dried remains of the flower hanging at the tip of the fruit.
    Night-fragrant Epidendrum
  • This aquatic snake is very commonly seen in the Florida Everglades. This one was photographed while I was stalking a hawk. I saw this from the corner of my eye and took this shot.
    Banded Watersnake
  • Broad-winged hawk in the Florida Everglades. I had to chase him through a very muddy patch of swamp, but it was worth it for this shot.
    Broad-Shouldered Hawk
  • Successfully pollinated and fruiting seedpods of the nearly impossible-to-find and leafless ribbon orchid. Not only is this orchid extremely rare in the United States, it is only found in one tiny pocket of one remote part of the Northwestern Florida Everglades known as the Fakahatchee Strand, which is its northernmost range This one was photographed deep in the Strand while standing about waist-deep in the black, slowly-moving waters deep in the shadows of ancient bald cypress trees. Luckily, it can also be found in parts of the Caribbean islands, Central America, and even in some parts of Northern South America.
    Ribbon Orchid Seedpods
  • Close-up of a blue-eyed grass flower growing in the Florida Everglades.
    Blue-Eyed Grass
  • Palamedes swallowtail fully spread to show its beautifully patterned wings deep in Central Florida's remote Okaloacoochee Slough, which is sort of a no-man's land between Lake Okeechobee and the Florida Everglades.
    Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palam..des)
  • This common North American shorebird was found very far from where its summer nesting grounds in the Alaskan tundra. I found and photographed this western sandpiper at the southern tip of the Florida Everglades on a late winter day within sight of the Florida Keys! Sometimes these birds will spend the winter much further south in Central America.
    Western Sandpiper
  • This young alligator is probably close to its first birthday judging by the size and yellow banding on the tail and body. At this stage, it is no longer hunted by storks, herons, and raccoons and before long they will in turn become the prey. This clearly well-fed youngster was found sunning in the Fakahatchee Strand in Collier County, Fl.
    Alligator Yearling
  • This orchid always eludes me, but this evening I found two, but I was too early by about a week to see it in flower. There is always next year ....
    Spurred Neottia (Eltroplectris neottia)
  • This orchid was found by a friend of mine in the Everglades National Park, who asked me to identify it for him and sent me the GPS coordinates. I rarely do this, in my determination to find the orchids I photograph myself, but sometimes there are exceptions - mainly because I hadn't yet seen the other rare vanilla he thought it might be. The distinct orange leafless plant was a dead giveaway to the worm-vine, or leafless vanilla. This flower was almost opened, but not quite.
    Worm-vine Orchid (Vanilla barbellata)
  • A crocodile on a canal bank in Flamingo on the southern tip of peninsular Florida on the edge of the Keys and the Everglades. Note the flat and long head - much different than an alligator.
    American Crocodile
  • Also known as flyweed or flycatcher, tarflowers are an interesting member of the heath family that have a little problem: they rely on insect pollinators such as bees, flies and butterflies to pollinate them, but they also excrete a very sticky substance from the flowers (especially in the center) that often ends up trapping insets. While this appears to make it a carnivorous plant, it doesn't actually consume or use any of the insects that unfortunately die. This incredibly beautiful and fragrant flowering shrub is is found all over Florida except the Panhandle, the Keys and the Everglades. This one was found far out in the the woods of Northeastern Collier County.
    Tarflowers
  • This large beautiful canna was found unexpectedly growing in the Corkscrew Swamp. It is native to Florida and often found in the Everglades.
    Golden Canna
  • Blue-eyed grass wildflowers growing in the Everglades National Park. These great little flowers can be found all over South Florida growing in and around the wetlands.
    Blue-Eyed Grass
  • Potbelly airplant growing in the Everglades National Park. These are very common in the wetlands of South Florida, and are most often found on cypress trees.
    Potbelly Airplant (Tillandsia paucif..lia)
  • This incredible orchid has a long history of being taken from the wild for the orchid trade. There are stories of single plants weighing hundreds of pounds being pulled out of the Everglades by the wagon load. These days, small ones are difficult to find.
    Cigar Orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum)
  • Lubber grasshopper nymphs doing what they do best in the Everglades ... devouring foliage.
    Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper Hatc..phs)
  • The potbelly airplant growing in the Everglades National Park. The thick, firm leaves are covered in a silvery fuzz, and are identified by their twisting leaves, and cardboard-like texture.
    Potbelly Airplant (Tillandsia paucif..lia)
  • The unique buttonbush is a common small tree growing in the Everglades. This one was seen in the Fakahatchee Strand.
    Buttonbush
  • The incredibly spiky purple thistle is a very common and very tall wildflower seen in many disturbed areas in all of Florida. It is a great food source for many types of butterflies.
    Purple Thistle
  • The exotic and beautiful coral bean can be found all over Florida, and most often seen in or near forests or wooded areas.
    Coral Bean
  • White-tailed buck photographed in the Fakahatchee Strand. These are often seen here and other places in and around the Everglades.
    White-tailed Deer
  • Close-up of these tiny tropical orchid's flowers.
    Costa Rican Ladies'-tresses (Beloglo..sis)
  • Barred owl perched on a branch in the Fakahatchee Strand. This owl let us get quite close to it for this photograph!
    Fakahatchee Barred Owl
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