Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • The venomous, yet slow-moving gila monster posing in the lower branches of a mesquite bush in the Senoran Desert, just outside of Tucson, Arizona. This was my forst time seeing one in the wild, and I actually delayed my travel plan to spend extra time looking for one of these.
    Gila Monster
  • The venomous, yet slow-moving gila monster posing in the lower branches of a mesquite bush in the Sonoran Desert, just outside of Tucson, Arizona. This was my first time seeing one in the wild, and I actually delayed my travel plan to spend extra time looking for one of these.
    Gila Monster
  • Close-up portrait of a Gila monster. This venomous lizard is only one of two venomous lizards in the world. This one was photographed in the Sonoran Desert just outside of Tucson, Arizona.
    Gila Monster
  • Close-up portrait of a Gila monster. This venomous lizard is only one of two venomous lizards in the world. This one was photographed in the Sonoran Desert just outside of Tucson, Arizona.
    Gila Monster
  • Bald eagle flying overhead in the Estero Bay Preserve in Lee County, Florida.
    Bald Eagle in Flight
  • Bald eagle flying overhead in the Estero Bay Preserve in Lee County, Florida.
    Bald Eagle in Flight
  • A location in Lee County has well over a hundred of these unusual tall orchids growing in two distinct colonies. The location will remain undisclosed as these orchids are becoming very rare at an alarming rate.
    Crestless Plume Orchid (Orthochilus ..tus)
  • With a beak that is anything but common, this common moorhen is catching fish and insects in the floating vegetation at Wakulla Springs, in North Florida.
    Common Moorhen
  • A common moorhen walking on floating reeds at Wakulla Springs, in North Florida.
    Common Moorhen
  • Bald eagle with massive nest in the Estero Bay Preserve in SW Florida. Can you see the dark brown baby poking its head out of the nest?
    Bald Eagle with Chick
  • A wild bald eagle keeping a watchful eye on its nest in the Estero Bay Preserve in SW Florida.
    Bald Eagle and Nest
  • Giant swallowtail butterfly feeding on nectar from red penta flowers in Southern Georgia.
    Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
  • Bald eagle in Lee County, Fl near the Estero River. I got completely shredded by briars while getting close enough for this shot!
    Bald Eagle
  • A gulf fritillary butterfly feeds on a buttonbush flower in Southern Georgia.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • 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)
  • A large and stunning purple passionflower in full bloom in Paynes Creek Preserve in Bowling Green, Florida. Truly Florida's most beautiful and intricate flowering vine!
    Purple Passionflower
  • Roseate skimmer dragonfly resting on a reed in a pond in Sarasota, Florida. Beautiful!
    Roseate Skimmer
  • The beautiful male roseate skimmer photographed in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails. These are very common in South Florida wetlands.
    Roseate Skimmer
  • A very common find in some of the seepage bogs of the Apalachicola National Forest, the leaves of these beautifully colored butterworts are covered in tiny sticky hairs that trap and digest unsuspecting insects.
    Chapman's Butterwort (Pinguicula pla..lia)
  • These large and beautiful wildflowers can sometimes be seen in large patches on the side of the highways in the Apalachicola National Forest.
    Stoke's Aster
  • A beautiful red-shouldered hawk perched in a bald cypress tree in the Fakahatchee Strand.
    Red-Shouldered Hawk
  • The beautiful Florida violet growing in the sand of a pine scrub in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails near Fort Myers, Florida.
    Florida Violet
  • Beautiful flower of the Florida ironweed blooming in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Florida Ironweed
  • The delicate and beautiful showy milkwort is often found growing in the flooded prairies and cypress domes of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Showy Milkwort
  • A beautiful male blue dasher posing on a stick in Tallahassee, Florida. Males are bright blue with green eyes, and the females are a drab brown with dull yellow stripes.
    Blue Dasher
  • The beautiful and unusual purple bladderwort grows among the flooded swamps in the Apalachicola National Forest.
    Purple Bladderwort (Utricularia purp..rea)
  • A beautiful gulf fritillary in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • The delicate and beautiful showy milkwort is often found growing in the flooded prairies and cypress domes of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Showy Milkwort
  • Blue flag iris growing in the Six-Mile Cypress Slough in Lee County, in the middle of Fort Myers, Florida.
    Blue Flag Iris
  • Viceroy butterfly in the heat of a summer day in the Corkscrew Swamp in SW Florida. This is one of the several species to mimic the Monarch's colors and pattern - known to birds for being toxic to eat.
    Viceroy
  • Queen butterfly feeding on a wildflower in the Big Cypress National Preserve. This is a butterfly nearly always found in and around wetlands in South Florida with lots of wildflowers.
    Queen
  • The terrestrial or semi-aquatic horned bladderwort growing in Monroe County in the Big Cypress National Preserve. This  small carnivorous plant can catch small animals with tiny contracting bladders that suddenly open upon contact and suck in the prey by an inrush of water or air, and trapping it within with a flap-like membrane. These bladders are located among the root-like leaves.
    Horned Bladderwort (Utricularia cornuta)
  • The aquatic leafy bladderwort growing in the wetlands of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Monroe County. This was photographed in the beginning of the dry season, and receding water levels left this plant high and dry.
    Leafy Bladderwort (Utricularia foliosa)
  • The unusual and bright blue widemouth dayflower in all it's glory growing in a pine scrub in Estero, Fl (Lee County).
    Whitemouth Dayflower
  • Skyflowers found growing in standing water in CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in Collier County, Florida.
    Skyflowers
  • This is one of the many common wildflowers to be seen growing in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier and Monroe Counties. This one was in the Gator Hook Strand.
    Bartram's Rosegentian
  • Wild passionflower growing in a field in the Lake Talquin State Forest in North Florida.
    Purple Passionflower
  • Dragonheads blooming near a lake in Charlotte County in SW Florida in the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area.
    Dragonheads
  • This highly camoflaged orchid is nearly impossible to see in the wild. They blend in perfectly with their surroundings, and if the buds are hard to see because of their tiny size, the half-inch flowers reflect enough light to blend in with the dappled sunlight of the forest floor.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • Viola's wood satyr catching some rays in a clearing in the Goethe State Forest in Levy County, Florida. Nearly impossible to catch as they only land for fractions of a second, the damaged wing helped me get this photograph.
    Viola's Wood Satyr
  • Julia butterfly flying from flower to flower in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in Collier County, Florida. This one is absolutely stunning to see in person!
    Julia
  • White Peacock feeding on common beggar's-ticks in the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida. These are extremely common on hot, humid mornings in the southern part of the state.
    White Peacock
  • Queen butterfly feeding on a wildflower in the Big Cypress National Preserve. This is a butterfly nearly always found in and around wetlands in South Florida with lots of wildflowers.
    Queen
  • Queen butterfly feeding on a wildflower in the Big Cypress National Preserve. This is a butterfly nearly always found in and around wetlands in South Florida with lots of wildflowers.
    Queen
  • The brilliant green and blue male common green darner seen here in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails. These are very common in South Florida wetlands.
    Common Green Darner
  • A pair of the many white-tailed deer to be seen in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in Okeechobee County, Florida.
    White-tailed Deer
  • A chapman's butterwort growing in Liberty County, Florida alongside another unidentified butterwort - perhaps the green form of the same species. In this photo, you can see the fine short hairs on the greasy leaves that attract and trap flying insects.
    Chapman's Butterwort (Pinguicula pla..lia)
  • A limpkin photographed on the western shore of Lake Okeechobee in Glades County in central Florida.
    Limpkin
  • Drumheads growing in a wet bog in the Apalachicola National Forest. These can be found almost all over the state.
    Drumheads
  • One of my favorites - drumheads - growing near a pond in Martin County, Florida. Like many of the polygala species, it is often found in pine scrubs that get flooded from time to time.
    Drumheads
  • 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
  • Blazing Star growing in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Blazing Star
  • Blue-eyed grass wildflowers blooming in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Blue-Eyed Grass
  • A colony of the biggest-leaved cranefly orchidsI've ever seen. Found here in a sloping forest in Leon County, Florida.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • Two varieties of crane-fly orchids found in Gadsden County, Florida in their fall "leaf" phase. The normal spotted version (Tipularia discolor) is growing here with the green version without spots (Tipularia discolor forma viridifolia).
    Cranefly Orchid
  • I've encountered these unusual terrestrial orchids in many places along the Apalachicola River. Local terrain and locations include heavily wooded hills, steep ravines, and near creeks cutting through limestone or packed clay. American beech and magnolia trees are always in abundance, as well as the ever-present poison ivy.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • As you can see in this image - the greenish brown colors match perfectly with the general background color of this North Florida forest. I had no idea they were so common until I found hundreds of winter leaves in scattered locations around the Florida Panhandle.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • In July, long after the green spotted leaf has withered and disappeared, a small greenish-brown stem, or spike, will poke up through the forest floor encased in a leaf-like sheath, and will within a week resemble the familiar form of most North American terrestrial orchids as they are about to flower.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • 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)
  • 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)
  • The super rare nodding strap airplant growing over a pond in the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida.
    Nodding Strap Airplant (Catopsis nutans)
  • Barred owl in the oldest and largest mohogany hammock in the Florida Everglades. When still, it can be easily overlooked because of its camoflaged pattern - like this one almost was!
    Everglades Barred Owl
  • A female pearl crescent feeds on the nectar of a wildflower in a forest clearing in northern Gadsden County, near the Florida-Georgia border.
    Pearl Crescent
  • Monarch Butterflies enjoying a last meal before heading across the Gulf of Mexico for Central America. These were seen along the coast in the thousands at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County.
    Monarch Migration
  • Three male zebra longwings were excitedly waiting for this new female to emerge from her pupa in the Corkscrew Swamp in SW Florida. This is a common mating practice for longwings.
    Zebra Longwing Mating Ritual
  • Zebra longwing butterfly seen in the Corkscrew Swamp. These are extremely common in South Florida, but maddening to try to photograph because of their rapid and erratic flight.
    Zebra Longwing
  • White-tailed buck photographed in the Fakahatchee Strand. These are often seen here and other places in and around the Everglades.
    White-tailed Deer
  • The aquatic leafy bladderwort growing in the flooded prairies of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida.
    Leafy Bladderwort (Utricularia foliosa)
  • Purple Flag Iris photographed in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, in North Florida (Jefferson County).
    Purple Flag Iris
  • This wildflower is seen often in South Florida anywhere that is sunny and is wet. This was taken in the Florida Everglades.
    Glades Lobelia
  • The tiny bay lobelia flowering in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Bay Lobelia
  • Two varieties of crane-fly orchids found in Gadsden County, Florida in their fall "leaf" phase. The normal spotted version (Tipularia discolor) is growing here with the green version without spots (Tipularia discolor forma viridifolia).
    Cranefly Orchid
  • A perfect pair of this distant relative of the pineapple growing in a hardwood hammock in Southwest Florida.
    Fuzzywuzzy Airplant (Tillandsia prui..osa)
  • Also known as the hoary airplant, this rare bromeliad is infrequently seen in the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida, as this one was.
    Fuzzywuzzy Airplant (Tillandsia prui..osa)
  • This night-flowering bromeliad is found mainly in Southern Mexico and Central America, but there is a small native population in Southwest Florida.
    Nodding Strap Airplant (Catopsis nutans)
  • White Peacock seen in CREW Marsh Hiking Trails Collier County, just east of Estero, Florida. These are unbelievably common in this area.
    White Peacock
  • Gulf fritillary seen in Jefferson County, Florida. This shot was actually taken from behind the wheel in our car, when we saw it on the side of the road.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • An immature four-spotted pennant dragonfly perches an a dried reed along the coast in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the Florida Panhandle.
    Four-spotted Pennant
  • Female golden-winged skimmer photographed in the Big Cypress National Preserve. The wet prairies here support HUGE populations of dragonflies!
    Golden-Winged Skimmer
  • A tight cluster of panhandle butterworts growing among some small pond cypress trees in Liberty County, Florida.
    Panhandle Butterwort (Pinguicula ion..tha)
  • The yellow butterwort - the only one with a pure yellow flower, blooming on a cool spring morning in the Apalachicola National Forest.
    Yellow Butterwort (Pinguicula lutea)
  • 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
  • Wild pennyroyal grows almost everywhere in SW Florida that is dry and sandy - particularly around palmettos. It also makes a wonderful tea!
    Wild Pennyroyal
  • The stunning oceanblue morning glory growing on the edge of a hardwood hammock in the Florida Everglades on the Anhinga Trail.
    Oceanblue Morning-Glory
  • This member of the mint family can be found in scattered places throughout Florida.
    Lyreleaf Sage
  • Bluehearts are a very common wildflower in Florida and are always a welcome sight!
    Bluehearts
  • Close-up of a blue-eyed grass flower growing in the Florida Everglades.
    Blue-Eyed Grass
  • 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
  • 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
  • Red-shouldered hawk by the Myakka River in Sarasota County. Florida. I followed this one through a flooded wooded area for some time, until it let me get close enough for this shot.
    Red-Shouldered Hawk
  • The spotted underside of the wings and striped body make a nice contrast in white to the gulf fritillary's bright orange overall coloring.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • Viceroy butterfly posing on a leaf in Tallahassee, Fl.
    Viceroy
  • While uncommon in Florida, this pair of common wood nymph butterflies was obviously preoccupied from their normal habit of flying away and landing on the other side of pine trees to escape being photographed!
    Mating Common Wood Nymphs
  • Julia butterfly in the Florida Everglades near Homestead.
    Julia
  • Close-up after a maddening chase through the woods in rural Central Florida.
    Southern Pearly Eye
  • Southern pearly eye chased all over the place then photographed in Paynes Prairie State Park, Alachua County, Fl.
    Southern Pearly Eye
  • Female common buckeye in the Big Cypress National Preserve, off of Loop Road.
    Common Buckeye
  • Female pearl crescent in CREW Marsh Hiking Trails east of Estero, Fl.
    Pearl Crescent
  • Red Spotted Purple seen in Madison County, Florida. It was chased up an old Indian Mound (Letchworth Mound) and somehow managed to be photographed by an out-of-breath photographer!
    Red-Spotted Purple
  • The thing about this particular orchid (and several other distantly related terrestrial orchids) is that it is nearly invisible - even in front of you.
    Cranefly Orchid
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