Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • One of "The Needles" - one of three tall basalt spires of volcanic rock near the massive Haystack Rock on Oregon's coast on Cannon Beach. Around about 15 to 16 million years old, these columns are very slowly eroding with every wave and every changing tide.
    The Needles at Sunset
  • This wild seascape was shot as a storm was coming in from the Pacific Ocean at the Washington-Oregon border at the mouth of the Columbia River, photographed from the Oregon side.
    Storm Coming In!
  • A vividly memorable and bitterly cold sunset on Oregon's Cannon Beach.
    Pacific Sunset
  • This massive rock on Oregon's Cannon Beach is one of the world's biggest sea stacks. This one was photographed just at the perfect moment of low tide, sunset and as a storm was coming in at full speed!
    Haystack Rock
  • Dusk settles and sea mist rises among the cliffs and seastacks at Tolovana Beach on the Oregon Coast.
    Light and Shadows
  • One of the most beautiful coastlines in the world - Oregon's Clatsop County from Ecola State Park to Cannon Beach, at sunset.
    The Oregon Coast
  • A long-exposure of my tent in the middle of the night deep in an Oregon forest.
    Tent in the Middle of the Darkest Forest
  • One of "The Needles" - one of three tall basalt spires of volcanic rock near the massive Haystack Rock on Oregon's coast on Cannon Beach. Around about 15 to 16 million years old, these columns are very slowly eroding with every wave and every changing tide.
    The Needles of Cannon Beach
  • A mug of dark ale with bread and pretzels.
    Mug of Ale
  • A glass of dark ale with bread and pretzels.
    Weizen Glass of Ale
  • A mug of dark ale with bread and pretzels.
    Mug of Ale
  • This large dark and beautiful dragonfly flecked in blue with an unusual flattened tail is common in western North America where it hunts for mosquitoes and other flying prey over shady ponds and wetlands. This one was spotted resting on a tree in a forest near Chatcolet Lake in Northern Idaho.
    Paddle-tailed Darner
  • With a wingspan of 3/4" to 1", the tiny and delicate fatal metalmark is a common metalmark butterfly of the southern United States from Texas to California and can be found throughout Mexico and Guatemala. This one was found sunning itself in a prickly pear cactus patch on a warm November day in Rio Grande City, Texas in Starr County.
    Fatal Metalmark (Calephelis nemesis)
  • An insanely vibrant and colorful sky Rosario Strait as the sun sets behind Washington's  Decateur and Lopez Islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. About 35 miles due west in this direction is Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
    Anacortes Landscape-5
  • Double Arch is found in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah and is part of the amazing red alien sandstone landscape that is called the Moab Desert. This area has the largest number of natural stone arches than anywhere else in the world, but what makes this rock formation so unique is that they were both eroded from the very same piece of stone. Most arches are formed from water erosion flowing either within or from the sides of the rock over the millennia, but these two arches were formed from water eroding from the top of the stone, downwards. For this reason they are called pothole arches. Because this photograph was made at the beginning of a sudden storm, you can see the rainwater running down the rock from the top of the arch, and this is the very process that carved these arches to begin with, and that will also eventually one day cause this magnificent national treasure to collapse.
    Double Arch, Moab Desert, Utah
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • After waiting and then almost giving up due to the fog, the sun burned through enough of it for me to get this shot.
    Foggy Dawn and the Burning Sun
  • A perfect specimen of the "old man of the woods" bolete mushroom (Strobilomyces strobilaceus) growing in Goethe State Forest in Central Florida. While edible, many say this native fungus to Europe and North America is delicious, while others say it tastes too much like the forest floor.
    Old Man of the Woods
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there is ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-4.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there is ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-1.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there are ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-5.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there is ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-2.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there are ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-3.jpg
  • An insanely vibrant and colorful sky over Rosario Strait as the sun sets behind Washington's  Decateur and Lopez Islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This view shows Blakely Island to the left and Cypress Island to the right. Photographed from Fidalgo Island in Anacortes.
    Anacortes Landscape-15.jpg
  • One of the many intensely beautiful coastal locations of the Pacific Northwest, the waters around the San Juan and Orcas Islands look like nowhere else in North America.  This view overlooks Rosario Strait from Washington's Fidalgo Island.
    Anacortes Landscape-14.jpg
  • One of the many intensely beautiful coastal locations of the Pacific Northwest, the waters around the San Juan and Orcas Islands look like nowhere else in North America.  This view overlooks Rosario Strait from Washington's Fidalgo Island.
    Anacortes Landscape-13.jpg
  • Golden late afternoon light and a beautiifully vibrant colorful sky over Rosario Strait as the sun sets behind Washington's  Decateur and Lopez Islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This view shows Blakely Island to the left and Cypress Island to the right. Photographed from Fidalgo Island in Anacortes.
    Anacortes Landscape-8
  • An insanely vibrant and colorful sky over Rosario Strait as the sun sets behind Washington's  Decateur and Lopez Islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This view shows Blakely Island to the left and Cypress Island to the right. Photographed from Fidalgo Island in Anacortes.
    Anacortes Landscape-7
  • An insanely vibrant and colorful sky Rosario Strait as the sun sets behind Washington's  Decateur and Lopez Islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. About 35 miles due west in this direction is Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
    Anacortes Landscape-6
  • An insanely vibrant and colorful sky Rosario Strait as the sun sets behind Washington's  Decateur and Lopez Islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. About 35 miles due west in this direction is Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
    Anacortes Landscape-4
  • The last light fades over Rosario Strait and her scatttered islands. Photographed from an exposed cliff on Fidalgo Island, in Anacortes, Washington.
    Anacortes Landscape-3
  • The last light fades over Rosario Strait and her scatttered islands. Photographed from an exposed cliff on Fidalgo Island, in Anacortes, Washington.
    Anacortes Landscape-2
  • The last light fades over Rosario Strait and her scatttered islands. Photographed from an exposed cliff on Fidalgo Island, in Anacortes, Washington.
    Anacortes Landscape-1
  • El Capitan in West Texas' Guadalupe Mountains (100 miles east of El Paso) is the world's premier example of an exposed fossil reef from the Permian Era, dated at about 260 million years old - much older than the golden age of dinosaurs. This whole part of Texas back in this time was once covered in a shallow sea that geologists call the Delaware Sea, in a time when all of Earth's continents were still joined into one supercontinent that we call Pangaea. The entire top of El Capitan is made of limestone formed from the fossilized remains of aquatic plant and animal remains such as corals, algae, shellfish and plankton, and now stands at just above 8000 feet above sea level. The base is formed by layer upon layer of sand laid down over millions of years, in the manner you would expect from the ocean floor resulting in a very typical sedimentary rock formation,  further eroded by millions of years of desert heat, rain, abrasion and wind.
    El Capitan, West Texas
  • Sea stacks tower above the sitka spruce that line the Pacific coastline of Washington's Rialto Beach and Olympic National Park.
    Sea Stacks and Coastline at Rialto B..gton
  • This incredible wild and harsh desert near the Mexican town of Sonoyta is deep in the Ajo Mountain range in Southern Pima County, Arizona. Saguaro cacti, gila monsters, rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, a searing sun are staples of this dangerous part of the Sonoran Desert, and there is a long, deep history among the remnants of the Tohono O'odham Nation who thrived here for centuries, and the ancestral Puebloans who created a vibrant culture here before them.
    Diablo Mountains, Arizona
  • In the dry season, water normally knee to waist high is completely absent in the Fakahatchee Strand of Southwest Florida.
    Fakahatchee Strand
  • Ghost orchid habitat in the Fakahatchee Strand of Southwest Florida.
    Ghost Orchid Habitat in the Fakahatc..rand
  • Saguaro cacti stand tall as sunset fades in the Puerto Blanco Mountains in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the US-Mexico border in Arizona. Truly one of my favorite places in the Sonoran Desert.
    Sunset in the Puerto Blanco Mountains
  • A spectacular sunset at Washington's Ruby Beach. These wild formations in the sand are what remains when Cedar Creek empties directly onto the beach, and the freshwater runoff washes the softer sand and silt into the surf creating these amazing miniature canyons and washes. Next low tide, a whole new micro-landscape will be created.
    Low Tide on Ruby Beach
  • An incredible fiery sunset on a rare sunny winter evening on Oregon's Tillamook Head - just north of Cannon Beach.
    Sunset on Sea Lion Rock, Oregon
  • Some of the amazingly beautiful rock formations photographed here at dusk in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    Moab Rock Formations
  • The famous North and South Window arches at 4am on an incredible moonlit night deep in the Moab Desert in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    North and South Window Arches at Night
  • One of the 2000+ arches found in the Moab Desert in Arches National Park, lit by an extraordinary moon on a hot summer night.
    Moab Desert at Night
  • Balanced Rock silhouetted against the moonlit sky on an extraordinary night in the Moab Desert at about 4am in Eastern Utah.
    Balanced Rock in Silhouette at Night
  • A waning gibbous moon on a warm summer night in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah at nearly 4am. It was so bright out that I could easily navigate between the cacti and jagged rocks without my flashlight!
    Desert Moon
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • A few-flowered shooting star blooms in a mountain bog on the northern face of Washington's Mount Rainier near Lake Mowich.
    Few-Flowered Shooting Star
  • An amazing late afternoon on Ruby Beach on Washington's Olympic Peninsula during the golden hour, when the light is warm and radiant while the evening cools and colors can appear both warm and cool at the same time.
    Ruby Beach
  • Mangrove roots at dusk in Chokoluskee, Florida with the Ten Thousand Islands just beyond.
    Chokoloskee Mangroves
  • Ancient monolithic sentinels of basalt and time, these wondrous sea stacks were photographed near the Pistol River on Oregon's southern coastline.
    Sea Stacks on the Oregon Coast
  • Downtown Tampa at Twilight
    Downtown Tampa at Twilight
  • Sol Duc Falls (pronounced “Soul Duck”) is one of many hundreds of waterfalls found in the Olympic Peninsula’s temperate rain forest in Washington State, and also one of the most beautiful. Somewhat isolated, and off the regular beaten path of most day-hikers (except for locals) and tourists this raging waterfall can be visited year round. The Sol Duc River gets its name from the Quileute (also spelled Quillayute) word roughly translated as “magic waters.”
    Sol Duc Falls
  • Golden hour near the Ajo Mountains in the Sonoran Desert! Big skies, lowlands filled with saguaro and organ pipe cacti, and loads of wildlife and incredible wildflowers - springtime in Arizona is about as beautiful as nature gets!
    Ajo Mountains
  • An incredible fiery sunset on a rare sunny winter evening on Oregon's Tillamook Head - just north of Cannon Beach.
    Sunset on Tillamook Head, Oregon
  • The wonderous rock formations of Utah's Arches National Park look even more spectacular on a wildly moonlit night in the Moab Desert.
    Moab Desert in Moonlight
  • Long exposure of balanced rock in Arches National Park in Utah's Moab Desert lit entirely by moonlight.
    Balanced Rock at Night
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The rocky coastline and the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Washington's wild north coast. British Columbia, Canada can be see on the right across the water.
    Wilderness Coastline
  • The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge which crosses Tampa Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast.
    Sunshine Skyway Bridge at Night
  • The Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee photographed at twilight after a long distracting climb to the top of these peaks.....
    Into the Blue
  • Spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • An unusually short yet still flowering spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • A trio of spotted coralroot orchids growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • Spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • Spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • Spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • Spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • Spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • Spotted coralroot orchid growing in the coastal forest on Fidalgo Island. These beautifully spotted terrestrials are found across North America in northern forests from the Pacific Northwest to Newfoundland. Like most coralroots, they are often found on the forest floor in areas devoid of other low-growth/forest floor vegetation. I usually find them by habitat-type, as they seem to grow best in places where a bit of sunlight reaches a permanently dark forest floor, and can be spectacular when a beam of light penetrates the darkness to reveal this beautiful orchid standing tall. Because it lacks chlorophyll, the leaves of this plant do not use photosynthesis to create its own food, but unusually the ovaries of the flower can, in very small amounts. The main source of nutrients is like that of many other non-green plants (called myco-heterotrophs) - they parasitize the vegetative part of underground fungi, in this case - the mushroom family Russulaceae.
    Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza macu..ata)
  • This pale male dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis oreganus) is one of six subspecies of this relative of New World sparrows found throughout the Pacific Northwest. Sometimes referred to as the Oregon Junco, these birds have a noticeably dark "hood" or head compared to others of the same species found across North America. This one was photographed<br />
 just south of Seattle, Washington.
    Dark-Eyed Junco
  • One of the first flowers to be seen in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Indian plum fills the forest with clusters of beautiful showy white flowers that soon develop small berries that turn from peach to red and finally dark blue or purple when ripe. Although not really a plum, it is a unique fruit that is pleasantly similar in taste to cherries or watermelon. Historically, local Native American tribes would mix these berries with generous amounts of oolichan (an oil from a local oily fish - similar to a smelt) and was popular at feasts. The bark was also used as a medicinal tea. This one was one fo the first of the season, showing itself along side Soos Creek in Kent, Washington, about 25 miles south of Seattle on a chilly, wet March afternoon.
    Indian Plum Blossoms
  • This unusual and moth-like native to Mexico just barely reaches into parts of Texas' southern tip and have very distinctive "hooked" forewings. Males are almost "dark chocolate" in coloration, while females are significantly lighter in color. These were found feeding on a local native wildflower in the Rio Grande Valley called Siam weed that is extremely toxic to most animals, but butterflies and bees love it.
    Sickle-Winged Skipper - 2
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • Just about to bloom! This beautiful lupine is only recognizable from the many other lupines that grow in the area by its silvery-green, fuzzy stems and leaves. When the flowers show themselves, the colors will range from a dark pink, soft lilac or a bright purple. Lots of variation in colors of the same species often make lupines very frustrating and difficult to identify. This one was growing in a small open patch next to Umtanum Creek in Kittitas County, WA.
    Silky Lupine
  • Typical habitat for the barred owl. Every time I've seen them in the wild, they have been in dark, heavily wooded forests or swamps.
    Barred Owl
  • These inconspicuous little mushrooms get a very cool name from the fact that if you break the stems, they bleed a dark blood-red fluid. I found these growing inside of a dead tree (photographed here after pulling away some dead growth) on West Tiger Mountain - just twenty miles southeast of Seattle, Washington.
    Bleeding Fairy Helmet
  • Sometimes the typically dark red/maroon flower of the confederate trillium is yellow in some specimens. This rare version of a very rare endangered plant was reason enough for me to get a shot of an otherwise imperfect specimen.
    Confederate Trillium (Trillium reliquum)
  • Although this pricklypoppy is not colored red, the flowers of this South Texas native ranges from dark purple to red, bright pink, fuchsia, light pink to pure white. This one was found in a massive disturbed field with several hundred others in Harlingen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley.
    Red Pricklypoppy (Argemone sanguinea)
  • The yellowfoot dapperling mushroom is a pretty little mushroom found in coniferous and broadleaf forests around the world, but most commonly encountered in the Pacific Northwest and Europe. It has a somewhat shaggy appearance even when emerging from the forest floor with a very distinctive dark brown center on its scaly cap. Be wary with this one when foraging as the edibility of this species isn't clear, but it is related to some species that are quite toxic to humans when eaten. This one was found with many others in the forested mountains above Enumclaw, Washington on a very wet, cold October afternoon.
    Yellowfoot Dapperling - 1
  • The yellowfoot dapperling mushroom is a pretty little mushroom found in coniferous and broadleaf forests around the world, but most commonly encountered in the Pacific Northwest and Europe. It has a somewhat shaggy appearance even when emerging from the forest floor with a very distinctive dark brown center on its scaly cap. Be wary with this one when foraging as the edibility of this species isn't clear, but it is related to some species that are quite toxic to humans when eaten. This one was found with many others in the forested mountains above Enumclaw, Washington on a very wet, cold October afternoon.
    Yellowfoot Dapperling - 2
  • This unusual and moth-like native to Mexico just barely reaches into parts of Texas' southern tip and have very distinctive "hooked" forewings. Males are almost "dark chocolate" in coloration, while females are significantly lighter in color. These were found feeding on a local native wildflower in the Rio Grande Valley called Siam weed that is extremely toxic to most animals, but butterflies and bees love it.
    Sickle-Winged Skipper - 1
  • This tiny, incredibly small bright yellow mushroom is common in Western Europe, but can be found in North America in cold, wet, montane environments. This one found on top of a moss-covered log next to the Greenwater River in Washington's Cascade Mountains among the patches of snow. It is purported that this species can even exhibit some bioluminescent properties in the dark!
    Yellowleg Bonnet (Mycena epipterygia)
  • One of the most unusual plants I've ever seen, the copper ladies-tresses orchid literally looks like it could be made out of copper. Extremely rare in the United States and almost impossible to see in the dark, remote forests where they are found, this tiny terrestrial orchids can be found only in a few scattered locations in Florida, but is much more common in the Caribbean Islands. This one was found (and almost accidentally stepped on) in rural Central Florida.
    Copper Ladies'-Tresses (Mesadenus lu..nus)
  • Wind scorpions get their name because they are "fast like the wind". While related to scorpions, they fit into their own category or arachnids which also includes spiders. These highly aggressive solitary predators live in very dry, arid habitats where they hunt at night by actively zigzagging across across the ground or sand until they encounter and overpower an unfortunate insect, spider, scorpion or even the occasional lizard. Once pinned down with the two large front legs (pedipalps), the wind scorpion doesn't even wait to kill its prey. It will immediately start tearing into its meal with the two dark pincers near the mouth (they look like fangs) and devour it as quickly as possible, before the wind scorpion might in turn become the prey of some even larger predator. This one was stalked/chased and photographed in rural Cibola County, New Mexico, about 70 miles west of Albuquerque.
    Pale Windscorpion
  • Wind scorpions get their name because they are "fast like the wind". While related to scorpions, they fit into their own category or arachnids which also includes spiders. These highly aggressive solitary predators live in very dry, arid habitats where they hunt at night by actively zigzagging across across the ground or sand until they encounter and overpower an unfortunate insect, spider, scorpion or even the occasional lizard. Once pinned down with the two large front legs (pedipalps), the wind scorpion doesn't even wait to kill its prey. It will immediately start tearing into its meal with the two dark pincers near the mouth (they look like fangs) and devour it as quickly as possible, before the wind scorpion might in turn become the prey of some even larger predator. This one was stalked/chased and photographed in rural Cibola County, New Mexico, about 70 miles west of Albuquerque.
    Pale Windscorpion
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • Common along the entire west coast of North America, this dark little member of the sandpiper family was found grooming and bathing in a tidal pool among some rocks just outside of Los Angeles.
    Black Turnstone
  • Common along the entire west coast of North America, this dark little member of the sandpiper family was found grooming and bathing in a tidal pool among some rocks just outside of Los Angeles.
    Black Turnstone
  • Common along the entire west coast of North America, this dark little member of the sandpiper family was found grooming and bathing in a tidal pool among some rocks just outside of Los Angeles.
    Black Turnstone
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