Leighton Photography & Imaging

  • Home
  • Website
  • About
  • Portfolio
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • How to Download
  • Galleries
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x

Search Results

Refine Search
Match all words
Match any word
Prints
Personal Use
Royalty-Free
Rights-Managed
(leave unchecked to
search all images)
Next
142 images found
twitterlinkedinfacebook

Loading ()...

  • Last light as the sun dips in into the Gulf of Mexico on Cape San Blas.
    Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico
  • The "umbrella-less" short and stumpy gulf pitcher plant in flower growing in a roadside ditch in the Apalachicola National Forest.
    Gulf Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarraceni..sea)
  • 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
  • A beautiful gulf fritillary in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • The gulf purple pitcher plant is the only Florida pitcher plant that collects rainwater - possibly as part of its insect-catching strategy.
    Gulf Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarraceni..sea)
  • The beautiful flower of the gulf purple pitcher plant, growing in the Apalachicola National Forest - world renowned for it's carnivorous plant biodiversity.
    Gulf Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarraceni..sea)
  • A gulf fritillary butterfly feeds on a buttonbush flower in Southern Georgia.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • 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
  • Gulf fritillary on the beach in Naples, Fl.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • Close-up of a single pitcher - which is a actually modified leaf. Chemical attractants lure unsuspecting insects, and the downward pointing hairs  on the "ramp" lead them into the trap. Here enzymes within the collected rainwater will digest its prey and provide the necessary nutrients needed for growth and propagation.
    Gulf Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarraceni..sea)
  • The Boca Grande Lighthouse on Florida's Gulf Coast on Gasparilla Island.
    Boca Grande Lighthouse
  • St. Marks Lighthouse on Florida's North Gulf Coast.
    St. Marks Lighthouse
  • St. Marks Lighthouse on Florida's North Gulf Coast.
    St. Marks Lighthouse
  • St. Marks Lighthouse on Florida's North Gulf Coast.
    St. Marks Lighthouse
  • The beautiful Florida Gulf Coast just south of Tallahassee, Florida where everything is still wild and free!
    St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
  • Low tide at Mashes Sands on Florida's Gulf Coast. As part of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge - it is protected from development.
    Mashes Sands
  • Salt marshes along the Florida Panhandle Coast. This brackish waterway to the Gulf of Mexico plays a key role in the life cycle of most of our marine and estuary sealife.
    Carrabelle Salt Marshes
  • Photograph of the Gulf of Mexico, photographed from atop one of the 25-foot dunes that parallel the coast (using the boardwalk of course - it is illegal to walk on the dunes themselves for several ecological and environmental reasons).
    St. Joseph Peninsula Dunes
  • A wildly pink sunrise on a rare below-freezing winter morning over the Ochlockonee Bay on Florida's northern Gulf Coast.
    Ochlockonee Bay Sunrise
  • A beautiful male brown-headed cowbird on the edge of Eagle Harbor in rural Gulf County, Florida.
    Brown-Headed Cowbird
  • Close-up of the flower of Schnell's pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava var. rugelii) found growing in the Apalachicola National Forest in Northern Florida. This stunning carnivorous insect-eating plant is found in seepage bogs across  the East gulf coastal plain from Alabama to Virginia, and is a subspecies of the more common yellow pitcher plant.
    Flower of Schnell's Pitcher Plant
  • Despite it not actually being a crab, the completely harmless Atlantic horseshoe crab is an ancient marine arthropod more closely related to spiders and scorpions. Extremely common in Florida, this big female was in the shallows on the northern Gulf of Mexico on Bald Point, just outside of Ochlockonee Bay.
    Atlantic Horseshoe Crab
  • Evidence of a running bobcat on North Florida's St. Joseph Peninsula on the Gulf Coast. Here, there is a large population of these native wildcats, as well as a huge variety of resident and migratory birds. Some of the area's most endangered rodents found here burrow into these rare dunes for shelter, as you can see here.
    Bobcat Tracks across the Sand Dunes
  • A lone palm stands of a gorgeous deserted beach on Florida's St. Joseph Peninsula on the northern Gulf Coast.
    Cabbage Palm on St. Joseph Peninsula
  • One thing you never think about when you think of Florida is sand dunes, yet on the Florida Panhandle there is a long thin finger of land that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico that is covered in high sweeping sand dunes!
    The Dunes of St. Joeseph's Peninsula
  • The old Boca Grande Lighthouse on Florida's Gulf Coast.
    Old Boca Grande Lighthouse
  • A distant thunderhead over the Gulf of Mexico at Mashes Sands in North Florida.
    Offshore Storm
  • Mashes Sands near the mouth of the Ochlockonee River in North Florida on the Gulf Coast.
    Clouds over Mashes Sands
  • This beautiful sunset was photographed in North Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. The tree stumps in the water are old pine trees after hurricanes and erosion have turned the forest into coastline.
    Cape San Blas Sunset
  • A setting sun in all its glory over the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. I was trying to create a sense of drama and movement with this photograph.
    Dramatic Sunset on Cape San Blas
  • Old Port Boca Grande Lighthouse - Now a museum, this Gasparilla Island Lighthouse on Florida's West Coast is said to be haunted by not one, but two ghosts!
    Old Port Boca Grande Lighthouse
  • Another day ends beautifully with a dazzling sunset over Apalachicola Bay on the Florida Panhandle.
    All's Well That Ends Well.....
  • This endemic subspecies of the eastern box turtle is found only in Florida except for a few small pockets in the extreme southern part of Georgia. I found this female in the oak scrub in the bluffs above the Apalachicola River in an extremely rural part of northern Florida.
    Florida Box Turtle
  • Sunset on Lover's Key in Lee County, Florida. Beautiful!.
    Lover's Key
  • This endemic subspecies of the eastern box turtle is found only in Florida except for a few small pockets in the extreme southern part of Georgia. I found this female in the oak scrub in the bluffs above the Apalachicola River in an extremely rural part of northern Florida.
    Florida Box Turtle
  • This endemic subspecies of the eastern box turtle is found only in Florida except for a few small pockets in the extreme southern part of Georgia. I found this female in the oak scrub in the bluffs above the Apalachicola River in an extremely rural part of northern Florida.
    Florida Box Turtle
  • This endemic subspecies of the eastern box turtle is found only in Florida except for a few small pockets in the extreme southern part of Georgia. I found this female in the oak scrub in the bluffs above the Apalachicola River in an extremely rural part of northern Florida.
    Florida Box Turtle
  • Leighton Photography00031.jpg
  • Leighton Photography00030.jpg
  • Leighton Photography00029.jpg
  • Black & White image of driftwood and tree stumps on a rural beach on Cape San Blas, Florida.
    Timeless Florida Coast
  • Red Mangroves on an idyllic day on Sanibel Island.
    The Mangrove Coast
  • Cabbage Palm on Sanibel Island taken from a very relaxing position on the beach!
    The Best View
  • Portrait of the beach on Sanibel Island.
    Land, Sea & Air
  • Lover's Key in Lee County, Florida. Just in the right spot at the right time.
    Sunset at Lover's Key
  • A storm brewing off of Sanibel Island.
    Sanibel Storm
  • Sunset on Lover's Key in Lee County, Florida. Beautiful!
    Lover's Key Sunset
  • Caspersen Beach in Venice, Florida. This is one of the best beaches for finding fossils, particularly shark teeth.
    Caspersen Beach
  • A perfect winter day on Captiva Island, Florida.
    Winter on Captiva Island
  • Red Mangroves along the edge of Hickory Island in Bonita Springs, Florida.
    Hickory Island Mangroves
  • A perfect day on Sanibel Island on Lighthouse Point.
    Sky, Sea, and Sand
  • Driftwood and tree stumps on a rural beach on Cape San Blas, Florida.
    Timeless Florida Coast
  • Sunset photographed in Bonita Springs, Florida in June 2009. It was one of those strange evening skies that was incredibly colorful and busy. Glad I was out working that night!
    Bonita Springs Sunset
  • One of the most beautiful places in all of Florida - Cedar Key, at sunset.
    Sunset over Cedar Key
  • A wildly orange sunset over St. George Island on the Florida Panhandle. Even though the mosquitoes were awful and something big was buzzing around my head, the end result was  very worth it.
    Tangerine Sunset
  • A fantastic cloudscape at the beach in the evening. Nothing more beautiful than a sunset with an incoming storm on the beach!
    Mashes Sands Storm
  • A thunderstorm looms over St. Joe's Bay on the Florida Panhandle.
    St. Joe's Bay
  • A striped lynx spider waits patiently for something to be drawn to these false asphodel flowers in the Apalachicola National Forest in North Florida.
    Striped Lynx Spider
  • Huge Schnell's pitcher plants growing in the Apalachicola National Forest. These carnivorous plants grow in poor soil, and get what they can't get from the soil by trapping and digesting insects inside these long trumpet-like leaves, which are lured by a sweet-smelling nectar. They are absolutely incredible to see in the wild!
    Schnell's Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia ..lii)
  • A field of Schnell's pitcher plants with some yellow pitcher plants in the foreground in the Apalachicola National Forest. Among these were numerous other types of carnivorous plants, as well as a couple types of terrestrial orchids. This is a regular stop for us when we are in the area, and something that really must be experienced. No photograph can do it justice!
    Schnell's Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia ..lii)
  • Florida's ghost crab - the Atlantic ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata) is frequently seen along white sandy beaches, usually in association with sea oats, where the burrows can be found where the sea oats meet the open beach, well above the high-tide mark.
    Ghost Crab
  • Sunset on Lover's Key in Lee County, Florida. Beautiful!
    Boating at Lover's Key
  • A pair of Monarch butterflies "getting busy" on some sea oats making the next generation of monarchs that will continue their multi-generational migration to or from Mexico to the Northern United States and Canada. These were found and photographed on Pensacola Beach on the Florida Panhandle, which is very likely their last stop on dry land before they fly southwest over the Gulf of Mexico over hundreds of miles of open water.
    Monarch Butterfly Couple
  • A pair of Monarch butterflies "getting busy" on some sea oats making the next generation of monarchs that will continue their multi-generational migration to or from Mexico to the Northern United States and Canada. These were found and photographed on Pensacola Beach on the Florida Panhandle, which is very likely their last stop on dry land before they fly southwest over the Gulf of Mexico over hundreds of miles of open water.
    Mating Monarch Butterflies
  • An adult male anhinga in breeding plumage drying his wings in the Florida Everglades near Homestead. Because anhingas don't have the oil glands found in other aquatic birds like ducks, gulls, swans, etc, when they come out of the water, they will need to dry their wings in order to fly. The advantage of not having this seeming important oil so essential to buoyancy is that when underwater, the anhinga becomes an extremely fast and agile swimmer and a very efficient fish hunter. Throughout the Gulf Coast, this is a very typical sight: an anhinga perched above water,  wings spread drying in the wind and heat.
    Male Anhinga
  • Because anhingas don't have the oil glands found in other aquatic birds like ducks, gulls, swans, etc, when they come out of the water, they will need to dry their wings in order to fly. The advantage of not having this seeming important oil so essential to buoyancy is that when underwater, the anhinga becomes an extremely fast and agile swimmer and a very efficient fish hunter. Throughout the Gulf Coast, this is a very typical sight: an anhinga perched above water,  wings spread drying in the wind and heat. This one was photographed in the middle of Fort Myers, Florida.
    Anhinga
  • Related to pelican and cormorants, this adult male anhinga in non-breeding plumage perches above a lake in Fort Myers, Florida. Common along the wetlands of the Gulf Coast on the United States, this fish-specialist is widely scattered across Central America and can be found throughout the whole of the Amazon River Basin in South America.
    Male Anhinga
  • Related to pelican and cormorants, this male anhinga is in breeding full plumage in the Florida Everglades. Common along the wetlands of the Gulf Coast on the United States, this fish-specialist is widely scattered across Central America and can be found throughout the whole of the Amazon River Basin in South America.
    Male Anhinga
  • Related to pelican and cormorants, this male anhinga is in full breeding plumage in the Florida Everglades. Common along the wetlands of the Gulf Coast on the United States, this fish-specialist is widely scattered across Central America and can be found throughout the whole of the Amazon River Basin in South America.
    Male Anhinga
  • Because anhingas don't have the oil glands found in other aquatic birds like ducks, gulls, swans, etc, when they come out of the water, they will need to dry their wings in order to fly. The advantage of not having this seemingly important oil so essential to buoyancy is that when underwater, the anhinga becomes an extremely fast and agile swimmer and a very efficient fish hunter. Throughout the Gulf Coast, this is a very typical sight: an anhinga perched above water,  wings spread drying in the wind and heat. This adult male was photographed in the Six-mile Cypress Slough in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Male Anhinga
  • Also known as pinkladies, pink evening primrose and Mexican evening primrose, this wonderfully beautiful native to the Central United States and Northeastern Mexico is spreading across all of the lower half of the continental United States from coast to coast, mostly due to its use in gardens and hardy nature. These were photographed just a few feet from the beach in North Florida's St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf of Mexico.
    Showy Evening Primrose (Oenothera sp..osa)
  • Also known as pinkladies, pink evening primrose and Mexican evening primrose, this wonderfully beautiful native to the Central United States and Northeastern Mexico is spreading across all of the lower half of the continental United States from coast to coast, mostly due to its use in gardens and hardy nature. These were photographed just a few feet from the beach in North Florida's St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf of Mexico.
    Showy Evening Primrose (Oenothera sp..osa)
  • A trio of black-necked stilts wading through the salt marshes of North Florida's St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in search of juvenile fish and small crustaceans, just outside of Tallahassee on the Gulf Coast.
    A Trio of Black-necked Stilts
  • Large for a sandpiper, and of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Large for a sandpiper, and of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Large for a sandpiper, and of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Large for a sandpiper, and of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Large for a sandpiper, and one of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Often seen diving to depths of more than 40 feet (suspected at going even deeper to 150 feet or more), the Brandt's cormorant is found along North America's Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Gulf of California in Mexico where it hunts for fish above the ocean floor. It is often associated with sea lions. This one was seen near Los Angeles' Del Rey Lagoon on a sunny California spring morning.
    Brandt's Cormorant
  • Often seen diving to depths of more than 40 feet (suspected at going even deeper to 150 feet or more), the Brandt's cormorant is found along North America's Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Gulf of California in Mexico where it hunts for fish above the ocean floor. It is often associated with sea lions. This one was seen near Los Angeles' Del Rey Lagoon on a sunny California spring morning.
    Brandt's Cormorant
  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This female photographed resting in a mesquite bush near La Joya, New Mexico - is not as flashy and brightly-colored as her male counterpart, but is very active among the desert wildflowers and somewhat aggressive to anyone getting in her way!
    Black-Chinned Hummingbird
  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This male photographed near La Joya, New Mexico - if seen in the right position in the sunlight reflects bright iridescent feathers with an electric magenta throat!
    Black-Chinned Hummingbird
  • The common red elderberry is found throughout most of North America, excluding the Gulf coastal plain and the states of South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas. Not as often used as it once was in the past, elderberries are known to make fantastic jellies and wines. Caution should be used before consuming them - unless properly cooked, elderberries can cause nausea in most people, and the leaves and bark contain toxic compounds that produce arsenic. This one was found and photographed in a small wooded area just south of Seattle, Washington.
    Red Elderberry
  • A spectacular male red-winged blackbird shows off his shoulder patches in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on North Florida's Gulf Coast.
    Male Red-Winged Blackbird
  • The zephyr lily - also known as the atamasco or rain lily, is a gorgeous springtime white native amaryllis found throughout the American Southeast. It range reaches from Maryland to Mississippi - including any state between that borders the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. They are usually found in coastal wetland areas with in or near swamps or bogs with acidic soils. This one was found growing in the Florida Panhandle just south of Tallahassee in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
    Zephyr Lily
  • Close-up portrait of a laughing gull in Apalachicola, Florida on the northern Gulf Coast. A shrimp boat had just pulled in to port, and this sneaky opportunist was just waiting for an easy meal!
    Laughing Gull Portrait
  • An adult male ruddy turnstone is almost in complete breeding plumage on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Carrabelle, Florida on a windy overcast April afternoon.
    Ruddy Turnstone
  • The brown pelican is one of eight species of pelicans found around the world, and is also the smallest. This one was photographed on the St. Joseph Peninsula of Florida's northern Gulf Coast.
    Brown Pelican
  • This very common aquatic plant is in the American Southeastern Atlantic and Gulf states with a range extrending from Mayland to Texas and including Oklahoma. Also known as the duck-potato for the tuber-like roots, it is an important food source for ducks and other waterfowl.
    Lanceleaf Arrowhead
  • The beach morning glory is a white, large flowering vine comon on the sandy beaches of the Southeast which helps retains sand on beaches to prevent erosion. These morning bloomers were photographed<br />
 on Florida's northern Gulf Coast on St. George Island near Apalachicola.
    Beach Morning Glory
  • From the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of Mexico to the Carolinas, the beach morning glory is a white, large flowering vine comon on the sandy beaches of the Southeast. This one was one of many blooming early on a springtime Florida morning on St. George Island.
    Beach Morning Glory
  • The parrot gladiolus is one of the ever-increasing number of once-invasive, now naturalized species of plants that have become wild and are commonly found throughout parts of North America. This gladiolus is native to South Africa and are becoming increasingly common throughout the American Southeast. This one was photographed south of Thomasville, Georgia. The largest populations I've seen in the wild were in the salt marshes of Florida's northern Gulf Coast.
    Parrot Gladiolus
  • Cabbage Palm on Florida's Gulf Coast - with a little vintage makeover.
    Vintage Palm
  • Very large yellow pitcher plants growing on the edge of Tate's Hell State Forest in Gulf County on the Florida Panhandle coast. Many of these had spiders' traps inside - robbing the plants of their ability to catch insects.
    Yellow Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia flava)
  • A Florida favorite! A brown pelican in winter plumage flying over Eagle Harbor on the St. Joseph Peninsula on the Gulf Coast.
    Brown Pelican
  • A lovely little sanderling in its winter plumage on the shore of the St. Joseph Peninsula on North Florida's Gulf Coast.
    Sanderling
  • A pair of lesser scaup on a record-breaking cold morning in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. It was a whopping 13°F (-11°C) on the North Florida Gulf Coast!
    Lesser Scaup
  • Common in California and the upper Atlantic Coast, these terns on occasion will migrate across the mainland to the Gulf of Mexico in winter - as was the case with this tern.
    Sandwich Tern in Flight
  • Wet osprey with the freshest of catches on North Florida's Gulf Coast.
    Osprey with Fresh Catch
  • An impossibly red-headed turkey vulture patrols the Gulf Coast in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in North Florida in search of carrion.
    Turkey Vulture
Next