Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Amazing rock formations at the Blowing Rocks Preserve on Jupiter Island, Florida. This limestone rock wall is an exposed ancient coral reef that gets pounded by the Atlantic Ocean incessantly.
    Blowing Rocks Preserve 1
  • Open prairie in the Big Cypress National Preserve. This is a wonderland for nature photographers, as it is loaded with all kinds of wildlife and rare plants.
    Big Cypress National Preserve
  • There are holes in the wall that lead to the surface, resulting in magnificent sprays of water shooting high into the air when a wave crashes into it just right.
    Blowing Rocks Preserve 2
  • Palms, lilies, ferns, and oaks - all commonly found in Florida wetlands like this one just north of Palmetto, Florida in Manatee County.
    Wetlands of Terra Ceia Preserve
  • This is an amazing place to visit, and it is really hard to think that this is a Florida beach.
    Blowing Rocks Preserve 3
  • Pipewort growing in the Estero Bay Preserve in Lee County, Florida. It is often found growing among palmettos in dry, sandy scrub areas, especially during the wet season.
    Pipewort
  • The pale meadow beauty is a regular spring and summer wildflower in the freshwater wetlands of southern Florida. This one was found in the Estero Bay Preserve of Lee County.
    Pale Meadow Beauty
  • Everglades daisy photographed in the dry season of the Big Cypress National Preserve. Look for them in large numbers in the spring!
    Everglades Daisy
  • Adult caiman found in the Big Cypress National Preserve. Caimans are found in Central and South America, and this photo generated some interest with Florida Fish & Wildlife. Not a great photo, but the only one we got that day.
    Spectacled Caiman
  • Pitted stripeseed wildflower photographed in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Pitted Stripeseed
  • A young great blue heron just beginning to get its adult coloration in the Sweetwater Strand in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Juvenile Great Blue Heron
  • 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)
  • A southern broken-dash skipper feeding on a thistle flower in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in Okeechobee County, Florida.
    Southern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia otho)
  • Photographed from above in the Estero Bay Preserve, the wild coco is one of the most spectacular and common terrestrial orchids to be found in Southern Florida.
    Wild Coco Orchid (Eulophia alta)
  • This deer got very close to us before seeing us and bolting in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in Okeechobee County - one of the most rural areas of Florida.
    White-tailed Deer
  • The largest group of pine-pinks I've ever seen or heard of found growing in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Pine-Pink (Bletia purpurea)
  • Twin-spot skipper butterfly feeding on an unusually pale purple thistle in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Twin-Spot Skipper (Oligoria maculata)
  • This intensely blue male damselfly called a vivid dancer rests on a reed in the Coachella Valley Preserve in Southern California near Twentynine Palms in Riverside County. While harmless to humans, this tiny beauty is a voracious feeder on mosquitos and other flying insects.
    Vivid Dancer
  • Wild coco growing in the Estero Bay Preserve in Lee County, Florida. This classic roadside orchid is regularly found in fall and winter, and can reach up to three feet in height.
    Wild Coco Orchid (Eulophia alta)
  • The fantastically mottled and twisted flowers of the cigar orchid in a massive display deep in the Big Cypress National Preserve. This is by far the largest one I've found, and hopefully will provide plenty of seeds for this orchid to recover after decades of poaching.
    Cigar Orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum)
  • A close-up of a cigar orchid flower against a black diffuser (a photographer's tool for adjusting natural light) in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Cigar Orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum)
  • Lawn orchid photographed on the edge of Loop Road, deep in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Lawn Orchid (Zeuxine strateumatica)
  • Sunrise in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Misty Morning
  • A pair of the many white-tailed deer to be seen in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in Okeechobee County, Florida.
    White-tailed Deer
  • Florida ivory millipede in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve found under an oak canopy in Okeechobee County, Florida.
    Florida Ivory Millipede
  • Eastern kingbird seen in the Big Cypress National Preserve. It kept landing near us and seemed to want to be photographed!
    Eastern Kingbird
  • 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 aquatic leafy bladderwort growing in the flooded prairies of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida.
    Leafy Bladderwort (Utricularia foliosa)
  • 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
  • One can find these beauties everywhere in the springtime in the Big Cypress National Preserve!
    Black-eyed Susan
  • Yellow colicroot growing in the Big Cypress National Preserve along an old tram road. This was a very important medicinal plant used by that native Americans to treat digestive disorders.
    Yellow Colicroot
  • Tarflowers growing in the Estero Bay Preserve in Lee County, Florida. Don't touch - your hands will be sticky for hours after!
    Tarflowers
  • This large showy sabatia is commonly found in freshwater wetlands in South Florida, such as this one in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Bartram's Rosegentian
  • 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
  • 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
  • A stunningly beautiful tricolored heron searches for frogs and small fish on the edge of a "gator pond" in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Southern Florida.
    Tricolored Heron in Breeding Plumage
  • 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)
  • Common grass-pink orchid growing in the Big Cypress National Preserve. Chances are that if you find one of these beauties, you are going to find very many of them in the area.
    Common Grass-Pink Orchid (Calopogon ..sus)
  • Of all the tiny butterflies found in Florida, the little metalmark is by far the easiest to photograph. This one posed beautifully for me in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Little Metalmark
  • 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 wild bald eagle keeping a watchful eye on its nest in the Estero Bay Preserve in SW Florida.
    Bald Eagle and Nest
  • A beautiful gulf fritillary in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • The delicate and beautiful small butterwort is often found growing out of flooded prairies and cypress domes of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Small Butterwort (Pinguicula pumila)
  • The delicate and beautiful small butterwort is often found growing out of flooded prairies and cypress domes of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Small Butterwort (Pinguicula pumila)
  • Alligator Lily in the Big Cypress National Preserve. These are very common in summer when the prairies are completely flooded in the middle of the wet season.
    Alligator Lily
  • A bald cypress tree stands in the normally wet Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida during the dry season. This image was photographed in infrared.
    Bald Cypress in Infrared
  • This attractive aster-loving skipper butterfly is found in the western half of North America from Northern Mexico to Southern Canada, and can be quite variable in appearance,  and coloration, but the distinct wing markings make it easy to identify. This one was found near Jackson, Wyoming where dozens were seen feeding on summer wildflowers in a field.
    Western Branded Skipper
  • This attractive aster-loving skipper butterfly is found in the western half of North America from Northern Mexico to Southern Canada, and can be quite variable in appearance,  and coloration, but the distinct wing markings make it easy to identify. This one was found near Jackson, Wyoming where dozens were seen feeding on summer wildflowers in a field.
    Western Branded Skipper
  • This attractive aster-loving skipper butterfly is found in the western half of North America from Northern Mexico to Southern Canada, and can be quite variable in appearance,  and coloration, but the distinct wing markings make it easy to identify. This one was found near Jackson, Wyoming where dozens were seen feeding on summer wildflowers in a field.
    Western Branded Skipper
  • This small clover can be found in many places - especially lawns. It can spread in to vast carpets of tiny pale pink flowers that can almost look like snow!
    Mexican Clover
  • This wildflower is often found in pinelands and open scrub in South and Central Florida.
    Roserush
  • The Mexican gold poppy is a desert-loving subspecies of the California gold poppy that is found across the American Southwest as well as Mexico, which is known for it's sweeping golden orange carpet of color across the desert after the winter rains. This one was seen near Sonoita Creek in Patagonia, Arizona on a hot spring afternoon.
    Mexican Gold Poppy
  • The Mexican gold poppy is a desert-loving subspecies of the California gold poppy that is found across the American Southwest as well as Mexico, which is known for it's sweeping golden orange carpet of color across the desert after the winter rains. These poppies were seen near Sonoita Creek in Patagonia, Arizona on a hot spring afternoon.
    Mexican Gold Poppies
  • Very similar to the closely-related and common American rubyspot, the canyon rubyspot is a very rare damselfly found only in Arizona. This one was found on a rock sticking out of the water in the Sonoita Creek in Santa Cruz County.
    Canyon Rubyspot
  • Not really a honeysuckle but a member of the acanthus family, the desert honeysuckle is frequently visited by hummingbirds. This one was found growing next to a field in Patagonia, Arizona.
    Desert Honeysuckle
  • This beautifully blue male Sierra Madre dancer (Argia lacrimans) was found and photographed on a rock sticking out of Sonoita Creek in Patagonia, Arizona on a mild spring morning. Like all damselflies in the dancer family (named so because of their jerky, erratic and highly active movements during flight) males tend to be extremely colorful while the females tend to be drab in color. Unlike other damselflies, dancers tend to catch their prey "on the fly" rather than catching prey on the ground, and this probably explains why they fly in such an erratic manner.
    Sierra Madre Dancer
  • This common weed is usually found in disturbed areas, such as this one on the side of US41 in Collier County, Florida.
    Sow Thistle
  • Close-up of Florida's threatened and endangered gopher tortoise. This old male in Estero was the biggest we've ever seen.
    Florida Gopher Tortoise
  • LPI_8625_26_27_28_29_30_31exited-Edi...jpg
  • A pair of baby Great Egrets standing on a branch with their nest deep in a Florida swamp.
    Baby Great Egrets with Nest
  • One of the best natural areas in all of Florida - Fisheating Creek in South-Central Florida. This creek is full of fish and alligators, and can only be accessed by canoe or kayak.
    Fisheating Creek
  • Armadillo photographed in Paynes Prairie State Park, Alachua County, Fl. Armadillos have very poor eyesight, and this one was photographed from a sitting position on the ground. A few stomps on the ground with a boot sent this timid little critter almost into my lap before it finally saw me!
    Nine-banded Armadillo
  • Very large deer (for South Florida) photographed just outside of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Collier County.
    White-tailed Deer
  • Summer love in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Mating Southeastern Lubber Grasshoppers
  • The skittish and shy green heron at the water's surface keeping an eye on minnows in the Sweetwater Strand, Monroe County, Florida.
    Green Heron
  • 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
  • An adult male desert spiny lizard basks in the spring afternoon sun in the desert sand in rural San Bernardino County. This individual had very vivid blues and oranges in the sunlight.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • This spiny desert lizard (probably a  juvenile male)  pauses in its hunt for insects, spiders and the occasional centipede under the fallen palm fronds in the Coachella Valley Oasis.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • Close-up of the male desert spiny lizard. While the females tend to be a more or less sandy color, the males have very dark markings on the neck, with turquoise to blue under the jaw and along the belly - often with orange to yellow markings on the side.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • An adult female desert spiny lizard watches warily from mear the base of a desert fan palm in rural San Bernardino County in Southern California.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • Also known as the spotted wakerobin, the spotted trillium is found in very scattered pockets in undistrubed rich mesic forests in parts of Georgia, Southeastern South Carolina, Alabama, and extreme North Florida.
    Spotted Trillium
  • Native desert fan palms photographed from above on a rocky cliff over a natural oasis in Southern California.
    Desert Fan Palms
  • A view of the massive California redwoods as seen from below near the Pacific coast in Del Norte County, California. These sequoias can grow up to nearly 400' tall and reach an age of 1200-1800 years old. Luckily these ancient trees are protected, and the entire region is listed as a World Heritage site.
    California Redwoods
  • A young native desert fan palm emerges from the Coachella Valley Oasis in the shade of hundreds of other fan palms that reach nearly 50' high. Thanks to the San Andreas Fault, over which this small oasis lies and takes advantage of the cracks in the earth deep below from which groundwater seeps.
    Desert Fan Palm
  • Located directly over the San Andreas Fault, this wonderful natural oasis in Southern California is an ideal habitat for many of the desert's inhabitants in search of shade, water, and the prey that come here to seek refuge.
    Coachella Valley Oasis
  • View from the ground in the middle of a native stand of desert fan palms in the Coachella Valley of Southern California. These towering trees are the only palms native to the western United States, and are also the largest native palm in the contiguous United States. Virtually unchanged for millennia, these living fossils provide shade from the unrelenting sun for many of the desert inhabitants, as well as the promise of nearby water.
    Coachella Valley Oasis
  • Side image of the California kingsnake showing the distinct black and white bands of this native colubrid. These markings have made it a prized species for the pet trade world-wide.
    California Kingsnake
  • As close as I dare in front of an angry  four-foot kingsnake. I dropped to my belly about two feet in front of it and got this shot as it was just about to strike. This was my first snake of the day on this outing to Southern California.
    California Kingsnake
  • This rather aggressive kingsnake was seen hunting through the fallen palm fronds of the Coachella Valley Oasis in Southern California. After spotting it, it took a few tries to catch it, and upon release it reared nicely for me in this strike pose.
    California Kingsnake
  • Detail photograph of the leaves of a flowering spotted triliium, seen here growing in a hardwood forest in southern Georgia. Slightly different from its endangered cousin - the confederate trillium - this one grows fairly high about the fallen leaves of the early spring forest floor.
    Spotted Trillium (Trillium maculatum)
  • The newly named P. pottsii growing in a pine scrub in Citrus County, Florida.
    Pott's Giant Orchid (Pteroglossaspis..sii)
  • 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)
  • How it gets its name. In the summer, these orchids lose all their leaves, and the result looks like a clump of cigars attached to the base of a tree or cypress knee. This massive cigar orchid is the biggest I've ever seen!
    Cigar Orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum)
  • Beautiful pink flowers with a deep burgundy lip make this recent discovery to the orchid world a pleasure to see in the wild.
    Pott's Giant Orchid (Pteroglossaspis..sii)
  • An alligator with its head framed in shimmering light from the sun above.
    American Alligator
  • 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
  • An alligator swims by slowly in the Sweetwater Strand with a great blue heron in its mouth.
    American Alligator with Great Blue Heron
  • Alligator swimming in the Turner River, Collier County, Florida.
    American Alligator
  • An amazing sunset in a salt marsh in Estero, Florida. This shallow water was hot from the sun, and the mud could devour your shoes, but the reflection was gorgeous!
    Estero Bay Salt Marsh
  • Lubber grasshopper nymphs doing what they do best in the Everglades ... devouring foliage.
    Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper Hatc..phs)
  • The incredibly colored lubber grasshopper is a very common sight in South Florida in the summertime. These insects eat anything and everything!
    Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper
  • As I was photographing a group of pine-pinks, I noticed how from above - they look a lot like little pink birds!
    Pine-Pink (Bletia purpurea)
  • 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 group of spotted trilliums  rise above a carpet of rare trout lilies in southern Georgia. Slightly different from its endangered cousin - the confederate trillium - this one grows fairly high about the fallen leaves of the early spring forest floor.
    Spotted Trillium (Trillium maculatum)
  • A pair of baby Great Egrets standing on a branch with their nest deep in a Florida swamp.
    Great White Egret Chicks
  • Close-up of the flower of the Pott's giant orchid.
    Pott's Giant Orchid (Pteroglossaspis..sii)
  • A young adult alligator with a freshly caught great blue heron. An incredible sight to see in person!
    American Alligator with Great Blue Heron
  • One of the best natural areas in all of Florida - Fisheating Creek. Completely rural with no signs of modern life - this is our favorite canoe trip for stepping back into time!
    Fisheating Creek
  • 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)
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