Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • A raft of surf scoters drifts by on Washington's Hood Canal on a brisk late afternoon. A type of large diving sea duck, the drakes (males) have beautifully bright orange and white bills with a black spot while typical in most ducks, the hens (females) have a rather drab coloration by comparison. Surf scoters can be found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, where they typically breed in the tundra of Alaska and Northern Canada, and are very occasionally seen on the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes and even the British Isles.
    Surf Scoters
  • A raft of surf scoters drifts by on Washington's Hood Canal on a brisk late afternoon. A type of large diving sea duck, the drakes (males) have beautifully bright orange and white bills with a black spot while typical in most ducks, the hens (females) have a rather drab coloration by comparison. Surf scoters can be found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, where they typically breed in the tundra of Alaska and Northern Canada, and are very occasionally seen on the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes and even the British Isles.
    Surf Scoters
  • Not too long ago I was traveling across Oregon Coast on a nature photography trip with an old friend and one of the places he wanted to check out was Thor's Well, located about midway down the state's incredible coastline at a place called Cape Perpetua. <br />
<br />
Formed out of natural volcanic rock (basalt), this wild geologic anomaly was probably formed by a cave beaten into the cliff that eventually collapsed forming this unusual seeming deep hole in the ground but is actually open underwater to the surf. This causes water to explode violently upward through the "well", followed by the foamy water to duck back down into the depths of the earth.<br />
<br />
It was utterly fascinating, even if I did get hit and completely soaked by one of the infamous rogue waves of the Pacific Ocean.
    Thor's Well
  • Snail Rock with a lone bald eagle perched on top on the Makah Indian Reservation near Neah Bay, Washington. This huge rock stands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca which separates Washington State from British Columbia, Canada (which you can clearly see in the background). When the tide is lower, more exposed rock on either side of it (where the surf is) makes it look like a giant snail!
    Snail Rock
  • A truly breathtaking sunset with a wildly-colored sky was my reward for waiting out the sunset on this otherwise, hazy/foggy evening on the Oregon Coast near the Pistol River. Just as the light was fading and nearly gone, the fog cleared up just enough for me to wade out into the surf with a heavy tripod to get this shot.
    Oregon Sea Stacks in Fading Sunset
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemone
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide as they closed up while the tide receeded on Crescent Beach.
    Giant Green Anemones at Low Tide
  • A perfect combination of low tide, the last rays of sunlight, and a spectacular  location made for a very satisfying photograph with rippled sand and ultra-vivid colors as I waited out the sunset on Washington's Ruby Beach in the Olympic National Park on the Pacific Ocean.
    Ruby Beach at Last Light
  • After spending much of the day waiting for the fog and haze to lift, I managed to get this shot while walking up and down the beach just outside of the Del Norte Redwoods State Park in Northern California.
    Misty Late Afternoon on Crescent Bea..rnia
  • 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
  • The rocky coastline of Cape Flattery is located at the most extreme northwestern corner of the contiguous United States. Millennia of pounding waves, tides and erosion have sculpted the landscape into something from a fairytale.
    Sea Stacks of Cape Flattery
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemone
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemone
  • These beautiful coldwater-loving anemones are a shocking green color and are found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemones
  • California sea lions and Steller's sea lions share space and safety as a storm rolls in on Oregon's Simpson Reef in Coos County. These huge marine mammals will regularly group together in bad weather and take shelter on the numerous rocks found just off the beach all along the West Coast of North America. The lighter brown sea lions are the Steller's sea lions which are on the endangered species list, while the dark brown sea lions are the common California sea lions.
    Sea Lion Colony
  • Very early on a chilly fall morning, just before sunrise on the Olympic Peninsula's Rialto Beach on Washington's Pacific Coast. Stands of dead sitka spruce trees line the shore (standing and fallen or washed ashore) on one of North America's most spectacular remote beaches.
    Rialto Beach at Dawn
  • Standing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Seal Rock is a favorite resting place for various species of seals, sea lions and seabirds on the on the Makah Indian Reservation near the Northwestern tip of Washington State.
    Seal Rock
  • The Oregon Coast is renowned for its natural beauty, sea stacks, and gorgeous sunsets. I caught this rock formation in the late afternoon "golden light" and focused on the interplay between light and shadow.
    Oregon Sea Stacks in Golden Light
  • There is nothing like the California Coastline. That was evident here as I climbed high atop the cliffs in the Del Norte Redwoods State Park on a windy, hazy November afternoon. It just takes your breath away to stand in this spot in person!
    Del Norte Coast, Northern California
  • The Devil's Backbone juts out into the Pacific Ocean on the Southern Oregon Coast making a shallow protected cove and sandy beach. It seems that just about every mile along this coastline has jaw-dropping views and  rock formations (called sea stacks), even if the weather is just a little bit hazy, like this day was.
    Devil's Backbone, Oregon Coast
  • This purely wild coastline on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, is the meeting point where the Pacific Ocean joins the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
    Washington's Rocky Coast
  • A breathtaking view of Cape Flattery and the Pacific Ocean in Washington's most extreme Northwest corner.
    Cape Flattery
  • 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
  • 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
  • This is an amazing place to visit, and it is really hard to think that this is a Florida beach.
    Blowing Rocks Preserve 3
  • Sometimes there are patterns that emerge in nature that you can't help but notice. I saw this wavy, wet pattern of sand and salt water at Crescent Beach just outside of Crescent City, California.
    Surf, Sand and Water
  • A beautiful snowy egret prowls the surf during the golden hour of a South Lido Beach, Florida late afternoon.
    Snowy Egret
  • One of the many unusual and unique marine invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest, the mossy chiton is a nocturnal hunter of the intertidal zones of the rocky coastline. Recently, biologists have discovered that because they are sometimes above water, and sometimes underwater, their very primitive mineralized eyes have evolved in such a way that they can actually see images, and when they detect a predator coming close, they can react quickly and tighten their muscles, securing themselves to a rock or other hard surface, leaving them protected under their eight-pieced plated shells. This one was found on the sand above the surf line at low tide near Neah Bay, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula.
    Mossy Chiton
  • 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
  • Snowy egret hunting for small crabs and fish in the surf on Sanibel Island.
    Snowy Egret