Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Snow-covered subalpine meadows and evergreens on Mount Rainier's southern slope.
    Trees in Winter
  • Snow-covered subalpine meadows and evergreens on Mount Rainier's southern slope.
    Winter Trees
  • This is a fantastic example of a nursery log. Many large trees start off at a disadvantage, and some trees seem to do best when they start off as a tiny sapling on top of a fallen log. As these saplings grow with more access to sunlight, the strongest outcompete the weakest and eventually the roots will reach the soil, resulting in a line of trees with exposed roots. In this example, a line of growing Sitka spruce trees flourish on what once was a huge fallen log, but is now decomposed by time and decay.
    Nursery Log
  • Easily one of the most beautiful of all of the hardwoods on the Pacific Coast, the Pacific madrone is a member of the heath family and closely related to rhododendrons, and is the most northerly broadleaf evergreen trees on the continent. Early Spanish settlers in California recognized it as similar to the Mediterreanean madrone (or madroño) and later English settlers referred to it as the strawberry tree, as the sweet (and slightly toxic) berries are used to make a "strawberry-tasting" liquor called crême d'arbouse. The most striking feature of this tree is the wonderful bark that looks painted, with hues of red, orange, brown and black. Nothing else in the Pacific Northwest looks anything like it.
    Pacific Madrone Bark
  • Easily one of the most beautiful of all of the hardwoods on the Pacific Coast, the Pacific madrone is a member of the heath family and closely related to rhododendrons, and is the most northerly broadleaf evergreen trees on the continent. Early Spanish settlers in California recognized it as similar to the Mediterreanean madrone (or madroño) and later English settlers referred to it as the strawberry tree, as the sweet (and slightly toxic) berries are used to make a "strawberry-tasting" liquor called crême d'arbouse. The most striking feature of this tree is the wonderful bark that looks painted, with hues of red, orange, brown and black. Nothing else in the Pacific Northwest looks anything like it.
    Pacific Madrone Flowers
  • Easily one of the most beautiful of all of the hardwoods on the Pacific Coast, the Pacific madrone is a member of the heath family and closely related to rhododendrons, and is the most northerly broadleaf evergreen trees on the continent. Early Spanish settlers in California recognized it as similar to the Mediterreanean madrone (or madroño) and later English settlers referred to it as the strawberry tree, as the sweet (and slightly toxic) berries are used to make a "strawberry-tasting" liquor called crême d'arbouse. The most striking feature of this tree is the wonderful bark that looks painted, with hues of red, orange, brown and black. Nothing else in the Pacific Northwest looks anything like it.
    Pacific Madrone Flowers
  • Easily one of the most beautiful of all of the hardwoods on the Pacific Coast, the Pacific madrone is a member of the heath family and closely related to rhododendrons, and is the most northerly broadleaf evergreen trees on the continent. Early Spanish settlers in California recognized it as similar to the Mediterreanean madrone (or madroño) and later English settlers referred to it as the strawberry tree, as the sweet (and slightly toxic) berries are used to make a "strawberry-tasting" liquor called crême d'arbouse. The most striking feature of this tree is the wonderful bark that looks painted, with hues of red, orange, brown and black. Nothing else in the Pacific Northwest looks anything like it.
    Pacific Madrone Flowers
  • Easily one of the most beautiful of all of the hardwoods on the Pacific Coast, the Pacific madrone is a member of the heath family and closely related to rhododendrons, and is the most northerly broadleaf evergreen trees on the continent. Early Spanish settlers in California recognized it as similar to the Mediterreanean madrone (or madroño) and later English settlers referred to it as the strawberry tree, as the sweet (and slightly toxic) berries are used to make a "strawberry-tasting" liquor called crême d'arbouse. The most striking feature of this tree is the wonderful bark that looks painted, with hues of red, orange, brown and black. Nothing else in the Pacific Northwest looks anything like it.
    Pacific Madrone in Flower
  • Cypress trees along the edge of a North Florida swamp.
    Cypress Swamp
  • Late afternoon golden sunlight filters through the trees on the slopes of West Tiger Mountain in Western Washington.
    West Tiger Mountain Forest
  • Skeletal dwarf cypress trees in early spring in Tate's Hell State Forest near Carrabelle, Florida.
    Tate's Hell State Forest
  • Just outside of Revelstoke, British Columbia, I just had to wait for the perfect light when I saw this small pond surrounded by lowland trees covered in hoarfrost.
    The Enchanted Forest, BC
  • Spectacular view of the trees acrtoss Gold Creek Pond at the top of Snoqualmie Pass in Washington's Cascade Mountains during a snow flurry. A full size this print is sized at 8.68 feet x 3.7 feet (2.65m x 1.13m) and was created from two images.
    Across the Alpine Lake Panorama
  • Deep into the Hoh Rain Forest, ancient trees - Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, western hemlock, bigleaf maple, red alder and western red cedar stand tall and solemn. Many of them 500 years old or more!
    Hoh Rain Forest
  • This beautiful little creek wound for miles among the mountains where the last of the red and gold leaves were still clinging to the trees which glittered over the water.
    A Moment in the Great Smoky Mountains
  • SW Florida's Corkscrew Swamp is a remarkable wetland with a rare virgin cypress tree forest, that is now under the protection of the Audubon preserve system. The biodiversity of this region is amazing!
    Corkscrew Swamp
  • The black huckleberry is considered by many to be the prize of the mountain berries. These juicy, sweet member of the blueberry family are found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean (with a few isolated locations eastward) and have been enjoyed by wildlife and humans for millennia. This official state fruit of Idaho is a particularly important food source for grizzly and black bears, and traditionally the Native Americans have been eating them in dozens of different ways: fresh, dried, smoked, crushed up in soups or mixed with salmon roe - to name a few. These huckleberries were photographed (then eaten) just below the tree line at the edge of a subalpine meadow in the North Cascades National Park, near the Canadian border in Washington State.
    Black Huckleberry
  • Late springtime in the Cascade Mountains means new growth and a flurry of activity as winter finally recedes. This western hemlock is putting out not only new growth with new needles, bit small cones will soon follow to produce further generations of this majestic tree.
    Western Hemlock
  • At approximately 6400 feet above sea level, Spray Park isn't actually a park but a large subalpine meadow and part of the greater Mount Rainier National Park. From here you are at the top of the tree line and get the most spectacular views of this active volcano and all of its glaciers. It may not be the easiest of places to get to, but the long climb is totally worth the effort!
    Mount Rainier from Spray Park
  • A view of Paradise. This popular area of Mount Rainier toward the top of the tree line has extraordinary views of the surrounding ridges and mountains, especially at sunset!
    A View of Paradise
  • The black huckleberry is considered by many to be the prize of the mountain berries. These juicy, sweet member of the blueberry family are found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean (with a few isolated locations eastward) and have been enjoyed by wildlife and humans for millennia. This official state fruit of Idaho is a particularly important food source for grizzly and black bears, and traditionally the Native Americans have been eating them in dozens of different ways: fresh, dried, smoked, crushed up in soups or mixed with salmon roe - to name a few. These huckleberries were photographed (then eaten) just below the tree line at the edge of a subalpine meadow in the North Cascades National Park, near the Canadian border in Washington State.
    Black Huckleberry
  • Ice is forming around the edges of Gold Creek Pond at the top of Washington's Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade Mountains. A full size print is sized at 5.2 feet x 2.2 feet (1.58m x 0.68m) and was created from two images. The final image can be enlarged significantly with little to no distortion up to 800%.
    Gold Creek Pond with First Ice
  • While there are many subspecies of the Florida tree snail in Southern Florida, and many found in the Caribbean (particularly in Cuba) I'm going to just focus on the species as a whole. These very interesting and often colorful snails which are found in smooth-barked trees have found a niche in their habitat feeding on algae and various fungi that that they find on their host trees. Unfortunately because of these beautiful shells, they are easily spotted in the wild and collected by shell-collecting people and are therefore considered "a species of special concern" by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Department. This one was found in on Key Largo in the Florida Keys.
    Florida Tree Snail
  • The Joshua tree, symbol of the Mojave desert, reaches out into the blue early April sky. One reason it is believed that this iconic yucca is losing habitat, and declining in numbers is in the fossil record of the recent extinction (in geological years) of the Shasta ground sloth, one of the giant sloths that went the way of the mammoths and other American megafauna. Fossilized scat shows the remains of the seeds, leaves and pulp of joshua trees... and was possibly in a loose symbiotic relationship with it as to provide food in return for seed propagation.
    Joshua Tree
  • Foggy morning in Corkscrew Swamp in Naples, Florida. The stillness of this prairie in the middle of such a huge old cypress swamp was absolutely enchanting!
    The Foggy Dew
  • Sunset at Hickey's Creek in Alva, Fl. This was spectacular! Absolutely the best place for long hikes near Fort Myers!
    Sunset at Hickey's Creek
  • Crystal blue water bubbling to the surface at Juniper Springs, Ocala National Forest, Marion County, Fl.
    Juniper Springs
  • Four of the many peaks in the Grand Tetons, from left to right - Middle Teton, Grand Teton, Mount Owen, and Teewinot. These stunning snowy mountains are found just south of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
    Grand Teton National Park
  • Snow is still present on the mountains on a bright, crisp summer day in the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming.
    Shoshone National Forest
  • Foggy morning in Corkscrew Swamp in Naples, Florida.
    Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
  • Florida Everglades. Absolutely Beautiful!!!
    Florida Everglades
  • A nameless creek meanders through the Apalachicola National Forest.
    Tranquility
  • A sudden storm comes and goes in a flash in Southwest Florida’s Fakahatchee Strand leaving behind a beautiful rainbow over the palms, sawgrass, alligators and legions of nesting birds on a cool sunny autumn day.
    Rainbow over the Fakahatchee Strand
  • This highly attractive terrestrial snail can be found near streams in the rainy forests of the Pacific Northwest from California to Alaska, and is mainly crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) during the wet spring and fall. This particularly colorful individual was found by lucky accident in Oregon's Cascade Mountains just east of Eugene.
    Pacific Sideband Snail
  • A coastal douglas fir forest trail winds its way up the hill near the cliffs of Fidalgo Island on Washington's Puget Sound.
    Anacortes Landscape-9.jpg
  • 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
  • A Sitka spruce forest near Oregon's Cannon Beach on a rare sunny winter day. These gorgeous coastal forests stretch along most of the Pacific Northwest's Pacific coast and support a rich variety of wildlife.
    Sitka Spruce Forest
  • A beautiful blue sky over Florida's St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge where the salt marshes and freshwater marshes meet.
    Clouds over St. Marks
  • Dawn in the Big Cypress National Preserve in the Gator Hook Strand.
    Big Cypress Sunrise
  • Sunset over Ocean Pond - deep in the Osceola National Forest.
    Sunset over Ocean Pond
  • The utterly beautiful dark forest in Torreya State Park in North Florida, with its steep decent to the Apalachicola River.
    Torreya State Park
  • 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 Sitka spruce forest near Oregon's Cannon Beach on a rare sunny winter day. These gorgeous coastal forests stretch along most of the Pacific Northwest's Pacific coast.
    Sitka Spruce Forest
  • A Sitka spruce forest near Oregon's Cannon Beach on a rare sunny winter day. These gorgeous coastal forests stretch along most of the Pacific Northwest's Pacific coast.
    Sitka Spruce Forest
  • A gorgeous winter day on Mount Spokane in Eastern Washington in late January. The forest is quiet, the drifts are deep, and the western hemlocks are frosted with fresh snow.
    Silent Forest in Winter
  • Some of the amazingly beautiful rock formations photographed here at dusk in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    Moab Rock Formations
  • 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
  • This spectacularly wild and unique part of the Pacific Northwest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the United States, receiving 140 to 170 inches (12 to 14 feet!) of precipitation per year! Located on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, it remains protected from the logging industry by being part of the Olympic National Park.
    Hoh Rain Forest
  • Environmentally sensitive wetlands in Southwest Florida.
    Environmental Wetlands
  • 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
  • The setting sun deep in the Florida Everglades.
    Sunset over the Pay-Hay-Okee
  • Ocean Pond at sunset - it was a beautiful evening for camping in the North Florida wilderness!
    Lone Cypress
  • Dawn in the Ocala National Forest, Marion County, Fl.
    Ocala National Forest
  • Juniper Springs, Ocala National Forest, Marion County, Fl.
    Juniper Springs
  • Forest downstream from Falling Creek Falls in the Osceola National Forest, north of Lake City in Columbia County, Fl. The creek was dry when we visited due to drought.
    Falling Creek Falls
  • New vine maples leaves in the late afternoon sunlight at the top of the Cascade Mountains in Washington's Snoqualmie Pass.
    Vine Maple Leaves
  • The south fork of the Snoqualmie River rushes out of the Cascade Mountains about 30 miles east of Seattle, Washington on a chilly winter day.
    South Fork Snoqualmie River
  • Late summer afternoon on Lake Washington in Medina, WA as snowy Mount Rainier rises above the landscape.
    Mount Rainier
  • Above the snow line on Mount Rainier on a gorgeous Pacific Northwestern summer day.
    Summertime Snow on Mount Rainier
  • After photographing this beautiful alpine lake at the top of Snoqualmie Pass from all directions on a very cloudy day, the sky opened up as I was getting ready to pack up and leave. This is truly one of the most beautiful lakes I've seen so far in the mountains. There were trout swimming in the water and a bald eagle screaming somewhere in the distance.
    Gold Creek Pond
  • One of the most beautiful places I've been to in the State of Washington, and well worth the long climb and hike on the northern side of Mount Rainier National Park - this subalpine meadow opens up as one just reaches the highest point where the forest gives way to open meadowlands.
    Mountain Meadow
  • A view of the summit of Mount Rainier with Goat Island Mountain in the foreground, flanked by Tamanos Mountain on the left and Burroughs  Mountain on the right, with the White River meandering through the valley on its way down to the Puget Sound.
    The Mountain and the Valley
  • About 26 miles east of Seattle, the South Fork Snoqualmie River squeezes and thunders through rocky canyons and over the two spectacular waterfalls known as Twin Falls. This is the smaller upper falls after which the river continues for about a half mile to the 150-foot drop to the lower falls.
    Upper of the Twin Falls
  • A view from atop Rattlesnake Mountain in Washington State. Maibox Peak to the left with Dirtybox Peak just to the right and behind it. On the right side is Mount Washington with Cedar Butte (the large hill) in the foreground. Between the mountains is a part of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley and the South Fork Snoqualmie River.
    Upper Snoqualmie Valley and Cascades
  • Big Shoals along the Suwannee River in North Florida. Panorama photo composed of five stitched images.
    Big Shoals
  • 180 degree view of early morning on the Suwannee River in North Florida on October 6, 2008. What a first sight as the sun came up that morning!!!
    Suwannee River
  • A view of Chewacla Falls near Auburn, Alabama while the water level was low... still a beautiful place but better luck next time for lots of white water!
    Chewacla Falls, Alabama
  • A true infrared photograph of this majestic river on the Florida Panhandle.
    Apalachicola River
  • The Apalachicola River photographed from atop the bluffs in rural Liberty County, Florida.
    Apalachicola River
  • Limestone cliff with waterfall north of Lake City, Florida. I heard this waterfall long before I found it in the woods!
    Falling Creek Falls
  • Dawn on the Myakka River in SW Florida.
    Dawn on the Myakka River
  • 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
  • Mount Shasta is one of the many active volcanoes found in the Pacific Northwest with a peak of 9772 feet. This image was taken from the north in Medford, Oregon on a spectacularly clear spring day.
    Mount Shasta
  • Great clouds of mist rise like smoke over the Bow River on a bitingly cold winter morning in Alberta's Banff National Park, the first established national park in Canada, and third in the world.
    Bow River, Banff National Park #3
  • Great clouds of mist rise like smoke over the Bow River on a bitingly cold winter morning in Alberta's Banff National Park, the first established national park in Canada, and third in the world.
    Bow River, Banff National Park #2
  • Great clouds of mist rise like smoke over the Bow River on a bitingly cold winter morning in Alberta's Banff National Park, the first established national park in Canada, and third in the world.
    Bow River, Banff National Park #1
  • Canada's British Columbia is absolutely beautiful in wintertime. This view of the Illecillewaet River looking eastward towards the incredible rocky peaks of Rogers Pass was taken on a bitterly cold January morning, just north of Revelstoke, BC.
    Illecillewaet River and the Mountain..Pass
  • Moose Meadows in Alberta's Banff National Park under a wonderfully bright, sunny sky on a very chilly Canadian January morning.
    Moose Meadows and the Canadian Rockies
  • The sun's first rays of light engulf the entire peak of Cascade Mountain on an extremely chilly morning in Banff National Park in mid-January. The temperatures hovered around -24°F/-31°C. The surrounding valley and forest edges showed some wolf sign in the snow and a few elk were seen off in the distance.
    At First Light - Banff's Cascade Mou..tain
  • 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
  • One of the many incredibly beautiful subalpine mountain peaks seen from Hurricane Ridge in Washington's Olympic Mountains.
    Hurricane Ridge Trail
  • Spray Creek (photographed here close to its source) flows through a series of wooded patches and alpine meadows before gathering strength and more volume as it flows down Mount Rainier's northwestern face. Shortly below this point, it becomes a raging, turbulent rush over a 300-foot waterfall as it flows down the mountain where it eventually joins the larger North Mowich River. Much further on, it will empty in to the Puyallup River which then will empty in to the Puget Sound.
    Spray Creek
  • Not really a park, Spray Park is a mountainous region above Mount Rainier's Mowich Lake that comprises some of the most beautiful and spectacular subalpine meadows and beauty the Pacific Northwest has to offer. In midsummer, the sheer numbers of wildly colorful wildflowers, glacier views, and abundant wildlife make the long steep climb completely worth the effort. It's a purely magical place!
    On the Spray Park Trail
  • 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. The very fragrant white flowers in spring attract many species of hummingbirds and butterflies. Traditionally used medicinally by Native Americas - the inner bark was sometimes used as a diuretic or as a way to induce vomiting. These were found and photographed in the North Cascades just east of Mount Baker in Washington State.
    Red Elderberry
  • 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
  • New vine maples leaves in the soft afternoon sunlight at the top of the Cascade Mountains in Washington's Snoqualmie Pass.
    Vine Maple Leaves
  • Male catkins of the Sitka alder on a summer afternoon at the very top of Snoqualmie Pass at the edge of Gold Creek Pond. These unlikely looking flowers supply the pollen that will pollenate the nearby cone-like female catkins - not with insect pollinators, but by the wind!
    Sitka Alder Catkins
  • Female catkins of the Sitka alder on a summer afternoon at the very top of Snoqualmie Pass at the edge of Gold Creek Pond. These nondescript small "cones" patiently await pollen to be carried by the wind from the nearby male catkins to ensure the next generation of Sitka alders.
    Sitka Alder Catkins
  • A wary gray jay keeps an eye on me as I pass along the top of Hurricane Ridge on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.
    Gray Jay
  • 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
  • A gorgeous green spring afternoon on the Middle Saluda River was the perfect place for me to take my shoes off, get my feet wet and set up my tripod for this shot. After a bit of searching, I found this heavenly spot that was clear of the teeming fly fishermen. Very few places in North America are as beautiful as this part of South Carolina in the springtime!
    Middle Saluda River
  • A carpet of large western sword ferns covers the understory of the Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, where the air is always cool and dark, and the forest floor is nearly always wet. Historically and importantly, the original native peoples of this part of the world could rely and survive off of the roasted roots (rhizomes) of these ferns during lean times.
    Western Sword Ferns
  • 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
  • Mount Rainier photographed from the south on a gorgeous Pacific Northwestern summer day.
    Mount Rainier
  • Mangrove roots at dusk in Chokoluskee, Florida with the Ten Thousand Islands just beyond.
    Chokoloskee Mangroves
  • A view of the Olympic Mountains as seen from atop Hurricane Ridge. Not only are the peaks white and snow-capped all year long, there is a surprising amount of wildlife - particularly in the early morning hours.
    The Olympic Mountains
  • Lake Wenatchee is a beautiful mountain lake within the Cascade Mountains which sits at an altitude of about 2000 feet above sea level. The lake is often full of salmon, and the forest surrounding the lake teams with wildlife.
    Lake Wenatchee
  • The majestic Mount Rainier towers above the other mountains of Washington state on a hot summer day in early August. This is the north face, photographed at about 4800 feet, just above Spray Creek.
    Mount Rainier
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