Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • This large shade-loving epiphytic fern is native to the tropical eastern coasts of the Americas and the Caribbean Islands. Going by a variety of common names such as golden polypody, golden serpent fern, cabbage palm fern, gold-foot fern, blue-star fern, hare-foot fern and rabbit's foot fern Phlebodium aureum is commonly grown as a houseplant. This one was found growing at the base of a bald cypress tree deep in the Corkscrew Swamp in Southwest Florida's Collier County between Naples and Fort Myers.
    Golden Polypody
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • One of my favorite snakes to be found in the wilderness of the American Southeast is the Florida yellow rat snake. This very long, mustard-yellow colored subspecies of the western rat snake is not very common, like most gray or near-black rat snakes found in the wild, but it is one of the coolest. I have an affinity for this type of snake and once had one as a pet in captivity for years until I decided to let it go free and "go forth and propagate". These non-venomous constrictors primarily feed on rats and birds, although their habit of sneaking into barns and eating eggs has also earned them the nickname of "chicken snake". This one was found by surprise on accident (as most snakes are usually encountered) as I was walking through the edge of the woods in the Ocala National Forest  in Juniper Springs when the tree limb I grabbed suddenly moved in my hand and tried to bite me. I pulled this beauty out into the open for this shot and let it go. It was just about four feet in length and was fat and healthy!
    Florida Yellow Rat Snake
  • A Northwestern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) in strike pose after being caught then released among the ponderosa pines in the Eastern Cascade Mountains in Central Washington. Had I known at the time how highly venomous these particular rattlers were compared to other North American rattlesnakes I might have thought twice. Interestingly, the rattle sounded more like a cicada than your typical warning.
    Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • Close-up detail of a northwestern ringneck snake in Cowiche Canyon, WA. Normally a moist forest-loving species, I was very surprised to find this slightly venomous, rear-fanged colubrid under a rock in the sagebrush desert next to Cowiche Creek.
    Northwestern Ringneck Snake
  • A wild northwestern ringneck snake posed in an antelope bitterbrush shrub solely for this photograph. This fast, secretive, nocturnal and beautiful small predator is a subspecies of the ringneck snake found all over North America. Unlike most other subspecies, instead of the normal black background, this group has a blue-gray color variation with the typical striking bright orange belly and neck ring. Notice the curled tail, which serves as a "warning flag" - a common threat display warning a bigger predator (me in this case) that it is toxic to eat, which is entirely a bluff.
    Northwestern Ringneck Snake
  • 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
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • A perfect detail shot of a dimpled trout lily. easily recognized by their mottled leaves, they bloom in the wintertime in spectacular yellow carpets in old hardwood forests. This particular colony is not only extremely rare, it might be the only colony found in all of Florida in the wild, as this one was near the Alabama-Florida-Georgia tri-state line.
    Dimpled Trout Lily
  • A close-up of a dimpled trout lily, showing the lovely detail of the stamen, stigma and petals. Photographed in Southern Georgia.
    Dimpled Trout Lily
  • This aquatic snake is very commonly seen in the Florida Everglades. This one was photographed while I was stalking a hawk. I saw this from the corner of my eye and took this shot.
    Banded Watersnake
  • This extremely rare lily found in North Florida near Chattahoochee is rarely found south of North Georgia, as their population has receded to the Appalachian Mountains regions to the north over the millennia. As climate slowly changes, so does soil composition, water availability, the overhead tree canopy species that provide the shade necessary for trout lilies, and general climate as a whole.
    Dimpled Trout Lily
  • Named trout lily because their spotted leaves resemble a speckled trout, these trout lilies when growing in the right location can create a vast carpet in an open hardwood forest.
    Dimpled Trout Lily
  • A beautifully patterned garter snake emerges from Lake Elizabeth in the Cascades Mountains of Washington State.
    Cascades Garter Snake
  • Close-up of the non-venomous banded watersnake - often confused with the venomous cottonmouth. Unfortunately many of these beautiful snakes are killed for this confusion and misidentification.
    Banded Watersnake
  • A juvenile cottonmouth warming up in the morning sun on a dirt road near the Corkscrew Swamp in Naples, Florida.
    A Flick of the Tongue
  • A banded watersnake resting on a submerged log in the Fakahatchee Strand.
    Banded Watersnake
  • A juvenile cottonmouth warming up in the morning sun on a dirt road near the Corkscrew Swamp in Naples, Florida.
    Juvenile Cottonmouth
  • This forest in Southern Georgia is known for having the largest population of trout lilies in the world. There are literally millions of them!
    Dimpled Trout Lily
  • Very rare in this location in South Georgia, this small patch of trout lilies is listed as endangered, and has survived in this location for thousands of years. It is believed that a rare set of circumstances has allowed this colony to persist while the surrounding environment has changed over the centuries. This area still retains the same soil and climate conditions this entire region once shared millennia ago and is now found much further to the north in the Appalachian Mountains.
    Dimpled Trout Lily
  • Young cottonmouth (or water moccasin) in the the middle of the road near the Corkscrew Swamp in SW Florida early in the morning. I should have used a zoom lens!
    Ready to Strike!
  • Eastern ribbon snake lunching on a treefrog in the Florida Everglades. Just in the right place at the right time for this shot!
    Eastern Ribbon Snake
  • Blue-striped garter snake discovered on a trail in the Goethe State Forest in Levy County, Florida. It has the most beautiful turquoise sides and belly!
    Blue-Striped Garter Snake
  • A Texas patch-nosed snake (Salvadora grahamiae lineata), a subspecies of the more common and widespread eastern patch-nosed snake warms up in the sunshine on a surprisingly chilly winter late afternoon in Southern Hidalgo County in Mission, Texas - about 5 miles form the Mexican border. This snake gets its name from the unusually large scale on the tip of its snout and is completely harmless to people and reach about 2 to 3 feet in length. This snake primarily eats anything they can catch which is typically lizards, eggs, small rodents and other snakes.
    Texas Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora g..ata)
  • A Texas patch-nosed snake (Salvadora grahamiae lineata), a subspecies of the more common and widespread eastern patch-nosed snake warms up in the sunshine on a surprisingly chilly winter late afternoon in Southern Hidalgo County in Mission, Texas - about 5 miles form the Mexican border. This snake gets its name from the unusually large scale on the tip of its snout and is completely harmless to people and reach about 2 to 3 feet in length. This snake primarily eats anything they can catch which is typically lizards, eggs, small rodents and other snakes.
    Texas Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora g..ata)
  • The Texas indigo snake is currently considered a subspecies of the Eastern or Florida indigo snake and is found in Texas and down deep into Mexico. This beautiful specimen was found resting in a Christmas cactus where it had plenty of shade from the Texas summer sun in the very southern tip of the Lone Star State.
    Texas Indigo Snake
  • These wonderfully beautiful aquatic snakes are non-venomous fish hunters and are most often seen sunning themselves on fallen logs near freshwater ponds and marshes all over the southeast. This particular subspecies, the Florida watersnake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) was found on a chilly November evening catching the last rays of the day on a pile of old sticks in Southwest Florida's Corkscrew Swamp near Naples.
    Banded Watersnake
  • These wonderfully beautiful aquatic snakes are non-venomous fish hunters and are most often seen sunning themselves on fallen logs near freshwater ponds and marshes all over the southeast. This particular subspecies, the Florida watersnake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) was found on a chilly November evening catching the last rays of the day on a pile of old sticks in Southwest Florida's Corkscrew Swamp near Naples.
    Banded Watersnake