Florida Nature Photography Home

Wood Stork

A creature so prehistoric-looking and unusual, with the added bonus of some involvement I had with a special project including video.

Eaton's Ladies'-Tresses Orchid

A very rare orchid that I found quite by accident in a typical North Florida long-leaf pine scrub near the Gulf coast...

Orchid Hunting in the Florida Everglades

Orchids. Just the very word brings to mind a vision of exotic color, delightful texture and fantastic shapes, and delicious fragrances.

We are extremely happy and proud to announce a new way of providing you with the very best professional prints for your office, home or gallery.

Now we are offering not only prints, but a whole new range of customized frames, mats, and other accessories! All prints are shipped within three business days and come with a no questions asked 30 day return policy.

Learn More

…Notes from the Field is our brand new and updated blog (complete with a new look) that will relate experiences and stories about photographing all that is wild in Florida. It has replaced our “New Photos” page, and all of our new images will be presented here - including stories of what was involved to get these shots - camera tips and tricks for other photographers who really enjoy nature and the outdoors and want to learn more. You might even get a chuckle or two out of it!

Read the Latest Post

Alligators and Crocodiles! One of the most well known symbols of Florida is the America alligator. They are found so often all over the state that sometimes a pond looks strange without one. What many people don't know is that Florida also has native American crocodiles. Click this image to see more!

View the Gallery

Birds

Brown pelican and white ibis young are now visible in nests.
Painted Buntings nest through summer in northeast Florida.
Snowy plovers nest on Panhandle beaches.
Bald eagles begin migrating north.
Breeding begins for many resident and summer songbirds.
The last of the cedar waxwings and goldfinches head for their northern breeding grounds.
Least terns nest on beaches, sandy flats, and flat gravel rooftops that look like beaches!
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are breeding.
Painted buntings nest through summer in northeast Florida.
White-crowned pigeons begin nesting on mangrove islands in Florida Bay.

Mammals

Gray Bats congregate at maternity caves now through mid-July.
Most bats give birth May through mid-June.
Peak of the coyote denning season. (yes, we have coyotes in Florida)

Reptiles

Courtship ritual of adult alligators begins, noted by the loud and resounding bellows and water slapping. Continues through June.
The height of crocodile nesting in the Keys happens at the beginning of the month.
Loggerhead sea turtles begin nesting on summer nights.
Green sea turtles will begin nesting more abundantly now through September.
Soft-shell and alligator snapping turtles complete egg laying.

Fish

Bluegill are bedding at the full moon.
Redbreast sunfish and spotted sunfish begin spawning in rivers.
Pompano running in the surf in North Florida.
Flathead catfish congregate below the Jim Woodruff Dam, Apalachicola River.

Invertebrates

Peak flight month for Schaus' swallowtail butterfly in the Keys.

Plants and Trees

The American lotus is in bloom in the wetlands.
White swamp lillies dot wet prairies of the Everglades.

Orchids

The rose pogonia is starting to bloom in the swamps and wetlands of Central and North Florida.
Snowy orchids begin to appear in seepage bogs around the state.
May marks the very beginning of the ghost orchid season, but chances are most won't be in flower until June or July.

Data provided in part by UF Florida Wildlife Extension

FloridaNaturePhotography is a part of Leighton Photography & Imaging - our local photography business based in Tallahassee, Fl. Nature photography is a large part of what we do, but we are by no means limited to just that. Click HERE to find out more about our company.

Our photographs not related to nature photography can be seen HERE in our online gallery, or through Fine Art America.

If you are or represent a gallery, publisher/publication, exhibition, event, vendor/reseller, or any other group interested in our work, please contact Rich or Galina Leighton HERE for more information.

Updates

I have the great honor to announce that my whooping crane photograph taken in 2008 in Central Florida was selected to be in the 2011 National Audubon Society calendar! Read more about it HERE.

We were the feature story in "Getaways by Design - The Online Magazine for Florida Travel" and it was a great opportunity to tell a little about our nature photography. Read it here - "Interview with Rich Leighton of Florida Nature Photography" by Marcus Adkins.

ALL SUBJECTS ARE PHOTOGRAPHED IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS. NO ANIMALS ARE IN CAPTIVITY OR POSED,
AND ALL PLANTS, INCLUDING ORCHIDS, ARE NATIVE AND NON-CULTIVATED.