Beaches and Coasts

Lakes and Rivers

Forests

Inland

Everglades

Panoramas

Black and White

Florida is world-renowned for its beautiful landscapes. With over 1350 miles of coastline from the Atlantic Ocean to the Florida Keys to the northern Gulf of Mexico, there are an incredible number of unique and beautiful habitats, especially in the Florida Everglades. We also have thousands of islands, lakes and rivers (many of those are spring-fed) and of course our unique forest habitats from Central and Northern Florida down to our oak and scrub pinelands. The following galleries have a little bit of everything that the best of Sunshine State landscapes have to offer.

Brushfoots

Gossamer Wings

Swallowtails

Skippers

Sulphurs and Whites

Moths

Did you know that Florida is home to over 1,320 species of butterflies and moths? That number is still growing with careful and painstaking research, more new species are being discovered all the time!

Anhingas, Cormorants

Birds of Prey

Carrion Birds

Coots, Rails

Cranes, Limpkins

Ducks, Geese

Egrets, Herons

Gulls, Terns

Shorebirds

Songbirds

Spoonbills, Storks

Woodpeckers

When it comes to birds, the Sunshine State is fantastically rich in species diversity. The geography of Florida’s Peninsula creates a natural migratory route for millions of birds each year as they head south over the Caribbean towards Central and South America (and back). While some species are found all around the world, we are lucky to have 196 species of birds that live and breed in Florida.

Deer

Pigs

Rabbits and Hares

Manatees

Squirrels

Raccoons

Armadillos

We mammals have come a long way since the time of the dinosaurs. Since those times, we’ve conquered the land, sea and air. Florida has at least 99 species of mammals living, breeding and thriving today.

Crustaceans

Dragonflies

Grasshoppers, Locusts

Spiders

Snails, Mollusks

Other Invertebrates

96% of all currently living animal lifeforms alive today are invertebrates. Included are all the insects, arachnids, worms, crabs, shellfish, starfish, corals, and more! One thing they all have in common? No backbone.

Alligators, Crocodiles

Lizards

Snakes

Turtles, Tortoises

Long before the first dinosaur walked the earth, reptiles ruled the world. 65 million years after the last dinosaur drew its final breath, North America’s modern crocodiles, alligators, snakes, lizards, and turtles and tortoises are still keeping our Florida natural history alive!

Tree Frogs

Toads

Did you know the word “amphibian” means “two lives”? All amphibians start their lives in the underwater, but after they go through a series of metamorphosis stages to adulthood, most trade gills for lungs and live the rest of their lives out of the water. Florida is home to 33 native and non-native species of frogs and toads, and many more species of salamanders, newts and sirens!

Arethuseae

Calypsoeae

Cranichideae

Cymbidieae

Epidendreae

Malaxideae

Maxillarieae

Neottieae

Orchideae

Pogoniinae

Polystachyeae

Triphoreae

Vandeae

Vanilleae

One of the largest families in the plant kingdom with nearly 28 thousand species around the globe, orchids are also one of the most popular and most sought-after flowering plants in history. In Victorian times, entire foreign expeditions were sent around the world at great personal risk led by fearless (and often ruthless) orchid hunters to acquire the next new unknown exotic species from the most distant corner of the Earth. Luckily for us, Florida is rich with unique native species found nowhere else in the world!

Wildflowers by Color

Wildflowers by Family

By far our largest collection of galleries, these wildflower image sets are arranged by both color and by taxonomic family for use as a casual identification tool or field guide, or for more thorough scientific research for deeper understanding.

Pitcher Plants

Venus Flytraps

Bladderworts

Butterworts

Sundews

Sometimes called insectivorous plants, these amazing plants have adapted to a life in places where the soil is so poor in nutrients, that they’ve gained the ability to grow by trapping their food with modified leaves. By taking root in a harsh habitat, they have eliminated most of their competition from other plants.

Bromeliads

Mushrooms

Plants

Saprophytes

This last and final collection of galleries include all the non-wildflower images such as our native trees, ferns, palms, fruits and berries, cacti, saprophytes, mosses, bromeliads and more!
Terra Ceia Preserve

Terra Ceia Preserve

Jul 30, 2010

While difficult to see most of this out-of-the-way preserve without a boat, I was able to find a place to park the car and work my way into the wilderness enough to get this landscape photograph highlighting some of the botanical biodiversity in the region. Several kinds of oak trees, swamp lilies, an variety of ferns and the ever-present cabbage palms show a wild and unspoiled wetland so rarely found along the Peninsular Gulf Coast.

The American Lotus + A Trick for Better Nature Photography

The American Lotus + A Trick for Better Nature Photography

Jun 22, 2010

One of my favorite things about quick, sudden trips is going light – meaning one lens, one camera, no other gear. It forces me to see things a certain way, and often instead of suddenly wishing I had that wide angle or prime lens that I left at home instead, I am forced to see a potential shot in a new way, confined by my self-imposed restrictions. Many of my best-selling and creative images have come from this forced limitation.

Of Panthers and Cowbirds – A Lesson to be Learned

Of Panthers and Cowbirds – A Lesson to be Learned

Jun 17, 2010

Many years ago I learned a good lesson about wildlife and nature photography. Always have your camera ready and, keep a predetermined setting so you won’t miss that sudden opportunity that will so often leap out in from of you.

Unexpected Florida Beach Sighting – Cattle Egret in Breeding Plumage

Unexpected Florida Beach Sighting – Cattle Egret in Breeding Plumage

Jun 8, 2010

A couple of days ago, I was driving along the coast of Apalachee Bay on the Florida Panhandle on the edge of Tate’s Hell State Forest when I saw the unexpected. It was a group of 25 to 30 cattle egrets along the shoreline and perched among the skeletal remains of pine trees killed by beach erosion. Strangely peculiar as these egrets are not normally associated with the beach or salt water, and are most often found inland perching on or walking among cattle or horses.

So Common, So Rarely Seen – The Florida Ghost Crab

So Common, So Rarely Seen – The Florida Ghost Crab

May 30, 2010

  Recently while on a trip along the St. Joseph Peninsula I stumbled into one of my very favorite of shoreline critters - the ghost crab. Even though they are very common all over Florida's sandy coasts, the ghost crab is the master of camouflage and quite often never...

Close to Home – Baby Green Herons!

Close to Home – Baby Green Herons!

May 22, 2010

  One of the most common bits of advice that I've heard given to budding new nature photographers is that you don't have to go far from home to get the best shots. I've heard this many times over the years, and I've given this same advice on many occasions. All too...

The Coral Bean – A Pernicious Perennial

The Coral Bean – A Pernicious Perennial

May 17, 2010

The coral bean (Erythrina herbacea), also known as the Cherokee bean or the red cardinal, is a common springtime bloomer found all over the state of Florida. I've seen them in dense woodlands, sandy pine scrubs, and growing in hardwood hammocks at the edges of swamps....

All’s Well That Ends Well…..

All’s Well That Ends Well…..

May 12, 2010

Sometimes it just happens this way. It suddenly gets quiet. The wind dies down. The birds become silent and get settled for the night. A sudden hush falls over the wilderness, and then the sun slips into the sea, and the world goes to sleep.

An Elusive Beauty – The Red-Headed Woodpecker

An Elusive Beauty – The Red-Headed Woodpecker

May 10, 2010

One of the most difficult birds for me to find in Florida has been the red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). It is a very skittish bird – even for a woodpecker, and tends to avoid people if encountered. I’ve seen them only a couple of times in the Osceola National Forest north of Gainesville and in remote areas near the Georgia border north of Tallahassee, and only from a distance of at least five hundred feet.

A Splash of Springtime

A Splash of Springtime

May 5, 2010

For Florida springtime wildflowers, there is no place better than the Apalachicola National Forest. By mid-April (a little later this year due to the long winter) the sides of many of the roads are glittering with a rainbow of the most vivid colors and hues that...

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