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!
Gulf Coast Hidden Secret – Mashes Sands

Gulf Coast Hidden Secret – Mashes Sands

Sep 22, 2009

Once again we find ourselves in hurricane season on the Gulf Coast – and luckily its been quiet – so far. One thing I’ve always been fond of during this time of year is the fantastic cloudscapes at the beach in the evenings. Generally we will have clear skies during...

As Tasty as a Bee

As Tasty as a Bee

Sep 8, 2009

Yesterday (Sept. 7) I was down in Central Florida doing some butterfly and wildflower photography in and around the Withlacoochee State Forest and was lucky enough to get one of those jaw-dropping shots that a wildlife photographer gets once in a blue moon. I was...

Wild Butterflies of Florida

Wild Butterflies of Florida

Aug 28, 2009

A couple of months ago, I was looking for independent musicians who were willing to share their original music with me to create a few slideshows in return for letting them use some of my work or the finished slideshows for their uses. I eventually settled on two...

A Florida Oddity……

A Florida Oddity……

Aug 27, 2009

This is more of a quick note with a bizarre photo, rather than an actual post. We’ve been working out hearts out trying to get the new FloridaNaturePhotography.com upgrade out, and it has more or less taken up all of my writing time. Every photo and page is in the...

Arachnophilia!

Arachnophilia!

Aug 8, 2009

Thirty minutes past dawn, and I’m deep in the the steamy sweltering heat at the edge of a swamp in North Florida in summer. Mosquitoes are tearing me up, but the deer flies aren’t out yet. Again, I’m not using insect repellent because I can’t stand the way it feels on...

Destination…. Almost Cedar Key

Destination…. Almost Cedar Key

Aug 1, 2009

Do you know how you’ve traveled past a certain place a hundred times and always wanted to stop, but you never seem to have the time? I have one of those places, it’s Cedar Key, Florida. Recently, I met up with a friend of mine in Crystal River to do some nature...

The Search for the Cranefly Orchid

The Search for the Cranefly Orchid

Jul 27, 2009

My search for Tipularia discolor – the cranefly orchid - began last fall in North Florida along the Apalachicola River, and has proven to be (at least for me) one of the most difficult and frustrating of Florida’s wild and native orchids for me to find. It goes...

The REAL Snowbirds!!!!!

The REAL Snowbirds!!!!!

Mar 23, 2009

As Spring has already sprung – I’m going to hurry up and get my winter seabirds of Northeast Florida photos from the past couple of months out to you. We are making some additions to the website tonight, and as a break – I’m going to do a simple and quick blog. Being...

Heading Out West ….. West Coast Florida, That Is!

Heading Out West ….. West Coast Florida, That Is!

Feb 14, 2009

This next post will continue from the last blog and show some of my photos and thoughts as I traveled from the Everglades to Sanibel, then turned north, heading up the west coast. Dawn the next morning brought one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life. My wife,...

An Amazing Cross-Florida Nature Photography Blitzkrieg!!!

An Amazing Cross-Florida Nature Photography Blitzkrieg!!!

Feb 11, 2009

I’ve had an amazing last six weeks and have been to just about every part of the state, excluding the Florida Keys and west of the Apalachicola River on the Panhandle. As we are expecting our second baby in May, it was a solo trip for me – but it allowed me to travel...

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