GhostOrchid - The rare and exquisite ghost orchid photographed just after dawn in the Fakahatchee Strand.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Rich Leighton – I’m a native Floridian from Bradenton Florida. I currently live in Tallahassee with my wife and two boys. I’ve always been and outdoors-man, and always had an interest in biology, even from a very young age.

Bonita Beach – An intensely dramatic sky over Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs, Florida.

When did you first become interested in Photography?

Rich Leighton – My Father was a big Photography buff. He learned to shoot lots of different types of cameras in the military, and they were always a big part of our family life. I was given my first 35mm SLR when I was a teenager, and never really took it seriously until I was in my 30’s.

Sanibel Lighthouse – Dawn on Sanibel Island on Lighthouse Point.

How did you get started in the business of Florida Nature Photography?

Rich Leighton – I got my start in Florida Nature Photography in a very common way. I’ve been in the habit all my life of taking long and extended hikes into the Florida Wilderness. I usually brought a camera along with me. Soon general interest led to a website and then some sales. The rest is history. Not very exciting or glamorous, but these things seldom are.

WhiteEgret100 - A great egret in silhouette on a quiet evening in Homosassa Springs.

What kind of gear do you pack when you’re in the field?

Rich Leighton – I am a Nikon shooter. In the field, I always have my D2X and D50, a couple of different flashes (especially my ring flash) and a variety of lenses. Since I do not spend a lot of time Photographing birds, I don’t have to carry around a lot of heavy zoom lenses, so I am usually carrying a simple wide angle lens, my 50mm prime lens and a 55mm-200mm VR. I like and use a lot of filters, so I generally have about four or five different ones with me as well as my old trusty Bogen Tripod. Most of my subjects are stationary, so higher end and faster lenses are not taken with me unless I’m after something in particular. Also – I’m in wet and damp places very often – too risky for the expensive gear!

GreenLynxSpider105 – A green Lynx spider ambushes a honey bee in the Withlacoochee State Forest.

What are some of your favorite photography locations?

Rich Leighton – I absolutely love the Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier County. It’s so big and has such an extreme variety in landscape, terrain and wildlife that it never becomes tedious. And every season brings a whole new range of photography possibilities! Other places that I really enjoy would be the entire Apalachicola River area – from the bluffs and ravines to the north, all the way to the river mouth and the islands there, such as St. George Island. Beautiful and wild scenery!

ApalachicolaRavines - A nameless creek meandering through the Apalachicola National Forest.

Do you have a favorite photograph from your collection?

Rich Leighton – My favorite photo from my collection is constantly changing. It’s usually one of my most recent at the time. This is usually based on some technique or style I’m trying to accomplish and finally get right after a long period of frustration and many little tweaks and adjustments. An example would be a recent photo I took of a small creek in the Apalachicola National Forest. It was such an amazing scene, yet it never looked like I wanted to on camera until I used an exposure blend to pull all the extreme highlights and shadows together into a well-balanced image. That took almost a year to get right.

I’m also quite fond of several of my Florida native orchid photos – especially when it takes me years to find them for a photograph.

StGeorgeIslandSunset1 - A tangerine sunset over the salt marshes of St. George Island, near Apalachicola, Florida.

Who has inspired you the most when it comes to your Photography?

Rich Leighton – I would have to say Rick Sammon. I love his approach photography as something fun and totally unrestrained. He calls himself “not a specialist in anything” but tries a little bit of everything. Here is how it applies to me. I could be deep in the Everglades in the water with no boat – miles from my car photographing a beautiful wild and rare orchid, and the light hits the petals in such a way, that I try a new technique I’ve never tried before, and make it up on the spot. I may try this same technique or setting a week later when shooting an outdoor wedding and the same technique might work perfectly on catching the sunlight in the bride’s hair. In essence, I don’t think of myself as a specialist either. Maybe more like a constant experimenter. It’s all in the tiny details – of which I am most interested.

StormyLotus1 – An American lotus with approaching storm Lake Jackson in Tallahassee.

What are the most important qualities that a Nature Photographer needs to succeed?

Rich Leighton – I would have to say the first rule of thumb when it comes to being a nature photographer is to KNOW YOUR SUBJECT! You will never be able to really appreciate what you are photographing unless you know why it is so special, and why it deserves to be photographed in the first place. Pretty, interesting, or unusual is never enough.

Tenacity is also very important. If you don’t do the hard work of getting into the world of your subject, you are missing the point. The “uniqueness” of the famous ghost orchid, for example, is where it grows deep in the watery darkness of the deep swamps. Finding and getting to
the location are all part of being a nature photographer. It took me three and a half years to find my first ghost in flower.

WoodStork - An endangered wood stork catches a crab in a Sanibel Island estuary.

What advice would you give to aspiring Photographers?

Rich Leighton – I love this question, and it is the most often ignored. Here is my answer. Do not listen to other nature photographers. The world is full of nature photographers with brand new expensive cameras who know every technical detail their cameras can do. This doesn’t mean they can take or make a good photograph. The good nature photographers are out in the field working and experimenting, not comparing equipment or megapixels. Develop your own unique style, cultivate it, let it mature, and then every outing a mental workout. Try out new ideas, push yourself and push hard, and most of all – respect your art. Soon those little lights will come on with the accompanying “a-ha!” – the little things that make the art of nature photography so wonderfully fulfilling on a personal level.

MashesSands1a-2 – An incoming storm in the early evening at Mashes Sands on the Florida Panhandle.

GreenAnole100 - Intensely colorful green anole showing off his red delwap on Key Largo.

Gator1 - Cheerful alligator near the St. Marks River in North Florida.