Grand Tetons, WY

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Interesting Nature Facts: Updated Daily

Featured Gallery of the Month: Asparagaceae (Agaves and Yuccas)!

Latest Photos and Wildlife News

Upcoming Photography Workshops: Delayed Until Spring 2023

Frequently Asked Questions

Featured Gallery

Agaves and Yuccas

Since a recent name-change from Agavoideae to Asparagaceae, this commercially important family of tough, hardy and often desert-loving flowering plants is responsible for such sugary treats as agave nectar, desert icons such as the Joshua Tree, the century plant, historical military fort defenses in the form of impenetrable walls of the malicious and calvary-stopping “Spanish daggers” employed by the Spaniards in the New World and to those Southern Mexican species that when the sap from the pulverized plants get fermented, they become the cultural delights known today as tequila and mescal!

Agaves and Yuccas

Since a recent name-change from Agavoideae to Asparagaceae, this commercially important family of tough, hardy and often desert-loving flowering plants is responsible for such sugary treats as agave nectar, desert icons such as the Joshua Tree, the century plant, historical military fort defenses in the form of impenetrable walls of the malicious and calvary-stopping “Spanish daggers” employed by the Spaniards in the New World and to those Southern Mexican species that when the sap from the pulverized plants get fermented, they become the cultural delights known today as tequila and mescal!

Agaves and Yuccas

Since a recent name-change from Agavoideae to Asparagaceae, this commercially important family of tough, hardy and often desert-loving flowering plants is responsible for such sugary treats as agave nectar, desert icons such as the Joshua Tree, the century plant, historical military fort defenses in the form of impenetrable walls of the malicious and calvary-stopping “Spanish daggers” employed by the Spaniards in the New World and to those Southern Mexican species that when the sap from the pulverized plants get fermented, they become the cultural delights known today as tequila and mescal!

Latest Photos and Wildlife News

The Black Turnstone: A Charismatic Shorebird

The Black Turnstone: A Charismatic Shorebird

The black turnstone feeds mostly on small crustaceans and marine worms, which it can find on rocky shorelines or mudflats. It is also known to eat small insects, mollusks, and occasionally plant material.

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Female Saffron-winged Meadowhawk

Female Saffron-winged Meadowhawk

The last time I passed through Montana, I stopped by some duck ponds in Anaconda at a place called Warm Springs State Wildlife Management Area and there were dragonflies and damselflies everywhere! I was familiar with some of the species, but this one olive-golden...

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Spanish Dagger

Spanish Dagger

The Spanish dagger is one of those plants that brings a bit of nostalgia to me. It was a very common non-native landscaping plant in my childhood in Manatee County, Florida that always had these amazing displays of flowers in the spring at the very top of the plant....

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Interesting Nature Facts #76 – Native Orchids

To say that the number of wild native orchids found around the world is massive would be a massive understatement. Approximately 28,000 orchid species are found alive today which more or less equals the number of bony fish species found in the waters all over the...

Interesting Nature Facts #141 – Downy Woodpecker

The smallest woodpecker in North America? That would be the downy woodpecker, which barely weighs over one ounce, and can be found in every state and province of the continental United States and Canada. Interesting note: this tiny woodpecker has special feathers...

Interesting Nature Facts #54 – Texas Toad

Common in Texas, Oklahoma and Northern Mexico, the Texas toad is the state amphibian of Texas and while living in a hot environment, can go dormant in the hottest months of the year by burying itself in mud or cooler soils until conditions become favorable again. MORE...

Interesting Nature Facts #105 – Chicken of the Woods

The sulphur shelf mushroom is an edible fungus that grows on trees in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and tastes nearly identical to fried chicken. That explains its common name, the "chicken of the woods"! MORE PHOTOS OF MUSHROOMS MORE INTERESTING NATURE FACTS...

Interesting Nature Facts #146 – Prairie Falcon

Prairie falcons may look very similar peregrine falcons and do share a common extinct ancestor, but live in very different habitats and rarely come in contact with each other. The prairie falcon prefers nesting in the hot dry deserts and scrublands and ca sometimes be...

Frequently Asked Questions

1 - Fine Art Prints, Canvases and Other Printing Options

I have an automated ordering system for fine art prints that not only makes ordering easier, but gives you more options. Choose luster (my personal favorite – it’s a cross between matte and glassy), old-fashioned glossy, classic black & white or even have your images printed on metallic paper or canvas. As always, all my printing is done on ultra-premium museum-quality, acid-free professional photography paper with commercial archival inks that won’t fade or “yellow” over time. I care enough about my work to have it only printed on the best materials possible.

Next to every image in our gallery there is an “Add To Cart” button that will give you all the options available for that image in a very user-friendly format, and will make ordering a breeze. There is even an option at checkout for custom cropping.

And as always, if you have specific questions that aren’t answered on this page, please contact me and I’ll be more than happy to talk to you over the phone or by email, or even walk you through the ordering process. When in doubt, contact me before ordering.

All final orders will be double-checked and verified personally by me to make sure every order looks absolutely perfect before going to print.

2 - Image Licensing and Stock Images

I am pleased to announce that every single image on this website is available for instant download to your computer – no waiting involved! An ever-increasing amount of our business these days has been electronic image sales for bloggers, web-designers, news media and those who want the image in electronic format only. Many of these are publishers, editors, and other media specialists who do not require the printed image for their work or project.

We have a system in place for instant downloading of high-resolution (.TIFF) images for both personal use and commercial use. Just choose the size you want and it’s yours instantly, and we’ve tried to make this new system easy and simple to use and understand. There are two types of downloads available for you to use immediately. Read more about uses and downloading options.

Commercial Royalty-Free:

This type of download is for use in business or enterprise. This can include editorial work, blogging, sales material, non-profit, pamphlets, brochures, inclusion in a website, or any other commercial application. If you are not sure, ask yourself, “Am I planning on making money with this image or using for a business-related project?” If this is the case, then this is the right type of license needed. This does not include printing images for resale, print publication, or digital resale. If you do need an extended license for commercial work that requires use in mass printing, television, film, or other related commercial uses, contact us at your earliest convenience so we can discuss and we’ll get you a fast and reasonable quote.

Personal Use:

This type of download is for an individual using the image for personal use only. This includes classroom usage, school projects, personal prints, screen savers, usage for painters and artists to create derivatives that aren’t commercial in nature, etc. Essentially for uses that you aren’t trying to make money from our work. If you have any questions or extra information regarding uses please contact us and we’ll get you pointed in the right direction.

3 - More Information about Customized Fine Art Prints and Special Orders

Ordering prints from our galleries just got even easier! Now we are offering not only prints, papers, metal prints, acrylic and metal wall displays but a whole new range of customized frames, mats, and other accessories! Most prints are shipped within three business days and come with a no questions asked 30 day return policy. (I’ll discuss the details with you directly before you order – some of these materials may not be listed in the galleries, and I will take those orders personally – contact me for more information)

Through our partnership with Fine Art America we offer the most customizable and easy way of providing you with the very best professional prints for your office, home or gallery.

Custom frames and mattes – design it with amazing online tools! (Contact us so we can set it up personally with you)
Metal Prints (printed directly onto high quality aluminum)
Acrylic Prints (looks amazing with float mounts)
Stretched canvas prints
Museum wraps
Gallery wraps
Choose from over 230 high-end frames and 100 mats
Specialty fine art papers – including watercolor and luster!
Even greeting cards! Many more options, and we’re adding more every week!

4 - Usage Guidelines: Copyright Notice

We appreciate that you would like to use our photographs and/or images for your own projects. Please ask if you would like to use photographs for a blog or any other specific use. We offer exclusive rights to some of our photographs and it is important that you contact us, as this can then get us into legal troubles.

You may not copy images for paintings, drawings, or in any form or derivative without written permission. Your easiest option would be to purchase a “personal use” discounted download.

You may not sell or resell any photograph/image that Rich or Galina Leighton has taken or created. We have in our employ two competing copyright violation services searching out illegal usage of our work. Legal steps will be taken if misuse of our copyrighted material is detected.

If you want to use one of our images, you are required to purchase or license, which is easily and instantly available for every image through the shopping cart. Either contact us for your needs or use the automated pricing option for each image when viewing individual images (“Add to Cart” button). Every image you see in our online galleries is registered with the United States Copyright Office, and we do follow up on every single infringement case, all around the world. If you have any questions about any of this, please contact us.

You may not copy images for paintings, drawings, or in any form or derivative without permission.

We work really hard to create these images. Please respect our copyright. Thank you.

Reverence and Wild Shrieking Animals

There is something so wondrous about the summer evening as it fades to dusk when the golden hour lights up the mountains in a warm serene bath of vibrant light and color, and watching the entire horizon transform itself as the light swiftly changes into cooler blues,...

Operation Migration – Whooping Cranes Arrive in North Florida!

For the first three days of this week, an event was happening in St. Marks, Florida area that held the riveted attention of birders and other wildlife enthusiasts around the North America. It was Operation Migration's incredible effort in whooping crane conservation,...

Paurotis Palm: A Florida Native!

My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many...

Native Orchids of the Pacific Northwest

What a busy month so far! So many projects underway that I have had a hard time trying to get any of the new images out and on the website. I wanted to at least get some new orchid photos posted as many of you have been asking where the new ones are - so here you are!...

Sand Dunes of St. Joseph’s Peninsula

Two days ago, I returned from a fantastic photography trip where I finally met up with Terry Collins - another native Floridian landscape photographer who I'd been looking forward to meeting for quite some time. Our goal was to photograph the sand dunes of the St....

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