A few hours ago, we just got our power restored after 58 hours of non-preparedness and freezing in our home. Being relatively still new to Washington from Florida, we were absolutely not prepared for an extended power outage, which was cause by a massive Ice storm that left over 400,000 people without power in the Seattle area. On the second night of darkness, I got cabin fever and had to go out for a walk, and I brought my camera, tripod, a fast lens (70-200mm f2.8), and one of my Nikons. I wanted to try something completely different from my normal work.

These ice sculptures caused by the freezing rain were spectacular! I had to take some very long exposures to pull enough light into the camera for these images….. click on each for a larger image.

I realize these are very different from the photography normally displayed here, but I’d love some input and your thoughts on these. Like it? Not Really? Meh?

No related posts.

So often as is the case, I am en route to my photography location du jour which my inner nerd has neatly located, diagrammed, planned, and studied when movement out of the corner of my eye puts a snag in my orderly system. I was climbing into the Cascades Mountains when this big and beautiful bald eagle soars out from behind the trees and begins to circle above the valley I was above. Switching lenses as fast as I could, I was ready to shoot, and I was already too late. The eagle was too far away to get anything other than a snapshot.

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Another day….. no problem. I’ve already photographed many bald eagles over the years, and I’m sure I’ll photograph many more in the years ahead.

I started looking down into this valley and saw a shot, but it wasn’t quite right. Time to walk this one out and look for an angle. Hot coffee in hand, I started walking up and down the road – in and out of the trees, until I had the river at just the right angle, an opening in the trees that was just right, and by the time I returned to the spot and got my tripod and camera set up, a little bit of sunlight flickered through clouds to give me just the right amount of accent light and added contrast in the trees below me. Just that easy, just like that – click!

Related posts:

1. Silver Falls on Mount Rainier
2. Ohanapecosh River on Mount Rainier
3. Mountain Stream with a Touch of Snow

First images of 2012!

New Year’s Resolutions: things that are usually unrealistic goals that rarely last past January 7th. I generally do not make these type of resolutions because my life seems to be governed by the unexpected and the weather. I’ve decided to continue what I’ve been doing for the most part of the past decade and explore new areas and keep challenging myself with photographic style and subject matter, without the added pressure of unrealistic goals.

~ click on images to enlarge ~

A couple of weekends ago I was trying to find a way up into the mountains that wasn’t blocked off by roads closed for winter or blocked due to an ongoing manhunt (a national park ranger was shot and killed the day before on Mount Rainier) so I ended up in North Bend, Washington – 35 miles east of Seattle. I ended up running into a hiker who suggested I check out Twin Falls State Park, and so I did.

This massive 150-foot waterfall was 2-3 miles from where I left the car, so I travelled light, especially as there are a lot of switchbacks and elevation to reach this location. Because I needed an extra-wide angle lens, I was happy I’d brought a long my Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens or these images wouldn’t have been able to be made. These two images with different orientation have one thing in common that is something I try to avoid (and subsequently keep this lens packed away unused most often) – distortion at the edges of the frame. But….. in this case I think it added to the overall image, helping draw the focus to what is really important in the shot – the waterfall itself. Many prosumer lenses have flaws that are part of the deal when using cheaper lenses, but it’s up to us to work those flaws into triumphs!

Related posts:

1. Mountain Stream with a Touch of Snow
2. Silver Falls on Mount Rainier
3. Ohanapecosh River on Mount Rainier

I rarely (if ever) do these kinds of posts here, but this time this is for something special, and there’s a first time for everything…

I’ll skip the cheesy sales pitch (I don’t like them either and they make me feel dirty, irritated and bitter inside) and tell you what I have to say:

With my new gallery system in place I can and will offer you a 25% off coupon to save on fine art prints, canvas prints, and a ton of other stuff directly from me, so I don’t have to mark up anything and the order will be in the mail within a couple of days, tops!

SAVE 25% ON ANY ORDER! USE COUPON CODE: XMAS2011

Why order a print? Because it is art, timeless, and when hanging on the wall will always be a part of your home, office, etc. and won’t get stuffed in a closet or drawer. Want someone to remember you fondly? Let them see and walk past a reminder of that gift everyday! Want to make sure they will always remember what you bought them for Christmas? Give them something that will bring beauty and interest to that bare spot on the wall! Check out the full gallery list here.

List of some of the galleries to choose from:

 (click on name to visit)

North American Landscapes

Animals & Wildlife

 Wild Orchids 

Wildflowers

Lots More!

…or just do a search for something by keyword!

At checkout, all you have to do is add the coupon code XMAS2011 and a 25% discount will added to then entire order. Super-easy!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Holiday Season from The Leighton Family!

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As I was driving alone cross-country this past June I had some incredible experiences.

• I accidentally drove a fully loaded moving truck with car and trailer in tow through an agricultural field at 4am in the middle of Arkansas – at full speed.
• I had a full-grown buffalo run at me full-tilt while keeping a steady hand on my camera’s shutter.
• I saw my first cornfield.
• I stayed a night in the town where Jesse James was killed.
• I shivered on the ground next to the truck all night halfway up a mountain while listening to wolves and was so cold that I didn’t care if they ate me.
• I actually said aloud that “I’m not in Kansas anymore” after crossing a state line (ok, ok – I was jacked up on Starbucks and delirious at the time)
• I saw what it really means when the Missouri River floods and even the Interstate system shuts down.
• I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time.
• I experienced a real desert for the first time and searched for rattlesnakes and photographed various cacti in flower.
• I went mountain biking in Iowa and Colorado and had a blast!
• I passed through several towns that were absolutely devastated by a series of massive tornadoes.
• I got mobbed by a pack of thieving ground squirrels in Montana.

This list goes on and on….

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Then just when after a week of full-on constant new-experience-overload that I thought nothing could amaze me like the wild experience the hour before, I turn the corner and see this view of beautiful snowy mountains reflected in a crystal-blue lake on a gorgeous summer day in the Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming. Even now just thinking about it, the memory of the grandeur of the landscape just blows my mind.

Related posts:

1. Eye to Eye with a Wild Elk Calf
2. Silver Falls on Mount Rainier
3. Ohanapecosh River on Mount Rainier

I may need my readers’ help with this one….. I am stuck between two images that are very similar and shot at very nearly the exact same spot. One is in color, the other on black and white.

Last week there was a break in the constant rain and I went on a “not-well-thought-out nature photography destination” type of trip. I just headed east of my new home toward the mountains where I’ve been seeing some snow. Not planning to go far, because the rain started again, but I was feeling a creative rush and I just wanted to visit somewhere new to me. This meant past the grocery store and the elementary school we visited with my preschooler a couple of weeks ago. Besides, the light was perfect for the type of landscape work I love to shoot – moody, gray with teasing hints of sunlight but with a lingering sense of menace. I found what I was looking for twenty minutes from my driveway.

This is the image I was originally looking for after I found this river and scouted out the best angles. As I was waiting for breaks in the wind and rain and enduring the looks of locals looking at me like I was out of my mind standing in the middle of a single-lane bridge with all my gear, I thought the contrast in what I was seeing might call for a change – maybe a black & white treatment. So I decided to shoot for both.

Shooting in black & white is something I always greatly admire in other photographers but something I seldom do. I kind of leave that to “The Greats”, and more or less go my own way and style as I have done over the years. For many, the general template style is that of Ansel Adams. Being from Southwest Florida, our local master nature photographer Clyde Butcher was the one who made an everlasting impression on me first – long before I knew who Mr. Adams was (I even saw him once in the Everglades totally focused on his craft – looking like a sort of “Swamp-Santa”). Since I was there, had my gear with me, and the lighting was spectacular, I pulled out my old-school red filter and started shooting. Something wonderful about old film filters… they add so much drama to an image that isn’t so easily created in post-production in the digital studio.

My question to you… which one do you like better? The color image or the black & white? I am at an even 50/50.

Related posts:

1. Ohanapecosh River on Mount Rainier
2. Silver Falls on Mount Rainier
3. Mountain Stream with a Touch of Snow

Last August as I was just learning my way in a totally alien environment in the Cascades Mountains,  this newcomer from Florida was searching for exotic wild orchids in Stevens Pass east of Seattle. Constantly looking over my shoulder for that great white shark of the land – the grizzly bear, I plunged into my new wild environment like a man lost in a desert into a barrel of cool water. Everything was new, fresh, exciting, and unknown! These next few posts will be from this series of forays into this beautiful and spectacular wilderness.

 Common Garter Snake in the Snoqualmie National Forest

I spotted this beautifully patterned garter snake at the edge of a small mountain lake in the Snoqualmie National Forest. I’ve seen many garter snakes all over the continent, but the ones I’ve seen (and caught) from Nova Scotia to Florida have never been so pretty.

Two of the most notable facts about this snake is that it is found further north than any other snake on the planet (they are even found in Alaska!) and that while considered a harmless snake to people in general, they are actually rear-fanged, and to a lizard or frog this is deadly. Don’t worry – the mouth of a garter snake is too small to get one of these fangs into any of us.

To see more images of snakes, please visit my Snake Gallery.

Related posts:

1. A Cascade Mountains Beauty – Red Columbine
2. Eye to Eye with a Wild Elk Calf
3. If it Looks Like a Duck, and Quacks Like a Duck…

I think I’ll let the image do the talking for me on this one….

Mountain Stream with a Touch of Snow ~ Mount Rainier, Washington

Visit my Lakes, Rivers and Waterfalls gallery to see more images like this, or see this image on Fine Art America.

Rich Leighton

Related posts:

1. Silver Falls on Mount Rainier
2. Ohanapecosh River on Mount Rainier
3. A Moment in the Great Smoky Mountains

“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family Anatidae on our hands.” ~ Douglas Adams

There is a park in Medina, Washington that has become my private outdoor office over the past few months where I collect my thoughts, write in my notebooks and generally get some peace and quiet when I need it. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been noticing many new ducks visiting the two ponds within the park, and several of them have been species I’ve never seen before – outside of nature field guides. Click any image to enlarge.

Yesterday, I decided to bring some of my photography gear and see what I could get on camera. To my surprise there were about six or seven species of ducks, two of which I hadn’t seen until that day. My favorite was the hooded merganser – a male resplendent in his winter breeding plumage!

The hooded merganser is aptly named for the crest on the top of its head which when raised is a beautiful sight. It is also the second smallest member of the merganser species.

The striking black & white pattern and coloration of this breeding adult were made only more beautiful by the golden and copper trees reflected in the cold autumn water.

As could only be expected, this handsomely dapper hooded merganser had attracted some females, which are quite different in appearance. Missing are the bold pattens, striking golden eye, and the frantic activity which no doubt got this particular female’s attention. (Below)

Since my web gallery for Ducks & Geese has been embarrassingly bare, I think now this one pond will give me the opportunity to fill it up with new images!

Related posts:

1. How Blue Can You Get? Steller’s Jay!
2. My Photo was Picked for the 2011 National Audubon Society Calendar!!!!!!!
3. The Florida Sandhill Crane – Sentinel of the Okaloacoochee Slough

Composition is a key component of making photographs. We all know about the rule of thirds, placement of subject matter, etc. but how many of us really think about what we will be doing with the shot after the shutter is pressed? There are different types of composition practices for different uses of the image.

Red Fox on Mount Rainier

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When I’m out shooting a subject, I regularly include a few frames of my subject that will include blank space in my shot, preferably with little detail or an out of focus area for text. This is known in the design and publishing industry as copy space. Copy space is an area in an image left blank intentionally for the purpose of adding text or other elements in a design or publishing project. Commercial photographers know and shoot for this. It is very important for stock photographers and absolutely essential for media photographers. If you think about it – most of every two-page magazine spread is the perfect example of this when an image is spread to take up most or all of both pages. Nearly every memorable magazine featured article I can think of uses a strong story-telling image with enough copy space for at least the title and author of the article. It is also seen in nearly every advertisement, publication and commercial, and anywhere else where you see graphics/photography and text together.

Stock photography has become very important to me in recent years in my work as many of my clients are web designers or publishers who are looking for images that are a little higher in quality than your usual microstock agencies. Knowing how to compose shots for a variety of purposes when out shooting is often the difference between a day with no calls and a paycheck. For more information on my library of available stock images - click here.

Related posts:

1. Red Fox on Mount Rainier