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Fort Brooke — a ghost town in Hillsborough County, Florida — is a popular subject for landscape photographers. It sits roughly 800 m SSE of Tampa.
Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida, in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native Seminoles, who had been confined to an interior reservation by the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823), and it served as a military headquarters and port during the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). The village of Tampa developed just north of the fort during this period, and the area was the site of a minor raid and skirmish during the American Civil War. The obsolete outpost was sparsely garrisoned after the war, and it was decommissioned in 1883, just before Tampa began a period of rapid growth, opening the land for development.From the Wikipedia article “Fort Brooke”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Fort Brooke the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 63° (ENE) at the June solstice and 116° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 297° (WNW) in June to 244° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 85° in summer but only 39° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:35 AM | 90° E | 7:42 PM | 270° W | 62° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:35 AM | 63° ENE | 8:30 PM | 297° WNW | 85° | 13h 55m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:19 AM | 89° E | 7:28 PM | 271° W | 62° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:18 AM | 116° ESE | 5:40 PM | 244° WSW | 39° | 10h 22m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Weathered wood and rusted metal show texture best in low-angle light; overcast skies suit interiors and moody black-and-white work.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6:58 AM | 7:23 AM | 7:57 AM | 5:22 PM | 5:57 PM | 6:22 PM | 10h 34m |
| February | 6:44 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:40 AM | 5:49 PM | 6:21 PM | 6:45 PM | 11h 13m |
| March | 7:17 AM | 7:40 AM | 8:11 AM | 7:08 PM | 7:39 PM | 8:02 PM | 11h 59m |
| April | 6:42 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:24 PM | 7:55 PM | 8:19 PM | 12h 50m |
| May | 6:16 AM | 6:41 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:40 PM | 8:13 PM | 8:38 PM | 13h 32m |
| June | 6:07 AM | 6:34 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:54 PM | 8:28 PM | 8:55 PM | 13h 54m |
| July | 6:18 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:55 PM | 8:29 PM | 8:55 PM | 13h 45m |
| August | 6:36 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:33 AM | 7:38 PM | 8:10 PM | 8:34 PM | 13h 09m |
| September | 6:52 AM | 7:16 AM | 7:47 AM | 7:05 PM | 7:36 PM | 8:00 PM | 12h 20m |
| October | 7:07 AM | 7:31 AM | 8:02 AM | 6:30 PM | 7:02 PM | 7:25 PM | 11h 31m |
| November | 6:27 AM | 6:52 AM | 7:26 AM | 5:05 PM | 5:38 PM | 6:03 PM | 10h 46m |
| December | 6:49 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:49 AM | 5:02 PM | 5:37 PM | 6:03 PM | 10h 23m |
Local time (America/New York), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
From Fort Brooke, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 6.8 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 33° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 7 (suburban / urban transition), so expect visible sky glow; drive away from towns for better results.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | 3° | — |
| February | 4:40 AM – 5:40 AM | 1.0 | 20° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:47 AM – 6:17 AM | 2.5 | 30° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:47 AM – 5:37 AM | 3.8 | 33° | SE → S |
| May | 11:51 PM – 5:11 AM | 5.3 | 33° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:02 PM – 4:52 AM | 6.8 | 33° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:00 PM – 3:30 AM | 5.5 | 33° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:34 PM – 1:34 AM | 4.0 | 33° | S → SW |
| September | 8:55 PM – 11:25 PM | 2.5 | 30° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:20 PM – 9:30 PM | 1.2 | 21° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 5° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -18° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 7 Bortle 7 — Suburban / urban transition. The whole sky has a grey-white glow; the Milky Way is invisible to the eye. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 18.54 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show April as the clearest month (about 43% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (67%). August is the warmest month and January the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 81 | 84 | 89 | 92 | 95 | 96 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 89 | 86 | 83 |
| Low °F | 30 | 35 | 40 | 47 | 60 | 70 | 73 | 73 | 65 | 47 | 42 | 36 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 7.3 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this ghost town
- Look for details: door hinges, faded signs, square nails and window frames tell the story.
- Leave everything as you found it; removing artifacts from public land is illegal.
- Respect private property and closures: many ghost towns are on private land or protected historic sites — never enter unstable buildings.
- For interiors with windows, blend two exposures (one for inside, one for the view) instead of relying on HDR alone.
- Old buildings under the Milky Way make strong night images in dark rural skies.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
Season: High-elevation mining towns are reachable mostly from June to October; desert ghost towns are best in spring and autumn.
Suggested gear: Wide-angle lens, Tripod, Headlamp, Sturdy boots. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Permits, drones & access
Private property: Many ghost towns sit on private land or protected historic sites. Respect signs, never enter unstable buildings and leave artifacts in place.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Fort Brooke, closest first.
State Park
Beach
Lake
Botanical GardenFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Fort Brooke?
What time is golden hour at Fort Brooke?
Where does the sun rise and set at Fort Brooke?
Can you see the Milky Way from Fort Brooke?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Fort Brooke?
How far is Fort Brooke from Tampa?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.