Fort Zachary Taylor, Key West

Cannons of Fort Zachary Taylor

Fort Zachary Taylor is located on the far west side of Key West.  This is extremely accessible (much more so than the Dry Tortugas National Park which requires a date to visit).  You can visit in a couple of hours and then spend more time enjoying the beautiful Florida Keys.  The scenery is similar to what you find at Dry Tortugas.  Ancient canons, very fine brickwork, rusty colored fort walls are all available for the light to play with.

Wandering the corridors, I found many fascinating angles of light and shadows to photograph.  This is an excellent place for landscape photography.  This would also be an excellent place for a photo shoot with a model.

A couple of things are strongly recommended.  In order to get the best light on the canons, I do not recommend coming in the morning.  Instead, just after noon.  In the morning direct sunlight will be shining into these corridors and the contrast is too great.  The indirect light is much more desirable.  The other thing that I recommend is a tripod.  Small apertures and dark corridors require long exposures.  A steady tripod allows you to handle these conditions without a problem.

Arches and Cannons

Cannon Portal

Light and Shadows of Fort Zachary Taylor

Arches, Bricks and light of Fort Zachary Taylor

Center of Fort Zachary Taylor:  the cannons just get into shade around noon.