Archive for the 'Alcatraz' Category


The Stars and Stripes on Alcatraz

Sunday, December 10th, 2006 by Donncha

The of the flies over Island on a windy August day.

This was originally a portrait shot but I squared it off to emphasize the vertical and horizontal leading lines. The hydrant is much more prominent in the foreground too. The red rusty texture beloved of all photographers sets off the clean lines of the red stripes in the .

I took a photo of an even older flag several months ago. It belongs to my uncle and has only 46 stars!

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Alcatraz Flowers

Thursday, November 30th, 2006 by Donncha

The entrance to is up a series of steps near these . I love how they catch the light while the background is in the shade of the .

After yesterday’s flood of posts it’s nice to get back to the one-a-day habit although I wonder why Technorati hasn’t picked up on my IT@Cork2006 tag yet. Grrr.

It seems that they haven’t looked at my feed or updated their records of my posts yet because if you look under Canon 20d several of the posts I made yesterday show up. Not this one just yet. I guess there are lots of blogs out there!

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Look through the bars at Alcatraz

Saturday, November 25th, 2006 by Donncha

Looking down a closed off corridor or street in , . I watched a few minutes of “Escape From ” last night and recognised a few locations - the canteen of course, and the ventilation shafts behind the cells are visible to anyone who looks.

I wonder how many feet plodded down this street and who was incarcerated there.

Thanks for the comments on my posts too, it’s encouragement to keep posting so if you feel like adding your two cents don’t be shy!

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The real prisoners of Alcatraz

Friday, November 24th, 2006 by Donncha

Prisoners of mill about in a daze.

The special headsets they wear are mind controlling devices that cause to stare listlessly into space. They control the actions of , causing them to walk around the , peering into cells and to gaze at features of the streets.

I’ve felt the power of these devices myself and they’re seductive. A gravelly voice telling me to go to a particular , or along a corridor. Thankfully an official collected the device off each person at a certain point and we woke up and walked out into the sunshine with happy smiles on our faces.

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The gulls of Alcatraz

Sunday, November 19th, 2006 by Donncha

Yet another curious seagull on the island of in . I think he has a stern, angry look on his face, probably because I disturbed him by waving a camera in his face!

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Checking the prisoner

Thursday, November 16th, 2006 by Donncha

“I’m so tired. They’ve had me locked up here for years. I’m in solitary confinement for my sins. I was set up I tell you! It wasn’t me!”

A tourist looks in on a in in the solitary confinement wing. Luckily I was able to walk out immediately. Not a pleasant place.
Besides the main subject of this image, it’s the small details I like. That barely noticed on the far right grabs me by the shoulders and screams, “you don’t know the half of what I’ve seen!”

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No walking stick

Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 by Donncha

It’s a good thing nobody in this picture needs help walking or getting about! Is that sign really saying walking sticks aren’t allowed?
It could be one of the following too, what do you think?

  • No backpackers
  • No mountaineers or hikers
  • No round headed
  • Or possibly even “ with bags on their back are not allowed to climb over this barrier.” Better leave the bags in town guys!

Picture taken on Island, .

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A resident of Alcatraz

Saturday, November 11th, 2006 by Donncha

Island is now inhabited by the and I presume security staff but I think the have a better life with all the tourists around hefting lunches and sandwiches from the mainland.

Imagine the scene, me and a few of the others scrambling to get a shot of this . I had my wide angle lens fitted so I had to lean forward for the to fill the frame! It’s a sign of how tame they are that we got this shot even if he did eye me suspiciously.

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