Posts tagged with Alcatraz
10 December 2006 - The Stars and Stripes on Alcatraz
The flag of the United States flies over Alcatraz 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 flag.
I took a photo of an even older flag several months ago. It belongs to my uncle and has only 46 stars!
30 November 2006 - Alcatraz Flowers
The entrance to Alcatraz Prison is up a series of steps near these flowers. I love how they catch the light while the background is in the shade of the prison.
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!
25 November 2006 - Look through the bars at Alcatraz
Looking down a closed off corridor or street in Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco. I watched a few minutes of “Escape From Alcatraz” 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!
24 November 2006 - The real prisoners of Alcatraz
Prisoners of Alcatraz mill about in a daze.
The special headsets they wear are mind controlling devices that cause people to stare listlessly into space. They control the actions of people, causing them to walk around the prison, 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 cell, 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.
19 November 2006 - The gulls of Alcatraz
Yet another curious seagull on the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco. I think he has a stern, angry look on his face, probably because I disturbed him by waving a camera in his face!
16 November 2006 - Checking the prisoner
“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 cell in Alcatraz 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 feather on the far right grabs me by the shoulders and screams, “you don’t know the half of what I’ve seen!”
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 people
- Or possibly even “people with bags on their back are not allowed to climb over this barrier.” Better leave the bags in town guys!
Picture taken on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco.
11 November 2006 - A resident of Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island is now inhabited by the birds and I presume security staff but I think the birds 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 seagull. I had my wide angle lens fitted so I had to lean forward for the gull 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.
7 November 2006 - Looking onto Freedom
A young woman talks on her mobile phone while looking out a barred window in Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco. Walking through the prison was quite an experience, especially as tourists like myself took photos and listened to the audio tour while wandering. It was easy to imagine how awful incarceration must be looking out the windows and through the bars of cells.
This was shot in the prison canteen and I rotated the image on purpose to add a little interest.
No thank you – gulp!
30 October 2006 - Watching from Alcatraz
A small hut on the island of Alcatraz looks out on San Francisco. It looks well preserved and anyone in the hut would have a god view of the city and probably the surrounding coastline up to the Golden Gate Bridge.