Alcatraz Staircase A lonely staircase on Alcatraz is off-limtis to tourists but not to the eye of my camera.

Sailing In San Francisco A yacht sails past the waterfront in San Francisco Bay. There was plenty of activity on the waters with ferries, yachts, kite surfers and even helicopters fly overhead.

Corrugated Prison Roof Visitors to Alcatraz Island walk about on the broad path up to the main prison building. Some of the buildings on the island are in a bad state of repair, lacking everything but the brick walls that stand like a whitewashed skeletons. This building is about halfway up the hill and in…

Alcatraz Tower and Prison The prison tower and buildings of Alcatraz provide a stark welcome for visitors to the former penitentiary. Despite my close investigation, the tower in this picture was off limits. Pity, because I bet there’d be a great view from up there!

Alcatraz Cell Painting Could these be the paint and artwork of Doc, a character in the film Escape from Alcatraz starring Clint Eastwood? This was only one of a number of cells with personal belongings in them.

Tourists on the tram Tourists on a tram in Chinatown, San Francisco. I got lots of smiles and waves from the passengers when they saw my camera pointed at them!

The couch on the street A couch rests against a pole on a street junction in San Francisco. That’s a novel way of getting rid of unwanted furniture but I wonder who’ll pick it up? For all I know, it could still be there with a family of squirrels living in it. The same happens…

Unhappy Child A small girl walks mournfully into the shopping center on Paul Street clutching her “BT Kids” balloon, probably handed to her by this lady.

Alone in the park A dog, a tree and a park bench in the Lee Fields, Cork. I took Oscar, our shitzu, for a short walk at the Lee Fields a while back and made this image during what was a fairly uneventful walk. Neither of us was in the mood for a walk but…

Leading lines and bright lights Studs on the ground lead down to the traffic lights on the South Mall, Cork. In this long exposure shot a couple of cars passed by providing a nice light trail in the background. The twinkling of the street lighting is from the narrow aperture. Setting the aperture as small…

The witch and the balloons A witch hands out balloons to young kids outside Brown Thomas on a late October Saturday. Just out of frame of this shot is a woman who has asked for a balloon. The witch explains that the balloons are just for the kids.. I wonder why? More on this later.

King of my world A child is carried atop his parent’s shoulders on St. Patrick’s Street, Cork a few weeks ago. I really like this shot, for what reason, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the brightness and flowery design of the clothing worn by parent and child compared to the passers by. I’m sure both…