Alcatraz #5

At one end of the main cell block complex sits the mess hall and associated kitchen. Although the food preparation area is behind a metal grill, it's possible to shoot through the bars quite easily and to anyway get a feel for how this would all have worked. The kitchen is another of the staged areas, in Alcatraz and one of the items displayed is a knife cupboard complete with outlines, painted black, presumably to make it plain when any particular item was missing. Not a bad idea, especially when your dining patrons include the likes of Al Capone!

(And yes, the blur, achieved by moving the camera while dragging the shutter, was deliberate!)

Alcatraz #4

I really don't know why, but somehow Alcatraz seemed more humane than I was expecting. Now, that's not to say that I'd fancy doing a 20 stretch in solitary there - or frankly getting banged-up for a stay at the Her Majesty's pleasure (or whatever the equivalent is here in the USA) in any federal, err, facility - but given when this place was built then it seemed, well, reasonable, I suppose. A bit short on privacy, perhaps, but just think of the location! The views would be fantastic ... if only you could see them.

Given all that, how then to capture the essence of a place built for incarceration of the most notorious criminals the US has to offer - and let's face it, the development of extreme and hardened villains has become a world-beating industry here over the years so there were plenty of candidates to chose from - locked up for decades at a time in the same cell?

My shot at answering that particular question is shown above!

Alcatraz #3

Something a bit different this time. Walking around the cell block, you'll find that a few of them have been staged in one way or another and the one above caught my eye because it had been set up to show some inmate drawings. I'm not 100% sure the cross-processing effect I used here really works so will likely take another stab at it in black-and-white at some point. Still, it does serve to highlight the drawing above the sink (as well as the headshot above it), which was why I went that road in the first place, it's just that the coloration of the cell door doesn't really seem to work so well. Still, I do like the arrangement of objects in the cell, and in particular the way they are delineated by the bars of the cell door.

Alcatraz #2

Following on from the picture yesterday, here's a classic example of making sure you always turn round and look at what's happening behind you! I did this one in HDR, partly because of the extremely high dynamic range, covering as it does strong and direct sunlight though to deep shade, and partly to get detail into the staircase. Kind of worked, but ultimately this shot went a different way than I was expecting!

Alcatraz #1

Rain. Lots of it. It was pouring, and yet we were booked to go to Alcatraz on the first ferry of the day. Therefore, we went!

Although people were getting soaked waiting in line for the ferry at Pier 33, and then were destined to get wet again walking from the dock on Alcatraz up to the main building, nevertheless the boat seemed full. In addition, it's clearly a popular spot for photographers on a Sunday morning because we weren't the only ones toting backpacks and tripods.

Upon landing, our photo group headed straight to the main cell block to begin shooting in the prison showers, which is basically the place where the tours start from. Given that it was wet then the normal course of events - tourists collect right on the dock where the boat lands to hear an introductory docent talk - wasn't really followed and it was clear that there would very soon be a lot of people milling around the buildings. Therefore, I headed off to photograph the main cell block before there were too many visitors a'visitin'. I found the above spiral staircase at the end of the block and spent quite some time shooting it from all angles, but liked the one above (and maybe one other I'll post too), even though it's a very functional, square-on sort of shot. To me, it's interesting because of its basic symmetry, offset by the mirror reflecting the prison cells in the adjacent corridor. Note, too, the difference between areas worn dark by the passage of countless footfalls in and those bits of floor, under the staircase, for example, where the stone looks much more pristine.