Tags
Some of these I’ve already posted on here when I blogged about my SF trip (Linked here) in 2010, others are newly edited. I’m slowly going through my pictures and organizing/tagging them in a more efficient manner, so I’ve decided to edit more of the old pics and share about some of the places in more detail than I have in the past on here.
Enjoy a morning at Alcatraz!
begin the day by finding the correct departure point.
enjoy a lovely, windy ride on alcatraz cruises
wander the island and find all the little details that make you happy
wander the island and find all the little things are interesting
be very glad this is not where you live
look through the teeny tiny windows
;-)
Things I really liked:
– this sounds ridiculous, but I LOVED the gift shop. It was very well done. They’ve got a great marketing/merchandising team.
– that you could go along at your own pace. Helpful for someone like me, who tends to stop and take pictures of everything.
– the information on the audio tour was really interesting. I did get to the point where I was on information overload, but that was about the time I had planned to leave.
Thoughts on Alcatraz
I’m not sure I would just go again for the fun of it. I’d probably want to get more merchandise at some point though. I’d go again with a friend who hadn’t been. As much as I liked it, and I did, it’s not on my list of things to do next time I visit San Francisco.
Anyone else been there? What did you like?
::edit:: Freshly Pressed! I’M SO EXCITED! And shocked. And excited. So, welcome! Look around while you’re here and THANKS FOR VISITING!
rampant 
I really think the Freshly Pressed gods are targeting me — it seems SO MANY recent posts have been about San Francisco, which is a quick 4 hours from my home (in Reno)…yet I haven’t been in a long, long time.
Apparently, WordPress thinks I’m overdue.
Because it’s all about me, of course.
;)
GREAT post — love love LOVE Alcatraz, and I can’t wait to take my kids…soon!!!
You definitely should, it’s worth the trip! ;-)
I am planning a trip out to San Francisco and this is definitely on my list of things to see while I’m there!
Awesome pictures!
thanks so much Carlie! (I visited your blog, you have some pretty awesome pictures yourself.)
I love these shots!
Wow – beautyfull photos, you have made. Love them.
thank you! I like them, so I’m glad other people do too. ;-)
It’s a long time since I visited Alcatraz (probably 15+ years ago now, I’d think), but I enjoyed the visit. It’s a strange place; hard to really imagine what it must have been like. Until you step into a cell and look out across the Bay and realise how soul-crushing it must have been to be incarcerated there, forever just out of reach. But then you remember just what kind of criminal got sent there. Yeah, strange & very conflicted place… much like most prisons in that regard, come to think of it.
I haven’t been but it’s well at the top of my bucket list.
I’ve been watching the TV show and it has made me even more interested in the subject.
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
ty!
I thought Alcatraz was great when I went to visit it but it wasn’t the surreal experience I was expecting (not sure I know what I was expecting honestly). However only Fisherman’s Wharf is on my definite “see again if I go back” list, not Alcatraz. Great to say I’ve seen it though, true history.
Been there, done that, loved it too. See here if you like: http://welikethemoon.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/breaking-the-rules/
Awesome pictures you took there, I love how everything looks so depressing and intimidating. Very well caught.
Greetings, Kerstin
thanks for the link! It was fun to look at someone else’s pictures. ;-)
I agree the gift shop was really cool. And I am definitely not big on spending money on needless things but the selection of interesting knick-knacks was endless. Cool post, good job and congrats on being freshly pressed!
Gorgeous photos!
Great Post – Great Photos – thanks for sharing! I enjoyed exploring Alcatraz when I was there back in 2005. I liked that you could go at your own pace and the audio tour was just enough information. I enjoyed watching the Alcatraz TV Series a few months back – became a junkie to that show – ha! Congrats on being FP!
I loved this post. Went to Alcatraz years ago. I remember looking at the Birdman’s cell, seeing the fake heads that two prisoners had made out of rubber to put in their beds so guards wouldn’t know they escaped, and hearing how well sound carried across San Francisco Bay. Prisoners could hear the sounds of parties and revelry in the city and be reminded of what they were missing. That was very sad.
Alcatraz is definitely more of a “do once” type of thing. If you enjoyed the ferry ride though, I’d recommend just booking a regular ferry passage to Sausalito. It’s much cheaper (around $15 roundtrip), you go right by Alcatraz, and Sausalito is a cute little town to walk around in and grab some lunch.
oooh. good tip. I’ll have to add that to my list for next time I visit the SF area. Thanks!
Enjoyed the virtual tour. Very nice photographs.
thanks!
You have some very nice shots. This is one of the places I have wanted to visit because of its history.
Awesome pictures, I love ‘m!
this is so cool! I’ve lived an a little over an hour away from “the Rock” (well San Fran) for pretty much my whole life – and I’ve never been! Gorgeous photos!!!
It’s definitely worth a trip. My list of things to do in SF was pretty long, so I wish I lived that close!
Such a great collection of photographs!
Beautiful pics! I especially love the one of the winding iron stairs. I’m curious what kind of things they sell at the gift store.
I’ve had a couple people ask… Here’s a great youtube video with pictures of the decor and merchandise in the main shop. You can also check out the official gift shop online here .
It has been years since I’ve been to Alcatraz, and like you said it’s not somewhere you frequent regularly (and we go to SF often). However, going every couple of years is fun. We can’t wait to take our 4 kids.
The kind of photo tour I like! Wrote a poem somewhat “like” this…about a State Hospital (Where my Dad used to work)…dwindling down to almost nothing. It’s somewhere on OUR POETRY CORNER (Word Press)…title something like “Can’t go Home again”…you’d think I would remember my own poem!
There is nothing quite like the sound of a cell door clanging shut behind you. A guide gave us a taste of how that feels and sounds.
SHUDDERS.
Great pics. Enjoy a morning at Alcatraz!
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
Hi! Nice blog! Your post about Alcatraz caught my eye. I was there last year with my husband, and we really enjoyed the tour. It was one of the highlights of SF. I think what impressed/amazed us the most was that children and families grew up on the island. Would have never imagined that! Also, I really enjoyed the gardens. Great pictures! I think you captured Alcatraz quite well!
Interesting, artistic photos… I visited Alcatraz on a trip to San Francisco last spring. I have to say, I was pretty creeped out by the whole experience. (Really loved SF, though.) It gave me the sense of walking through a concentration camp, particularly the shower room. (It seemed so surreal and disturbing to me to see people snapping photos of each other, smiling, in a place with such a history of so much misery.) The beautiful flowers and vegetation that can be found everywhere on the island (in stark contrast to the desperately decrepit prison) were the one redeeming element that I thought signalled a possibly hopeful new beginning or purpose (akin to a long, harsh winter giving way to the renewal of life in spring) to this otherwise infamous place. Needless to say, I was very glad when the ferry came to take us back to the mainland!
Thank you so much for sharing your trip this way, is very interesting and thoughtful that you would take the time to do this, hopefully you can give me some insight how to build my wordpress.com following, I sure do like yours!
Amazing place…
I love San Francisco and didn’t get to go to Alcatraz any of the times I’ve been there. I did the Bay Cruise and floated around it, and got some photos from the boat. I’m glad I got to see your photos here. One day. It’s looks very eerie.
Love the iron circular stair, excellent composition. And really loved the port hole like window shot. Great capture of what an inmate must’ve seen. Great stuff, now I’ve got to make sure I go!
I live across the bay from “The Rock” but your pictures have inspired me to take a Mini adventure.
Great post. Nice pics.
I love your pictures. San Fran is one of my favorite places.
I absolutely love these shots! I’ve always thought of Alcatraz as a very interesting site =) should I ever be at San Fransisco, I am definitely going there!
Thank you for sharing your photos. I remember going when I was ten years old or so. It really left an impression at that age. They had guides at the time giving the tour and they “locked” us in a cell. Scary! It really is a dark but fascinating place.
I visit San Francisco i like it sooooooooooooooooooo much and blog is veeeeeeeeeery nice
Great shots!
I loved it there! I visited the island in 1999, and I’d love to go back. Last time I was in San Fran I didn’t have the time, but next time I’ll def go. Loved your pics. Thanks for posting :)
I have never been but I remember my high school law teacher talking about her trip there. As someone who studied Criminal Justice in University I’d love to go.
Hauntingly luminous angles and lighting in your photos. Great portrayal of the place and the outing. Thank you. Renee
Thats nice view.
Thanks for these photos. i was in SF in 2006 and sadly my camera died tking all the memories on it’s ittle sim-card with it. So thanks for sharing these beautiful photos
I like your photos. One of the greatest things I did when I lived in the San Francisco Bay area was to go with the girls scouts on a trip that allowed us to actually sleep at Alcatraz. Yes, they did let us go home in the morning. Perhaps this might interest you as well?
I remember going there as a teenager and when they put us in the cell, closed the barred door and then the thick outer door that left us in a bleak, black box of dead air. aaaahhhgh!!! – haven’t been back but I want to do that again.
I loved when I went there. Freezing cold but awesome to see and be part of the history of the place. A definite for any visitors to SF. Just take a jacket no matter how “nice” it may seem, it is cold over there. LOL
What a wonderful narrative ode to a place that lives on, larger than life, in our collective mind!
Great post. I was able to visit Alcatraz a few years back and thought it was fascinating.
I haven’t been there in a very long time. Cool photos, and congrats on your freshly pressed!
Great photos! Alcatraz really does fascinate me – the history, the atmosphere, everything!
Maybe in another post you can share what you’ve found to be a better way to organize your photos.
thanks for the idea! I’m currently just organizing by date and adding tags in Bridge.
I want to go see it. Your pictures look wonderful. It is a part of history. Great post.
Got some fab shots there, I’d love to visit.
Fascinating images. I saw it from San Francisco in 1985, but didn’t have time to go there for a visit. I can’t think of Alcatraz without thinking of the Native Americans who attempted to re-claim the island in the 1960’s. The U.S. should have returned it to them–it’s the least this government could have done. I know we can’t return all the land to the Native Americans, but most of the land–at least in the West–is Federally owned. And the U.S. should definitely return much, if not most of that territory to Native Americans of all tribes.
My dad stayed on Alcatraz for a few weeks during the Native American Occupation of it. His older brother was a dock guard for the Natives. :) A few years ago my dad was looking up pictures/info of it, and randomly found a picture of himself coming off a boat from the island with a caption that said “unidentified Native American disembarks from Alcatraz” or something like that. My dad did a double take and was like “that’s me!” Suffice it to say, I interviewed him for several school projects over the matter!
It’s a great place to photograph. Wonderful shots!
Really enjoyed looking at your photos. I haven’t been to Alcatraz since I was little and this makes me want to go see it again!
it is because of these cell blocks that the term ‘the clink’ came around. This prison closed all cel doors with one big lever and when they all closed they made that famous “Clink” sound. You probably already know this though because it looks like you got a pretty awesome tour!
Great post, your photos came out a lot nicer than mine, on my trip the weather conspired against me and I couldn’t get outside to get some of the shots I wanted (at least not without coming back drenched).
Very cool! Even having lived in San Francisco, I’ve never been to Alcatraz.
nick
i have been there a couple of times, and there are special tours you can go at night or during volunteer events where you get to stay over night. those are really spooky. :) lovely post and congratulations on being freshly pressed!
Just wanted to add to the great post and images. If your visiting SF and want to do this tour make sure you buy your tickets at least 1 week in advance or more. This tour fills up fast.
Nice photos! Great post! I can’t even imagine how could be the life inside Alcatraz…
I only think of X-men when I see the word “Alcatraz”.. :) and those are really really great shots. Should have put on flickr or something.. and congratulations on freshly pressed!
You totally deserve all the attention, you of the artistic soul. And you got Freshly Pressed on a weekend to boot! Enjoy the bump! :)
Oh, and your pictures are, as ever, gorgeous. Love ’em. Love you.
I haven’t been to Alcatraz since 7th grade, but I’ve definitely been wanting to go again, mostly to take photos and because that was so long ago I don’t remember a lot about it. I love visiting old places with lots of history, so I think I’d definitely visit again. I also loved that there’s your own personal guided tour that you can go at your own pace with. This time, I’ll definitely take my time more. Congrats on Freshly Pressed! Gorgeous photos :)
Love those pictures in Black & White!
ruins are an important part of the collective unconscious that makes us human, methinks. a marker of the fact that our works will remain after we are gone, but in an altered state… a good ruin points to victories and eventual obsolescence.
the other thing about ruins is they belong to no one but the departed users, so in some ways they are our link to the underworld in a deeper way than a graveyard.
like these photos. they call forth ghosts.
I have lived in the Bay Area my entire life and have yet to visit Alcatraz. The pictures are definitely motivating me to do so. Thank you, your blog is definitely worthy of its popularity,
Awesome pictures!
Beautiful pictures…Thanks for sharing
The easy part was building the raft out of old toilet paper rolls and sporks. Getting it out was hard…
Awesome post about the Historic former prison. Very eerie, ghostly, creepy given the perspective that this is a former penal institution where some of the most infamous gangsters were sent to live out their days. I visited back in 1990. Did you get the tour where the guide asked for a volunteer to be locked in a cell? “We can’t guarantee we will be able to unlock you out because of the salt air rust…” I was struck by the smallness of the cells. I guess crooks were shorter back then. So Kudos on being PRESSED like a Freshly worn prison uniform from “the Birdman”.
Great post I must say. Simple but yet entertaining and engaging… Keep up the good work.
Hello there!
Congrats on Freshly Pressed :D
The title caught my eye and i just had to find out more!
Visited Alzatraz last Oct as part of our honeymoon trip to the US – thanks for the great pictures – they bring back memories of our roadtrip.
Glad you had fun there too! :D
exciting and refreshing!!
Great work ,very nice………..
Beautiful photography!!
<3
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Wow, amazing photos, I loved your wonderful pics and now am feeling to visit Alcatraz as soon as possible. Thanks a lot for sharing and congratulations on freshly pressed!!!
Lovely photos! Wanna go there now :)
http://bitterfia.wordpress.com
Great pictures! I was in Alcatraz 3 years ago and I really liked the award winning audio-guided tour. I felt like being there when the prison was still in operation. Greetings from Munich
Great shots of Alcatraz! I loved touring the site when I was there, sadly – that was without camera – only have my memory – but your shots are great! Thanks for sharing and congrats for being FPded!
This is a really rare perspective of the Island.
Thank you.
Hi.Nice pictures.One day I will visit this place.The move is very good if you remember..
Beautiful nature and buildings, gloomy usage by humans…
Great pictures, congrats! Love Alcatraz – such a great historical monument and you capture it wonderfully!
I actually just went there last week! I think the audio tour made it more interesting.. it sorta painted a picture in my head. At times the audio got a little long though and I was ready to move on. I added a new post on the whole San Fran area on my page!
Great pictures! I get to go to Alcatraz once a year as I take my Junior US History class on a field trip. Never gets old, each group of kids has different experiences/takes on the island.
Your pictures are really stunning! I haven’t been to Alcatraz, but I have a bit of a morbid interest in visiting because well… it’s one of those places you just go at least once. Congrats on being freshly pressed!!
This brings back so many memories of my trip here! I found it so interesting and loved San Francisco so much.
Thank you for the wonderful photos!
I’m so in love with these captures!
Very cool images!
why did they xcnl the tv show??
Great post on Alcatraz, your pics are almost as good as being there!
Can you tell also to those like me who will be potential tourists how to exactly come there?
check out: http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/
Thank You :-)
I was going through some blog posts about Alcatraz, and yours caught my eye :). As a local in SF, I found Alcatraz to be fascinating but like you said, wouldn’t really go back again for the fun of it hehe. It’s like a one-time kind of fun thing, ya know? I’m kinda disappointed I didn’t go through the store since you said it was one of the best points of it :/ Maybe I would go back just to get some goodies there lol. There’s a shop just like it at Pier 39 but I dunno if they have the same stuff.
You are my photographic mentor and nemesis. I absolutely identify and concur and love your photographs. Have you read Michel Foucault? Blessings. Keep going. Amazing wonderful essential escape into reality and the beauty of ugliness and the chaos of structure! Please let me know how you do it and communicate http://johndwmacdonald.com
Very cool :)
Been to a few prisons here in Ontario, Canada. Wonder if I’d get the same feeling being in Alcatraz …
Conrats on being freshly pressed. That is my wordpress dream. Cool article I love it!
Your pictures are really beautiful! I went to San Francisco in 2010, and the bleakness, the starkness, the strange and eerie beauty of it all struck me, and your photographs really show that.
Love it!
Wow, this is very interesting.
~Josh @ http://betaspot.wordpress.com/
Nice shots. Amazing photography!
Very thought provoking pictures. Enjoyed your post! Congrats on being freshly pressed!
Lovely work!
Nice work!
You have done a stunning job
amazing pics ! well done!
Nice shots…. such an eerie place now… just by looking at it.
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awesome pics.i like the pics
Very nice! I love seeing how other people see and capture the same places I have been to. I photographed Alcatraz last year and I like your style.
Very cool
Wow…its amazing….good work! i like it…
I absolutely LOVED the Alcatraz tour and can’t wait to go again with my kids. We did the audio tour too and it’s haunting in some places! Also the day we went, there was a former inmate (in his late 80’s) signing books and my ex husband always gives me a hard time that I even make criminals cry because I asked him if it was hard coming back to the Rock with the memories of people that he’d left behind (I believe he was a free man now). He teared up and choked up and barely squeaked out a “More than you know”. I highly recommend it and now I want to go again seeing some of these shots that you took that a normal eye wouldn’t see but a photographer catches! Great shots!
Wow.. getting a lot of fans there ;)
Loved the post, and certainly Alcatraz has made it to my list of places to visit before i die! congratulations for getting freshly pressed :)
Thanks for the photo tour…will keep it in mind for the my visit to SF!
I have always wanted to go to Alcatraz and San Fran! One day soon, hopefully.
What a great place to visit … so thanks for the reminders.
Nice water view. Thanks for the tour, as I will never go there. Check out my world/blog…a little brighter than Alcatraz! Congrats on FP.
Nice photos.
We went last year, for the first time, and it was so fascinating. Thank you for sharing the pics. Brought back so man memories.
Of all the tourist attractions in SF, Alcatraz has always been my favorite.
I could never go to Alcatraz. 5 minutes in to the tour, I’d lock everybody in and force them to fight to the death for my amusement.
I’m quirky that way.
Hahahahahahahahaha. Nice.
Hey! How’s it going? I’m from Georgia, never been to California except the airport. Can you elaborate on the gift shop? Is the gift shop in the prison? Why would anyone want to visit a gift shop in a prison? What do they sell there? Great pictures. Fascinating place.
Um…let’s see if i can remember. Books & DVDs of course. Great magnets. Copies of the rule book. Clothes. Tin cups. Keys. They just had a great team designing the store and all the merchandise. And they have gift shops on the island.
here’s more detail on this (I was away from my computer when I answered before) because I’ve had a couple people ask… Here’s a great youtube video with pictures of the decor and merchandise in the main shop. You can also check out the official gift shop online here .
I went there…years ago! I loved the audio tour…so interesting! We didn’t have much time there, so I’d love to go back and do some more exploring. :)
hard core… you’re so exact: be glad this is not where you live!!!
Amazing photos! You really captured the feel, atmosphere and energy of the location!!!! Thank you for sharing.
♥ Love and light ♥
~ Jennifer
I like nice post, cool
Gorgeous pics! I repent not having been there on my only visit to the city…next time for sure :)
This is somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit. The beauty of the buildings contrasted with their sinister purpose is intriguing. Enjoyed your photos very much. Congratulations for being Freshly Pressed.
thank you!!
Hi!
I thoroughly enjoyed this post. I’ve read and written about Alcatraz but, sadly, I’ve never been although I hope to one day. I can only imagine what the atmosphere must be like. It looks like an amazing place.
Regards.
Nicola
hi so i went to alcatraz a few years back and it was amazing. i loved the audio tour and everything about the island. the scary part was we almost missed the last boaat because we were slow coming out. it was also getting dark and let me tell you that would not be my idea of a five star hotel. yeah ghosts no thank you. can you please visit my site?
I did the Alcatraz tour just months after it ceased being a prison in 1963. Been so long I scarcely remember anything about it.
Great I like ^^
Très belles photos;
Amazing photos! Thank you for sharing,
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