Tips for Photographing Alcatraz

Before venturing out to shoot "the Rock," I Googled how to best shoot it in a sea of tourists. I then "test-drove" the ideas I found and am sharing the best:

• Buy your tickets ahead of time, from the NPS's authorized vendor: Don't show up a the dock and expect to get on the next boat to Alcatraz. Tickets sell out days, if not weeks ahead of time.

• Skip the night tour: At this time of year, Alcatraz is in full-bloom. There is a lot of beauty mixed in with the decay, which you won't see as well at night.
  
• Take the first boat out in the day, preferably on a weekday: Get of the boat, skip the park ranger overview and run (yes, run) up the equivalent of 13 flights of stairs to get to the main cellhouse. Then skip the headset queue and go straight upstairs. You'll then have a few minutes to take photos in relative privacy before the crowds descend. You can always read online just about anything in the audio tour.
  
  
  (For instance, did you know that the water tower is so large because drinking water had to be shipped in from the mainland?)
  
• Yes, you can skip the tripod, if... your camera allows you to adjust ISO for a high setting. The graininess -- in some cases I shot at 6400 ISO! -- adds a vintage feel that works well for the inside shots. Outdoors, ISO 100 or 200 works fine. (Or just use full automatic. But if you don't, then don't forget to change your setting back from the high ISO.)

• The viewfinder is your friend: Look at the info in your viewfinder. Is your shutter speed slow than 1/60 sec. (1/30 sec. if you're ***very*** steady-handed)? Anything longer than that and your images may be blurry. Do your pictures look too light or too dark? Bracket the exposures: take the shot at the setting you think works well, then underexpose a step or two and overexpose a step or two.

• The specialty modes are your friend, too: Taking lots of distance shots? Landscape mode works great. Try out the close-up and portrait modes where appropriate, too.
  
• Who cares if your pictures don't look like postcards?: Postcards are meant to appeal to the widest audience possible. You can always buy postcards in the Alcatraz gift shop for just 50 cents (or less). Instead, spend your time taking the shots that represent your own experience.
  
  
• You're not a reporter, so if you see photos that are evocative of the prison experience, but not period-accurate, shoot anyways. Below is a photo of two contemporary workers in the kitchen area, but they still look like inmates.
  
• Bring a zoom lens and close-up lens: Possible subjects are surprisingly varied, from distant birds to rusty keyholes. You can also experiment with using a wide-angle up close:
  
• Don't forget the iPhone: Selfies are lot easier to shoot and post. My iPhone has also taken decent shots in situations where my DSLR was balking.

• It's OK to delete (but work with copies only): You may want to save your whole unedited shoot on a SanDisk card or thumb drive, but edit only the best shots.

• Turn around and look back! Most people attempt to photograph Alcatraz as the ferry approaches "the Rock". Instead, shoot from the back of the ferry as you depart. It'll be a lot less crowded... and you'll be a lot closer.
  
  

What tips have worked for you? Share them below.

San Francisco: Flowers at Alcatraz

When I went to Alcatraz to shoot some stark, "architectural decay" type of photos, I didn't expect to see this much beauty:

San Francisco: Chinatown

Chinatown is one of San Francisco's most popular tourist destinations. I didn't even try to shoot the Dragon Gate at the entrance of Grant St., because the midday lighting was too harsh (and frankly, it was easier just to buy a postcard). Below are a few locales and details, including other people's art, which caught my interest while sightseeing.

San Francisco: Clarion Alley Murals

Since 1992, San Francisco's Clarion Alley has been covered in murals painted by artists affiliated with the Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP).

One of CAMP's goals is aesthetic diversity and the displayed work represents a wide range of styles. The topics also range widely: when I visited, several murals depicted developer backlash and animosity toward the “techies” driving up rents. (As a municipal law attorney, these types of struggles particularly fascinate me.) Also, since possession of small amounts of marijuana has been decriminalized in CA, I wasn't surprised to see a mural promoting full legalization of weed.

The work is also temporary: one of the artists I met said that she was painting over a mural she’d created early, after getting CAMP approval.

Because the art is ever-changing and deserves to be documented, I’m posting more images than I otherwise would.

San Francisco: Sea Lions at Pier 39

Just came back from a week-long trip to San Francisco, CA. Among the sites we visited was the City's famed Pier 39, home since 1990 or so to a multitude of barking sea lions. It was great fun watching and photographing them:

Learn more about the sea lions at www.pier39.com/home/the-sea-lion-story/. Photos from other City shoots (including Alcatraz and the Mission murals) to follow.