Alcatraz prison at night: Ghost dance in a haunted cell block
Last night I was lucky enough to be on a private photography tour of Alcatraz from 9pm-2am. Huge thanks to Kevin B. and Tim from the Nocturnes for setting up this adventure. About 5500 people a day take the tour of Alcatraz -- after the last boat left there were only about 25 people on the island. While the moon was obscured by clouds most of the night, the weather and shooting conditions were still fantastic. The rangers were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about helping us get some amazing images.
Photographer Susanne Friedrich brought some white material to make long exposure ghost images. I did a series of ghost photos at night for almost 5 years, but have let the project die over the last couple of years. Susanne really wanted to make a ghost image in the Broadway cell block, and the shot above where the ranger was helping arrange the sheet ended up being one of my favorite photos of the night. I'll be posting some more night photography of Alcatraz within a few days.