Ahhh, a weekend in San Francisco for a dental convention is always more interesting than the Anaheim option. Staying at the youth hostel was a great value, but reminded me of how it was to have college roomates…two Singaporeans staying up late typing, texting and giggling as they communicated with their friends back home. Pier 39 welcomed me for a bowl of clam chowder and a micro-brew before boarding the boat to Alcatraz. It was my third visit to the island….somehow, it strikes me a different way each time. I was a little turned around in the movie theatre, went out the wrong door and managed to tour the whole prison backwards. The darkness of the interior, contrasting with the bright light entering through small windows provided some good patterns and shapes. It would be great to have been alone with a tripod….and maybe one figure who could wander in and out of shots. Sitting on the bleachers in the exercise yard had me thinking of the people, conversations, exchanges and battles that took place in this dismal place.