Inside the Rock

Sometimes I miss the obvious and in doing so hope that what is see is something that perhaps no one noticed before. Not that no person had ever laid eyes on it before, but perhaps it was just the right light, at the right time on the right day. Suddenly an ordinary image becomes a vision. I wish all my photographs were of that quality but sadly most are not.

These stairs were locked behind a door and visible only through a small slit. Sunlight spilled down the steps as I stretched up to see behind the door. Through this narrow opening was a stairway that lead up and down. To somewhere I would never go. Travelled by people long since gone. But in the instant I moved my camera into position I knew that I was seeing something for the first time. Alone, solitary, just me. The sunlight, peeling paint and muted colors were more than I could imagine. I shot many frames trying to catch just the right position and just the right amount of light.

The image below I think captures best what I saw on that summer day on Alcatraz.