Category: Photos

Photo by Maxence Derreumaux

Now that we’re all back in work mode (or slowly but surely finding our way back into it), happy 2012! Max sent us this cool photo, snapped at 12 a.m. on 1/1/12.

This is Muni’s centennial year, making me wonder if it gets self-conscious about big birthdays. What should Muni knock off its bucket list before the big 100 in December?

Photographer Bruce Davidson started photographing the New York Subway in the 1980s. In preparation, he started a crash diet, a military fitness exercise program, and jogged in the park early every morning because he knew he’d need to be physically able to carry a heavy camera in the subway for hours every day. But still, nothing prepared for him for the gritty and sometimes violent subterranean world of the subway.

I found this story via one of our favorite San Francisco photographers, Troy Holden. Davidson’s book, Subway, documents a world that we are familiar with, where public transit is a part of our daily lives. He writes:

From all over the earth, people come into the subway. It’s a great social equaliser. As our being is exposed, we confront our mortality, contemplate our destiny, and experience both the beauty and the beast. From the moving train above ground, we see glimpses of the city, and as the trains move into the tunnels, sterile fluorescent light reaches into the stony gloom, and we, trapped inside, all hang on together.

So well said. Head over to Wayne Ford’s blog to see more of Bruce Davidson’s photos and read about the rest of the Subway series and this amazing photography project.

Photo by Sergio

We’re counting down the best of 2011 on Muni Diaries this week, starting with our favorite images. San Francisco is full of amazing photographers who create visual candy daily. Here are some of our favorites.

Muni rebels captured on Instagram by Kiki Spaulding (loverlykiki):

A moment of rest, photo by bleuman

Watchful eyes, photo by Doc Pop

My parents on Muni, the sweetest story from Alfredo M.:

BART musicians, photo by Peter Taylor.

Did I miss your favorite photo? Comment away, or even better, drop your own photos in the Muni Flickr pool.

Photo by Steve Rhodes

It’s Friday and I have gifts to open I mean wrap! If you need some truly last-minute San Francisco-centric gift, all of our items in the Muni Diaries Etsy store are 25 percent off right now, and I’ll wrap it up and pop it in the mail for you asap.

If you’re looking for something fun to do, Broke Ass Stuart is hosting “It’s a Jewish Christmas” on Christmas Day from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Make-Out Room on 3225 22nd Street between Mission and Valencia. There will be Chinese food, Woody Allen films, and of course, Stuart himself. I’ll see you there.

Happy holidays, everybody. Enjoy these photos and your (we hope) long weekend!

Photo by Lynn Friedman

Photo by Lorcan Keating

Photo by Robert B. Livingston