My photographer friend Matt called especially to tell the story of this photo. Excellent from-the-hip composition, and possibly our sharpest full-frontal nail-clipping view.
For context, Matt doesn’t ride Muni that often. It’s like going to Disneyland for the first time!
Anyway, he enters the Embarcadero station and sees signs for Clipper. “Hmm,” he thinks. Clipper. New ticketing service, perhaps? No matter. He gets on an outbound train and sits across from this woman on the left. After a bit of chatter with her riding partner, she produces fingernail clippers from her backpack and (you guessed it) starts clipping her nails — shrapnel flying every which way — while continuing to chat. Making little effort to control his facial expressions, Matt silently scans for brothers and sisters in arms. He sees one other noticer looking back at him, shaking her head and smiling that, “Yep, I see what you see and it ain’t pretty,” smile.
Since Matt just saw signs for “Clipper” and is now seeing a woman clipping her nails, this is starting to feel like the strangest trip. Not literally, but, yeah, also literally.
He takes this single frame seconds before she leaves the bus, leaving behind her fingernail detritus and Matt’s indignant disgust. I personally wouldn’t groom in front of the guy holding full camera gear, but I also wouldn’t clip my nails on Muni. (Can you imagine if I did and got shamed on my own website?)
Welcome, Matt. We’ve been waiting for you among the clippings.
Itching (scratching, even) for more? Nail clipping on another Muni Metro. Nail clipping on the bus. Muni driver nail clipping on break, what?!
