“But oh, San Francisco! It is and has everything. The wonderful sunlight there, the hills, the great bridges, the Pacific at your shoes. Beautiful Chinatown .. Every race in the world. The sardine fleets sailing out. The little cable cars whizzing down the city hills”
~ Dylan Thomas
(Poet, Writer)
1914 - 1953
The first photo I ever purchased in 1979 was by Max. He was a wonderful character and only the second photographer I got to know well. An amazing talent. This is one of his most celebrated images and the cover of his great book “The Photography of Max Yavno”. His training at The Photo League in New York before he ventured West gave him insight into urban life. He worked extensively in Los Angeles and San Francisco and produced great books on both cities. This is at the downtown turnaround at Powell and Market Street, the busiest hub of the city’s cable car lines. Conductors dismount and turn the vehicles in a circle so they’re facing North instead of South. I have always thought of this image as the perfect urban ballet and Max as the master choreographer. George Balanchine with a camera !
