From the time he was six years old, Danny Quintana knew he wanted to be a bus driver. It would take a couple more years before he developed his love for photography. Here’s the backstory:
Growing up in a San Francisco housing project, Quintana says, showed him some of the worst of what life had to offer, but getting on a Muni bus took him away from it all. “Every day the bus took me away and let me free my mind from all the terrible stuff that was happening in my house and around my neighborhood” (referring to poverty, crime, and an unhappy home.) “I would talk to the bus drivers who eventually became my really good friends. (We) would talk for hours about everything. Sometimes I would get on their bus at the beginning of their shift and ride with them until their shift was over.”
Fast forward to 2012, when Quintana’s friend Jamaine “G” Gibson, at the time a VTA bus driver, suggested Quintana apply for the same job. He jumped at the chance and has never looked back. “When I’m driving, I’m free, I’m relaxed, and I don’t worry about anything.”
His passengers, he says, are one of the perks of the job. “The good vibes you put out to your passengers are usually the same vibes you get back,” he says. "I always say, 'hi or how’s your day going'? and my passengers appreciate that. When you talk to people, it makes your day go by a lot faster and much easier.”
Now, the photography part. Back to the little kid in the housing projects. At eight years old he gets his first camera, an old Kodak with the cube flash, and starts taking pictures “for memories. The camera was with me so much it started to feel like an extra limb.” What started as a hobby has grown into a passion. His photographs, now more than memories, but art with a truly unique style. “You have to go off your feelings, that’s what I do,” says Quintana.
Not one to take sitting portraits, long exposures or pre-arranged photos, Quintana considers himself a “street photographer.” “I take photos of real street life as it happens,” he says. “I do it with my soul.”
Quintana drives out of the VTA North Yard, where you’ll most likely see him driving the 522 Rapid route. When he’s not driving the bus, you’ll find him snapping shots of some of his favorite subjects: the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco’s Castro District, and of course the vehicles of his first love.
Quintana’s photos are now on display at VTA’s Downtown Customer Service Center at 55-A West Santa Clara St. in San Jose, and you can see more on Instagram @DannyBoy4one5.
And see Mercury News writer Sal Pizarro's profile on Danny here.