Meet Travis Monson, Photographer
Photo ©Travis Monson (@travismonsonphotography on Instagram, travismonsonphotography.com). Used with permission.
As a onetime photographer myself, I really enjoy Instagram. (You follow me, right?) In particular, I find joy in the work of photographers who celebrate the beauty of our fair city. So, I thought I’d start highlighting a few of my favoites, starting with Travis Monson. Monson and my husband Sean actually worked together as culinary tour guides with Edible Excursions, and from there I came to know his photographic work. Shortly after moving to San Francisco in 2011, Monson decided to dive deep into the city by walking every street, trail, and path within its limits, sometimes hiking more than 12 hours a day. That’s 1,250 miles of streets alone! He finished the project in 2017, and celebrated with a glass of bubbles at the Cliff House. He wrote about his journey in the San Francisco Chronicle in April 2021. I was able to get him to rest his legs for a moment and answer a few questions.
Setting out to walk every street, trail, and path in our city is an ambitious undertaking! Where did you begin your explorations?
Right when I moved to San Francisco I bought my first map at City Lights Book Store. I first walked most of North Beach and the Mission District. I also quickly realized that I didn't want to focus on walking one neighborhood at a time. I made a conscious decision to walk a different part of the city each week. On most days I would hike without a specific plan and would just mark the streets as I randomly walked them. My map became filled with random red imarkings all over it and over time my map became completely covered in red ink.
Knowing how diverse the terrain is here, what were your strategies to conquer some of the more challenging streets?
San Francisco is definitely not the easiest city to walk! I was definitely getting in a decent workout on some of these walks. I would make it a point not to zig-zag up and down the steepest streets within one day. It also helped that I would often stop to take pictures along the way. I took over 80,000 images of the city within 6 years and sometimes I would stop to take pictures on every single city block.
I love the story of how you came across Gratta Wines and Fox & Lion Bread. We're big boosters of the Bayview, and Barbara and Cathy are good friends of ours. What other local businesses did you encounter that you love?
What a small world! Gratta Wines became one of my favorite places to visit while I was exploring Bay View and Barbara and Cathy were always so welcoming. I had numerous different spots scattered throughout the city that I loved stopping by at the beginning or the end of my hikes. One of my favorite spots in the Sunset District to grab coffee was at Andytown. This spot is owned by a friend who used to work in the Ferry Building at the same time I was a cheesemonger monger at Cowgirl Creamery. I could honestly list off many wonderful spots, but that would be an article in and of itself!
Another fun thing that I did while walking every street was to visit all of San Francisco's oldest restaurants and bars that have been open since the 1800s. This included Tadich Grill (1849), The Old Ship Saloon (1851), Elixir (1858), The Saloon (1861) and The Old Clam House (1861)!
Photo ©Travis Monson (@travismonsonphotography on Instagram, travismonsonphotography.com). Used with permission.
Which neighborhoods surprised you (pleasantly)? Do you gravitate back to any?
I was surprised and fell in love with many of the neighborhoods on the southern border of San Francisco like Bayview, Excelsior, and Ingleside. Each of these neighborhoods have their own rich history and I loved seeing parts of the city that many of the tourists and even locals never visit. I also love exploring our open spaces and parks. I often find myself in the Interior Greenbelt, the Presidio, and John McLaren Park.
What are your favorite vistas in the city?
This is another tough question! There are so many great vistas that overlook different parts of the city, the Pacific Ocean and the Bay! The two spots that I visit most often that are close to my house are Corona Heights and Kite Hill. My favorite place to look out over Golden Gate Park and have wonderful views of the Pacific Ocean is from Grandview Park. Another amazing spot where I love to take pictures of Noe Valley is the Castro-Duncan Open Space.