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Like something out of the Blade Runner universe, Vallery Lancey’s transit photographs crackle and burn with an undercurrent of energy. You haven’t seen BART like this before, folks.

Lancey, a software engineer based in San Francisco, knows her way around the transit system. The Canadian national is a transit enthusiast – and member of the famed Transit Twitter Besties group. She found herself drawn to photographing BART, a system she takes often to visit friends in the East Bay, because “I really enjoy taking photos of ordinary stuff we take for granted and making people look at it differently.” Lancey said she doesn’t drive and has “always been transit-dependent.”

The photographer is relatively new to the game. A painter in a family of artists, Lancey started making photographs as inspiration for paintings. She became more serious about photography in winter 2020, during lockdown, when she began hiking and snapping pictures of sunrises.

Her photographic progression – from the natural light of the setting sun to the artificial light of a transit station at night – followed naturally. When she found herself on transit, she also found herself taking photographs. Plus, she’s carved a unique niche and style for herself.

“There’s a lot of people in the Bay Area who care about transit,” she said, “but not a lot of people making transit-themed art. So, there’s an appetite for my work.”

Much of the effort comes after the photo is taken, Lancey said. Rather than using gel lights, she extensively edits her photos in post-production, applying a multitude of manipulations (turn down the highlights here, up the vibrancy there).

Some of the settings Lancey uses during the editing process.

“It’s a little hard to boil down,” she admitted. “I think the particular thing I do is I play with clarity, which gives it a smoother or sharper feel.”

She started toying with her images’ clarity to hide the blurriness of a moving train or bus, but she thinks it’s helped her develop her signature style.

“The right combination of lighting and clarity make the photos feel soft in a way that’s very visually appealing and un-photographic,” she said.

BART makes an attractive photography subject, she said, because you can view extensive scenery in “good light” thanks to the trains’ large picture windows. The stations themselves provide for interesting lighting and architectural details, as well. In Lancey’s hands, the text on BART’s digital displays glows and sizzles in red. Especially at night, the stations come alive behind her lens. Her favorite station to photograph is West Oakland, she said, thanks to its beautiful cross-the-bay views of San Francisco.

“I like it when people take away more appreciation for the environment around them,” Lancey said in conclusion. “What really keeps me going from station to station on a Monday evening is I feel like I’m creating art that no one else really is. It’s so satisfying to be able to do that – and keep getting better at it.”

You can view a selection of Lancey’s photographs in the above slideshow. She also regularly posts images to her Twitter, @isthelaststop. 

50 years ago on June 19, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was the honored guest for the official groundbreaking of BART on the outskirts of Concord that celebrated the start of construction on the 4.5 mile Diablo Test Track. The track would eventually become part of the Concord line.

Johnson praised the project as being a "...victory for vision...”.  Here is a link to the complete text of his speech.

He then pushed the plunger to set off dynamite marking the beginning of construction.

The test track was a lab for research. Every component of the system was tested there: laying track, power sources, the train propulsion system and more. Four different train control systems were tested. Westinghouse Electric Company had the winning low bid of $26 million. 

Tens of millions of people ride BART every year -- to work, dates, practice, friends, and fun. BART Connects tells their stories. 

Today, June 22, BART Communications is launching the second edition of BART Connects, a storytelling series that features real BART riders who span generations, neighborhoods, and walks of life. You can read their stories now at bart.gov/bartconnects. 

In the coming months, the stars of BART Connects will take us for a ride in a series of video featurettes that will be regularly posted on BART social media. Below, watch the first video, featuring Grammy-winning musician Fantastic Negrito.  

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by SFBART (@sfbayarearapidtransit)

You will also see the faces of BART Connects riders in advertising spaces in the BART System and across the region. 

BART Connects grew out of a call for rider stories BART Communications launched in 2023 to learn how our transit system impacts people’s lives. The initial response made clear that BART means something to those who ride it. 

Have a cool BART story to share? Submit a short summary at bart.gov/story. You may be the next BART Connects feature! 

"BART connects me to the first audience I ever had.” 

— FANTASTIC NEGRITO —

BART TROUBADOUR

“BART connected me to my dream.”

— NATASHA OON —

BART GOLFER

"The Bay is my siren. It pulls me in towards murky waters of Lake Merritt and tells me I am a spring."

— SEHINNE YOHANNES —

BART POET

“Seniors like me who have given up driving need BART.” 

— NAOMI "NONA" HULME —

LIFELONG RIDER

"BART is the cornerstone of what makes my life in the Bay Area unique."

— TOMMY JUNG —

BART FISHERMAN

“Knowing how to ride public transit is a big step in growing up.”

— ENZO WU & APARDEEP SINGH —

TEEN TRANSIT CHAMPIONS

“BART girl math: I can maximize sleep by doing my makeup on the train and still sneak in a nap each way.” 

— MARIAH —

BART INFLUENCER

“BART is integral to the long-term success of Bay Area downtowns.” 

— ISAAC ABID —

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPER