Existen fotografías que por una u otra razón se han hecho célebres y acaban convirtiéndose en icónicas. Una de ellas es esta, la famosa portada del disco Abbey Road en el que los cuatro miembros de The Beatles aparecen cruzando un paso de cebra en la calle que precisamente da nombre al disco y que se encuentra al norte de Londres.
There are photographs that for one reason or another have become famous and become iconic. One of them is this, the famous cover of the Abbey Road album in which the four members of The Beatles appear crossing a zebra crossing on the street that gives its name to the album and which is located in the north of London.
Tal día como hoy, un 8 de agosto de 1969, se tomaron seis fotografías en las que el cuarteto británico cruzaban la calle. El objetivo era buscar una portada para el último disco grabado por la banda. Dado que el estudio de grabación se encontraba justo enfrente de este cruce, a Ringo Star se le ocurrió la idea de hacer una fotografía en el mismo y Paul McCartney hizo un boceto con lo que podría ser la escena.
On a day like today, 8 August 1969, six photographs were taken of the British quartet crossing the street. The aim was to find a cover for the band's latest album. Since the recording studio was right across the street from the crossroads, Ringo Star came up with the idea of taking a photograph there and Paul McCartney made a sketch of what the scene might look like.
El encargo recayó en Iain Macmillan, un fotógrafo escocés amigo de John Lennon y Yoko Ono que ya había realizado trabajos personales para la pareja. La cámara utilizada fue una Hasselblad, marca sueca muy solvente y relevante famosa por ser la utilizada por Armstrong y Aldrin en su viaje a la Luna.
The commission went to Iain Macmillan, a Scottish photographer and friend of John Lennon and Yoko Ono who had already done personal work for the couple. The camera used was a Hasselblad, a very reliable and relevant Swedish brand famous for being the one used by Armstrong and Aldrin on their trip to the moon.
Un policía iba parando el tráfico mientras que Macmillan, subido en una escalera tomaba las fotografías. La elegida de las seis fue esta debido a que era la única en la que los cuatro músicos se encuentran con las piernas abiertas al mismo tiempo.
A partir de la publicación del disco todo tipo de leyendas en torno a la misma se sucedieron. Pero eso es otra historia.
A policeman was stopping the traffic while Macmillan, perched on a ladder, took the photographs. The one chosen out of the six was this one because it was the only one in which the four musicians are with their legs open at the same time.
Since the release of the album, all kinds of legends have followed one after the other. But that is another story.
Referencias:
https://www.esquire.com/es/actualidad/musica/a28621646/beatles-abbey-road-portada-leyenda-urbana-paul-mccartney/
https://amp.milenio.com/cultura/the-beatles-historia-fotografia-abbey-road
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.eltiempo.com/amp/cultura/musica-y-libros/los-beatles-historia-de-la-mitica-foto-de-abbey-road-398532
https://www.hermantoothrot.com/iain-macmillan-abbey-road-the-beatles/
https://www.blogdelfotografo.com/hasselblad/
Yeah, all kinds of legends have followed. Did you notice Paul is the only one with the step changed, right foot first, left foot after? The other three walk with the same step: left first, right after. Also Paul is the only who goes barefoot. I read once there was a conspiracy theory back in the late 1960s about that; they said Paul McCartney was dead. And the white VW Beetle at the left has a license plate that says: 28 IF, something that meant Paul would be 28 y/o if he wasn’t dead. I read that a long time ago in a John Lennon biography. Thanks for the post.
Yes, I know that story. I wrote an article about Paul's supposed death years ago. All very surreal. I don't believe it.
Thank you!