That's my wife and I crossing Abbey Road in London on August 8, 2013. It was in August, 1969 when the Beatles were photographed in the exact same spot 44 years earlier practically to the day! Getting this shot was challenging because there were several tourists just like us lining the sidewalk to wait their turn to cross. This was not the only challenge because there was no stop sign at the crossing so traffic was speeding past constantly!
Fortunately there was a guy there who was willing to use my iPhone camera to take some shots. He boldly walked into the middle of the street, signaled for the traffic to stop and snapped away while we did our best to mimic the famous shot. This was the best of three, taken in about fifteen seconds. I tipped the guy 5 pounds and considered that to be the best 5 pounds I ever spent.
What I didn't realize when we arrived at this famous crossing was that EMI Abbey Road Studios was literally right up the street - in fact that's the white entrance gate just behind my wife's head. This was the same studio where literally every Beatles album ever produced was recorded. They recorded the tracks for entire first LP, Please Please Me in 13 hours all in a single day! Knowing that we were walking in their footsteps while crossing the road was just part of the mystique of being there. As we toured the nighbourhood (St. John's Wood) all I could think about was that this is where it all happened. Where they were when all of their incredible songs were recorded, where they took their breaks and hung out in the area coffee shops. I found myself in a surreal state on this momentous day and the memories of this experience will last a lifetime!
Fortunately there was a guy there who was willing to use my iPhone camera to take some shots. He boldly walked into the middle of the street, signaled for the traffic to stop and snapped away while we did our best to mimic the famous shot. This was the best of three, taken in about fifteen seconds. I tipped the guy 5 pounds and considered that to be the best 5 pounds I ever spent.
What I didn't realize when we arrived at this famous crossing was that EMI Abbey Road Studios was literally right up the street - in fact that's the white entrance gate just behind my wife's head. This was the same studio where literally every Beatles album ever produced was recorded. They recorded the tracks for entire first LP, Please Please Me in 13 hours all in a single day! Knowing that we were walking in their footsteps while crossing the road was just part of the mystique of being there. As we toured the nighbourhood (St. John's Wood) all I could think about was that this is where it all happened. Where they were when all of their incredible songs were recorded, where they took their breaks and hung out in the area coffee shops. I found myself in a surreal state on this momentous day and the memories of this experience will last a lifetime!