Getty Archives/Ethan Miller.

An exhibit just opened in London featuring all the photos taken the day [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]THE BEATLES[/lastfm] shot the cover image for their “Abbey Road” album:

On August 8th, 1969, IAIN MacMILLAN snapped just six photos on that shoot, because that’s all the group allowed him to do. Image number 5 made the cover, but the other four include The Beatles crossing the street in the opposite direction.

On the appointed Friday, Iain only had a short time to nail it. He spent less than 15 minutes up a ladder, and they had to give way to traffic too. Because of time constraints, the shoot had been very carefully planned. Iain knew exactly what he was trying to achieve. We can see this from his hand drawn sketch of the intended result, included on the front of the exhibition catalogue: the Beatles in step, the vanishing point in the centre of the image, the viewer’s eyes drawn in by the converging lines of pavements and trees.

The exhibit is on now at Snap Galleries through May 28th. You can check out the photos by clicking here. ~JZ.