Iain Macmillan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Iain Macmillan
Born	Iain Stewart Macmillan (1938-10-20)20 October 1938 Dundee, Scotland
Died	8 May 2006(2006-05-08) (aged 67) Dundee, Scotland
Occupation	Photographer
Known for	Photographed Abbey Road and famous photograph of John Lennon

Iain Stewart Macmillan (born October 20, 1938 – died May 8, 2006) was a Scottish photographer. He is most famous for taking the iconic cover photo for the Beatles' album Abbey Road in 1969.

Iain grew up in Scotland. Later, he moved to London to become a professional photographer. He took a photo of Yoko Ono for a book in 1966. Yoko Ono then asked him to photograph her art show. She introduced him to John Lennon. Lennon later asked Iain to photograph the Abbey Road album cover. Iain worked with Lennon and Ono for several years. He even stayed at their home in New York for a while.

Early Life

Iain Macmillan was born in Dundee, Scotland. He went to the High School of Dundee. He finished school in 1954. After school, he worked as a trainee manager at a jute factory.

Becoming a Photographer

In 1958, Iain moved to London. He studied photography at the Regent Street Polytechnic. His first job was taking pictures on cruise ships. In 1959, he went back to Dundee. He photographed scenes from the city streets.

His street photos led to jobs with important newspapers. These included The Sunday Times and the Illustrated London News. In the mid-1960s, he worked on a catalog for an art exhibition. He also took photos for "The Book of London" (1966). Yoko Ono appeared in this book. She was showing an art piece called "Handkerchief Piece." She then asked him to photograph her art show at the Indica Gallery in St. James's, London.

The Famous Abbey Road Photo

John Lennon met Yoko Ono at the Indica Gallery in November 1966. Yoko later introduced John to Iain Macmillan. In 1969, Lennon asked Iain to photograph the Abbey Road album cover. The Beatles recorded most of their music at EMI Studios. These studios were on Abbey Road in London. The band decided to name their last album after the road. Later, EMI changed the studio's name to Abbey Road Studios.

Paul McCartney gave Iain a drawing a few days before the photo shoot. It showed how the picture should look. Iain added his own small sketch to confirm the plan.

How the Photo Was Taken

On August 8, 1969, around 11:30 am, Iain Macmillan took the famous photo. He climbed a stepladder about 10 feet high. The ladder was in the middle of Abbey Road. He took six pictures of the Beatles walking across the street. A police officer helped control traffic. The Beatles usually came to the studio later in the day. They chose an earlier time to avoid their fans.

The Six Shots

• First Photo: John Lennon leads the group from left to right. Ringo, Paul McCartney, and George follow him. They stayed in this order for all the photos. A Mercedes car is leaving the studio behind them. John is looking away from the camera. Paul and George are in the middle of a step. Paul is wearing sandals.
• Second Photo: They walk back in the same order. The spacing between them is good. But only John has a full step.
• Third Photo: They walk left to right again. This time they take full steps. But they are all too far to the left. Traffic has started to build up. A taxi, two vans, and a double-decker bus are waiting. Paul is now barefoot.
• Fourth Photo: They walk right to left. Paul, Ringo, and George are all in mid-step. The traffic has passed. The bus has stopped to watch them.
• Fifth Photo: This photo was chosen for the album cover. It is the only picture where Paul is smoking. It is also the only one where their legs are in perfect step. Three men are visible above Paul's head. They are Alan Flanagan, Steve Millwood, and Derek Seagrove. They were interior decorators returning from lunch. On the right side, between John and Ringo's heads, is Paul Cole. He was an American tourist.
• Sixth Photo: Ringo is a little too far behind John in this shot. The bus has turned around to leave.

The Back Cover

After the main photo shoot, Iain looked for a road sign. This sign was for the back cover of the album. He found it on the corner with Alexandra Road. While he was photographing the sign, a girl in a blue dress walked into the shot. Iain was annoyed at first. But later, this photo was chosen for the back cover. The wall with the sign was torn down several years later.

Working with John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Iain Macmillan worked with John Lennon and Yoko Ono until 1971. He helped them with many projects, including:

• The cloud image on the album cover for Live Peace in Toronto
• Photos for the album Some Time in New York City
• The wedding cake photo in the Wedding Album
• Photos for Yoko Ono's book Flies
• The cover photo for Yoko Ono's book Grapefruit
• The merging heads design for Lennon and Ono's song "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"
• The merging heads design for Lennon and Ono's album Some Time in New York City
• The cover photograph for Kenny Rogers and the First Edition's album Something's Burning in 1970.

Later Career and Legacy

In the 1970s, Iain taught photography part-time. He taught at a college in Stoke-on-Trent. In 1980, he took the cover photo for the album Hinge and Bracket at Abbey Road. This photo was a funny version of the Beatles' picture.

In the 1980s, his photos were shown in art exhibits. These shows were in the US, Britain, and Europe. The BBC used some of his pictures in their TV series The Rock 'n' Roll Years. After his mother passed away, Iain moved back to Carnoustie, Scotland.

On July 22, 1993, he photographed Paul McCartney again at Abbey Road. This time, Paul was crossing the zebra crossing with an Old English Sheepdog. This photo was used on the cover of Paul McCartney's album Paul Is Live.

Iain Macmillan passed away on May 8, 2006, at the age of 67. He died from lung cancer.

Books Featuring His Work

Iain Macmillan's photographs appeared in several books:

• The Sculpture of David Wynne, 1949–1967 (photographer)
• The Book of London (author and photographer)
• The Young Meteors: an Inside Report on the Rising Stars of London in Fashion, Entertainment, Modeling, Art, Politics, Journalism (illustrator)
• Civil Aviation (co-author and photographer)
• The Death of the English Pub (photographer)

More Information

• The Guardian "Eyewitness" 1989
• The Guardian 2006
• Photo outtakes
• Photo Six in the series of Abbey Road cover shots