This story of Paul McCartney begins with one of his former bandmates. “I’m not really Beatle George,” said the ever-philosophical George Harrison. he said. “To me, Beatle George was a dress or a t-shirt that I once wore. And the only problem is that for the rest of my life people will look at that t-shirt and mistake it for me.”
On the one hand, it’s because George is George. But his quote speaks to our need to mythologize the Beatles. It’s hard not to! Music is so exquisite, influential and timeless that we look for great stories to tell about it. We want to create a stronger connection with this and therefore we focus on biographies, interviews and documentaries. We look for meaning and purpose in your story.
However, it must be surreal to be one of the four main characters in this story. At some point, the story takes on a life of its own that may not reflect your experience. McCartney alluded to this in the 2013 song “Early Days”. “Now it seems everyone has their own opinion about who did this and who did that,” he sang. “But I don’t know how they remember not being where they were.”
That’s why I try not to mythologize the Beatles too much when describing my experience photographing Sir Paul McCartney last month. Of course, I will fail spectacularly in this mission.
A few months before I saw him play for nearly three hours in front of 15,000 fans (at the age of 83!) at the Isleta Amphitheater in Albuquerque, I sent a press request to his team. A few days before the concert, I was told that my photo passport had been approved. As soon as I realized this, I screamed and laughed, just like the teenagers in Ed Sullivan’s audience. (Don’t judge these girls until you’ve been to the Beatles!)
However, we didn’t have much time to enjoy the excitement. With no real camera on hand (my iPhone 17 Pro really wasn’t going to cut it) and only a few days to prepare, some quick decisions were necessary. After a lot of puzzling internal discussion, I settled on a strange combination. For the body, I chose the ultra-compact mirrorless with a 24 megapixel APS-C sensor.
Was this the best available? There is no way. But instead of renting a $3,000 camera, I decided to buy something that fits my budget and that I will enjoy for years to come. I had already seen it after buying a display model and reading Steve Dent’s review. Plus, it was a fun challenge: How can a sub-$800 consumer camera meet the unique needs of concert photography?
However, the destination is not a place to have fun. So I rented a huge professional telephoto lens. (It is the predecessor of). The choice was simple: it was by far the most gig-friendly lens available for hire. It maintains sharpness and contrast throughout its wide zoom range, autofocus is fast, and the f/2.8 aperture is critical for specific scene lighting needs.
When you put the small camera and the huge lens together, you get a strange pair as you see below. To say this idiot was annoying would be an understatement.
Camera in hand (and equipped), I took up a position in the narrow press. The shooting area was located about 150 meters from the stage and did not allow lateral movement, which put ideas for creative compositions on ice. My only option was to push (or close) the glass to 200mm and shoot. Save these composition ideas for when it’s time to rephrase them.
When photographing someone like Sir Paul, it’s ideal to get an image that not only captures the man and the musician, but also this larger-than-life myth. It must be something amazing that you want to hang on your wall. No pressure!
Sir Paul’s first song was the classic “Help!” by John Lennon. Until this year’s stage I’m back Visit, McCartney I hadn’t played I’ve been posting the full issue since 1990. We can only speculate why he’s taking it down now. But I have a feeling the song’s desperate pleas will take on a new urgency in 2025. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to scream at someone—anyone! – to “Please, please help me” after reading the news.
We were so close that I loved wearing them under my jeans. When the crowd in front of us calmed down a bit, I knelt down to give my group of photographers more room to move. My right knee bounced nicely on the comfortable leg pad.
With a song already playing, the R50’s burst mode was put to the test. The original Canon battery still worked well, but I had to replace it when needed. (I didn’t end up needing it, even though I took over 600 photos.)
McCartney followed up with his second song, the ’80s debut, “Coming Up.” McCartney II. This LP was ahead of its time and featured synths, drum machines and other studio tricks before they became commonplace. Contemporary critics were not immediately happy with it, but it later became a cult classic. This combination illustrates something about her solo career: always experimental, sometimes misunderstood, but ultimately justified.
Two songs ended in the blink of an eye. Macca addressed the audience and the time for photos was over. Because I wanted to bring the camera back to safety and claim the remote meadow I had purchased long before I knew I would have access to the press.
The rest of McCartney’s set featured a perfect balance of Beatles, Wings and solo songs. (There was also an old Quarrymen song, “In Trots all the Danger.”) As you can see from the pictures, he started with his signature Höfner bass. But he turned to piano, acoustic and electric guitar and ukulele. The latter for his beautiful rendition of Harrison’s “Something”.
This song wasn’t the only thing that bothered me. Most notable was his collaboration with Lennon on “I’ve Got a Feeling”. Modern McCartney sings with Lennon from 1969, seen on the big screen above (via restored footage from the rooftop concert to return), it was profound. “I love it because I get to sing with John again,” she said.
Sir Paul strikes me as someone who is always looking ahead. but that I’m back The visit is an opportunity to look back. This allows us romance lovers to follow him on the long and winding road from Quarrymen to the present. The whole production made me feel like I was a passenger on their journey.
I could go on. But you don’t need me to highlight Paul McCartney’s musical legacy any more than you need me to explain Michael Jordan’s basketball skills or Meryl Streep’s acting skills. Listen to the music (and take a tour if you can) and you’ll feel it.
As for pictures, my favorite is the one at the top of this post. (I’ve also included a color version in the gallery below.) This is (to me) the only one that captures the man, the musician, and the legend playing his Höfner bass. Of the more than 600 photos taken quickly, I only need the one that looks perfect.
But even if they’re all bad, who cares? Decades from now I will be telling everyone in the nursing home that when I was young (and my heart was an open book) I took some pictures of Sir Paul McCartney. Then the story could be further expanded and I could come up with new details. But perhaps I can be forgiven for a bit of mythology.