Eyes of the Storm: Sir Paul McCartney photo exhibit opening at SF's de Young Museum
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Walking into the Paul McCartney Eyes of the Storm photo exhibit at San Francisco's de Young Museum, you can almost hear the screams and feel the fans as policemen hold them back as the Fab Four zips by.
The photos, moments in time, document that mad rush in the year leading up to a concert right here in the Bay Area, more than 60 years ago.
Each picture captures Beatlemania through one of the eyes in the center of the storm.
Paul McCartney traveled with his now famous Hofner base and his 35-millimeter Pentax camera. The images now on display are from his personal collection.
Curator Sally Martin Katz describes what he captured.
"These photographs throughout the exhibition were taken during the height of Beatlemania, but they're we're experiencing it as they're discovering their superstardom. So, we as visitors, get to come along for the ride. And that's really exciting. We're getting to, you know, see the awe and wonder that he has for the world that they're experiencing this new world that that is now becoming their new reality," she said.
"And not just discovering their celebrity and their newfound influence on the world, but discovering America for the first time," says Martin Katz.
MORE: 70 Years of ABC7: Rare behind-the-scenes video of The Beatles visit to San Francisco in 1965
And McCartney turns his lens to both the journalist that followed the band everywhere and his fellow Beatles.
ABC7's Dan Ashley said he had a chance to see the exhibition himself in London a couple of years ago. And to experience the unfiltered joy and unrelenting pressure, from their perspective, they must have felt with their sudden fame.
Sally Martin Katz worked with McCartney's team to form the exhibit. From the iconic appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, to bandmate George Harrison soaking up the sun in tropical Miami.
"Some of these pictures actually resemble holiday snapshots or show, you know. Vacation photos. He's a tourist. I mean, this this is their first time coming to the U.S. And you have to think they're also 21 years old. These are four best friends who are 21. So, the pictures are playful, they're whimsical," says Martin Katz.
McCartney's true achievement may be to have captured all the chaos and energy of Beatlemania, and frozen the feeling in place, for a new generation of fans... six decades later.
The Paul McCartney photo exhibit opens to the general public on Saturday. It's expected to generate a lot of excitement. The de Young is advising visitors to book tickets ahead on the museum's web site, to make sure you can share in the fun.
