¡Exprésate! - España day two and three Toledo

The morning had us driving to Toledo or so I think. Again, I was shooting TIFF not RAW files so the metadata is not that detailed. The timeline might be a bit off. I remember having our driver pull over so I could make some images of these amazing red wildflowers. I always made a photo of flowers for my Mom, and still do.


Flowers for Mom - Images by Don Couch



Toledo was a blast to photograph. Running around the small narrow streets photographing the people and the incredible architecture. At one point, Ivan, one of my "fixers", was driving our van down this very narrow street and the mirrors rubbed the sides of the buildings. He just laughed and said, "That's what insurance is for!'. At one point, we stopped in a jewelry store to photograph the artisans working their craft. There were also many swords made there. Ivan reminded me in the movie HIGHLANDER, the villain Kurgan, says "This is my Toledo sword". (There can be only Juan!)


Toledo - Images by Don Couch



I did get to photograph in the Greco museum. Incredible collection!


Greco Museum - Images by Don Couch

And the train station. Oh man did I ever want that train sign, We actually went back to snag it but one of the workers at the station went out and brought it in. He must have seen Quino holding it. It was so cool looking and I figured it would pack in my suitcase. Oh, well...


Toldeo Train Station - Images by Don Couch

We caught another wedding, much like we did in Mexico city.


Toledo Wedding - Images by Don Couch

We went back to Toledo a bunch of times. One thing I remember is Marta would allow me to "play". In Toledo, I did some panoramic shots. It was nice working with someone who would let me try new things. I'm pretty sure the pano made it into the textbook. At this point, I'm not sure if Mark Cooper was there or not. If I recall correctly, Marta had something to do or something so HRW sent Mark to fill in.

¡Exprésate! - Ten years ago today... España

We begin shooting in Madrid, Spain. We have been in Madrid for two days now location scouting and sorting out the talent. But on this day... I get my laptop stolen! Somewhere in the background of this image, thieves are making off with my laptop. It was a group of men in suits. These guys were so pro, it was like an American Express commercial, one guy distracted the maître d', one distracted the talents mom who was watching our bags and a third made off with my brand new laptop. I remember Marta coming up and telling me "Your laptop just got stolen". I shook my head and kept on working. Really nothing more I could do. After this shoot, we went to the police station to make out a report. In some ways, I was lucky it was brand new, there really wasn't any information on it yet and we did have insurance. My welcome to the Old World...