Salford Quays by Day and Night

So my little photoshoot on the balcony the other night has inspired me to take more photos around the Quays. It's such a nice area and there's so many photo ops just waiting to be had, shame on me for not taking advantage of it sooner. I've named the project "Salford Quays by Day and Night" because I plan to do a ton of photos both at night and during the day. I don't plan on them all being HDR though. But HDR does work well with night shoots and I'm doing the night side of right now.

There's a chance they could be used promotionally for work at the rugby club too.

So here's the next one in the series:



I'm not as happy with it. Mainly because I framed it too tightly which left very little room for lens correction (the building in the background is still slightly tilted but I couldn't correct it anymore or I'd be cropped off the corner of the theater). I'll probably reshoot it but it'll do for now.

Unfortunately, it's raining tonight and tomorrow we're seeing comedian Michael McIntyre so the next photo will have to wait.

I'll leave you with a video of Michael McIntyre Live at the Apollo:

View from my balcony

You may have noticed my awesome new blog header. I thought the side bar was getting too cluttered so I moved my awesome self portrait to the header instead. I know, I'm so humble, aren't I?

And speaking of humble, here's an awesome HDR I did of the Salford Quays from my balcony.



I know, I'm awesome.

Switching galleries AGAIN

So with Picasa, the display quality was poor. With Flickr, they limited free accounts to 200 images! I'm willing to pay Flickr for my pro images but for personal/family images, I wanted something free with no restrictions (or reasonable restrictions). I MAY have finally found this with photoshop.com! Check it out here.

Playing with HDR

I've always been against very surreal looking HDRs (High Dynamic Range) because I think they're just eye candy and people drawn in by the surrealness, it doesn't necessarily make it a good photograph.

But some HDR's are still fairly natural looking. So I decided to have a play around with them myself. I think the one from Edinburgh (first one) is more realistic but it's actually harder to get a realistic looking HDR than it is a surreal one - at least with this software it is. I can see how easy it is to go a bit crazy with them like some people do.





Steve suggested I get one of them printed on canvas. I don't know what sparked that idea but I'm considering it.

Edinburgh, Day 2!

In my last post, I forgot to mention that Steve managed to rip his pants (right in the crotch, lol) while getting into the car. By that point, all stores had closed since it was Sunday (in England, there is a law that says shops, excluding restaurants and pubs, can only be only for a certain amount of hours) so first thing on Monday morning, we set out to get him some new ones since he only brought that one pair with him. After that, Steve had been talking about this mini camcorder Paul has and how it'd be great for while we're in Edinburgh so we went to check it out. I was not opposed to such a spontaneous purchase (though it does not compare to Dad's spontaneous Land Rover purchase) because I originally wanted to get a camcorder I first came to England (though I make do with the video clips on my compact camera).

Unfortunately, after purchasing the camcorder (we got the HD version too), we realized it only charges by USB and neither of us brought our laptops. We had a USB charger for the car but we couldn't really drive around aimlessly for hours while it charged! We did manage a slight charge and got a few test videos around the castle but I haven't gotten them onto my PC yet so more on that later.

Anyway, all of that took up the whole morning and we walked everywhere so I was also grabbing pictures along the way. Luckily, the weather was very nice and stayed that way the whole day! By the time we got to the Edinburgh Castle, it was lunch time. So we quickly got a bite to eat at one of the cafes next to the castle before heading in.


Inside the castle was the Scottish Crown Jewels. Unfortunately, they were nowhere near as impressive as the crown jewels at the Tower of London. Oh, and we weren't allowed to take pictures of them. But I did get some of the castle itself. It was crowded so most of the pictures inside are just your usual touristy pictures.

As you can see, the castle is perched on a hill/cliff so I got some pretty good pictures around the outside of it with no people in the way.

After seeing the castle, we went to another comedy show. It was an improv show, like Whose Line Is It Anyway? and a few of the comedians were from the original English version of the show. It was really funny!

We then had dinner at the hotel restaurant, which wasn't great unfortunately but our waiter was really nice.

After dinner, we went to what I felt was the highlight of the whole trip: The Military Tattoo. It was AMAZING. They also had military bands from different countries like China, South Africa and Switzerland. There were also dancers, fireworks, singers, etc. I'm working on getting the videos I took of it on my compact camera on the internet but it's proving near impossible. Apparently, my laptop just HATES the network, I've always had problems with it... so Steve has to upload the videos for me. For some stupid reason, my laptop just refuses to upload them and not only that but when I try to upload them, it causes the whole internet to stop working and I have to disconnect to the router and reconnect. It's not frustrating WHATSOEVER.

So anyway, hopefully I'll be back with the videos that Steve has uploaded.

Edinburgh, Day 1!

Our adventures in Edinburgh were so eventful that I'm going to make an entry for each day! Some of the photos were taken with my compact camera, some with the DSLR. That really depended on whether it was raining or not. I've also abandoned Picasa Galleries and uploading straight to blogspot because the quality is so poor so I created a Photoshop.com account for family/personal photos.

On Sunday, we set off an hour late because the sat nav wouldn't recognize any Edinburgh postcodes so Steve was struggling to get the hotel address up. Eventually, we got on the road and passed the driving time with the book of "If" questions.

Once there, we checked in and then got a Sunday roast at a pub called the Royal McGregor. It was a small place but we got seated right away. The food was pretty good but the gravy a little salty.



Not surprisingly, it was raining! I took some pictures but later got some of the same area when it wasn't raining. We wandered around in the rain and stopped at the "West End Fair" which was a disappointment. It was supposed to be an arts and crafts fair but there was all of about 10 stalls and a kind of creepy street performer, lol.

We then went back to the hotel to relax for a hour or so before going to the "Foodie Tents" - a bunch of stalls of local restaurants, farmers, etc selling products. It was much better than the West End Fair. Mom would have really liked the stall for "The Really Garlicky Company". We tried some "Fruit Ice" which I thought would be like water ice but it was much creamier - which is weird because there was no ice cream in it. It was really good but only available locally: Belhaven Fruit Farm. I don't normally drink hard cider but I tried some from a stall that was really good so I bought a bottle. Lastly, we got some dried apple crisps which are super healthy and apparently sold at Sainsbury's so we'll be looking out for those: Snapz Crisps.

Rain Factor: off and on by that point. It stopped long enough for me to grap a picture of part of the mountains/park next to the tents (I got more pictures of that another day so this is just a preview).



Later, we saw comedian Jimmy Carr. Steve really likes him, I think he's just okay. He does make me laugh sometimes but I'm not fond of his delivery style. He's big on one liners and I just feel like after every joke there should be cheesy drums going off.

I think I mentioned everything from Sunday. Check out the Photoshop Gallery for more pictures and stay tuned for Day 2! There will be video! Ooooooo!

Edinburgh, here we come!

Last night, we had our second to last game of the season. Although I enjoy doing the sports action photography, I couldn't wait for it to be over because it was the last thing I had to get done before we go off to Edinburgh tomorrow! I can't wait! Edinburgh is supposed to be a great city and we'll be there for the Fringe Festival and our anniversary! And we're seeing the Military Tattoo which will be great but I know I'm going to be wishing I had a press pass for it, lol.

We have so many things planned, we had to make a schedule to fit it all in. We'll only be there for 3 days and now I wish we'd planned for longer. Steve says he'll be able to post blog updates from Edinburgh on his iPhone but that's probably easier said then done, lol.

I just hope the weather is okay. Yesterday, it was sunny when I got up, then it rained, then the sun came out, then it rained again, then sun came out again. I was just grateful it didn't rain during the game, I HATE shooting in the rain! This morning, the sun has been out but the weather gets worse the farther north you go so I don't know what Edinburgh will be like.

Anyway, I should go start packing! I will leave you with my photos from the game last night. Expect lots of pictures from Edinburgh when I come back, although they may not be any good depending on the weather (it certainly didn't cooperate in Wales!)

Surprise! I'm a spider

Last night, after a long day at work (another match), I let out an almighty shriek as I opened the bathroom door, flicked the light switch and there on the floor sat a rather giant spider. Steve rushed to my aid with killer tissues in hand but upon seeing the size of the spider, he said "You know, I think I'll use a shoe instead".

I felt bad about my shriek because it was the kind that might have made Steve think something was actually wrong, not just my freakishly inexplicable fear of spiders. It always reminds me of the story Mom tells about when James was little and started screaming "Mom! Mom! Come quick!" So she rushed outside, thinking something was seriously wrong, maybe he'd even been hurt... only to find him pointing up at the sky and shouting "Look! A plane!" That's me with spiders, except I am actually terrified, not shouting for joy.

I definitely need to buy this shirt that Ange showed me! (To the right).

So, as mentioned, we also had a game last night, which you can see pictures from on my flickr account here. No major incidences like last time, unless you count the fan who tried to throw a bottle at the ref. We could get fined for that but apparently the match official said it was somewhat understandable given the call the ref had just made, lol.

I'm on a roll...

Two posts in two days!

Today, I was woken up by an announcer on a loud speaker outside on the Quays. That was annoying. But then discovered it was for the British National Biathle Championships and realized there was a photo opportunity. You'll be forgiven if you've never heard of the Biathle, Steve and I had never heard of it either. It's a run, swim, run event and had athletes of all ages.

Here's the results!

And more from our boring lives...

It seems the only thing eventful in our lives at the moment is rugby games! Bah! But here's some juicy gossip: last night, one of the "fans" verbally abused our head coach in a very threatening manner. Apparently, Shaun (the coach) was visibly shook up and admitted he should have walked away but was afraid if he turned his back on the guy, he would be physically attacked from behind. Shaun is a pretty tough guy and though he's never shown that side to me, I imagine he can be very intimidating. So for him to be shook up and fearful means this "fan" must have been very aggressive and threatening.

So apparently, despite Salford beating a few of the best teams in the league this season, when we lose, our "fans" are entitled to abuse our head coach. I'd like to blame it on the alcohol but apparently the same guy has since been on the unofficial forum proudly bragging about the altercation.

The good news is, Paul witnessed it all, we know who the guy is and we will be banning him for at least the rest of the season. Next season, he can "plead his case" but it's not guaranteed the ban will be lifted next season either. If he attempts to gain entry to one of the games during his ban, it will be extended to a life time ban and Steve will get the police involved. I don't understand people who behave this way to begin with but least of all do I understand how they think they can get away with it, especially when they go bragging about it on the internet.

And in other, slightly related good news, I think I got some really good shots from this game (one of them being to the left). I've set up a flickr account because uploading to blogspot reduces the image quality so much. All my work is up there now, including the rest from the match last night.

Happy 4th of July from England!

Tonight, Amanda and I are going to Ladies Night! Another one of the players is celebrating his 10th year with the team and it's customary for him to hold several events for it. There's a fancy dinner dance one, a golf day, a ladies night, etc.

So anyway, I decided to go shopping for something to wear last minute and while at the Trafford Centre, Selfridges (a department store) had a bunch of American food brands you don't normally find over here for the 4th of July! Steve tells me they always have this stuff at Selfridges (they just had it out on the front display for Independence Day) but I'm sure if I'd known that, I would have taken advantage of it before now!

On another happy note, Salford had a surprising win last night against St Helens - haven't had time to process the pics from it yet but for now, here's a picture of all the American foods I got at Selfridges (yes, that's our couch in the background). I'm now off to get ready for Ladies Night - hopefully I'm not too worse for wear tomorrow for webcam! lol

Robin Gets Hit by a Ball

That's right, last night I got hit by my first ball. After narrowly escaping being hit from the front thanks to my quick reflexes, it bounced off the boards behind me and hit me in the back. Luckily, by that point it had lost much of it's momentum and didn't hurt. But the fact that it came inches from hitting my camera, which would have then hit me in the face, did shake me up a bit. As I result, anytime the action got anywhere near me again, I was too busy making sure the ball wasn't coming my way to take any pictures!

That, combined with the fact that Salford played poorly and were defending more than they were on the offense (which meant they were all the way at the other end of the field where even a 300mm lens can't reach) meant I did not come away with many photos.

But here they are - this was an away game so that's why Salford are in black instead of red.





And now, I'm off to lounge in the rare English sunshine!

Ugh, they're SO grainy!

Well, the last two games before last night were on saturdays so I stupidly got used to the daylight meaning lower ISO, meaning little to no noise/grain.

Last night, I had to bump up to 3200 which is BAD because the noise is so terrible, my camera doesn't even like to go into ISO 3200. I have to set it through the custom functions, otherwise it will only go up to 1600. It's like the camera saying "Noooo, don't do it! You really don't want to use 3200 so I'll make sure you can't ever accidentally choose it, I'll make you work to set it that high!"

It makes me want the 1D Mark III even more *sniff*. Not only the fastest camera on the market but also handles noise at high ISO's like no other *cry*. It's only the greatest sports camera ever made *sob!*. And only about £3,000 *wail!* Okay, tantrum over.






I can't leave it on that grainy note so I will instead leave you with a picture of Paul and a Miss England Hopeful who was apparently so drunk she could not stand on her own like this for more than 30 seconds (very professional, no doubt she'll win Miss England).

My photo featured in national newspaper!

I've had some of my photos featured in the local magazine, Manchester Evening News, which was exciting but still on a local level. Yesterday, my photo was featured in The Sun, a national newspaper. Unfortunately, we got confused and thought it was going to be in todays paper so I missed seeing it BUT it is available online:

Paul's beef to settle with Bulls

Lots of new stuff...

First new hair, now a new website! I've revamped my photo gallery: robinbauerphoto.com and the new domain might be working by the time you read this: robinmcnallyphotography.com

I basically wanted to add more info rather than just have a gallery because I've had some offers recently to do work outside the Reds. So I'm hoping this will help encourage more outside offers (hence the availability calendar - seriously, how awesome is google?). I also wanted to change from Bauer to McNally. Even though I officially haven't changed my name because it'll be such a pain to do from here in England, everyone in England knows me as McNally, not Bauer. So it just makes sense to call my business name McNally.

I know that linking to the Picasa galleries isn't the most professional looking but it's the quickest and easiest way to upload new photos. I'd say I'm lazy but I honestly spent several hours redoing the rest of the website! Oh, and the first gallery (not the sports gallery) isn't up yet but that's all I have left to do - it'll be up soon.

And now I'm off to see Angels and Demons! Ewan McGregor - yum!

Robin Gets A Haircut

Bangs are shorter than I expected and there's that one little piece that won't stick with the rest! But I love it - a little different from the usual but not too drastic. I don't know why I'm incapable of standing in the middle of the frame though, sorry. And yeah, I wear that sweater a lot.

I'm concerned about how degraded my photos are on blogspot. This photo should be much sharper and with more contrast. I hate, hate, hate services that make your image smaller and lower quality without your permission. Major pet peeve.

In Honor of Nan

Well, we lost this time but at least the sun was out and I got a few good shots.

But it occurred to me while I was watching the game that Nan would have really liked the players tight shorts. I remember she used to love watching Baseball just to see the athlete's "cute butts" lol. And I really had to laugh and think of Nan when this happened:



Sorry, Malcolm! (That's the player). It was too amusing not to take the picture.

But now for some normal photos:





And I'll leave you with a link to one of my photos used on the Official RFL (Rugby Football League) website.

It's pouring down but we won!

It was pouring rain today (of course, because it was a game day) so I spent most of my time trying to shield my camera from it. Even worse, the hardest part was trying to swap lenses without getting water IN the camera. I think I managed it because the camera appears to still be operating fine, lol. I got a few good shots despite the rain and even better, while I was attempting to dry my hair with the hand drier in the bathroom and injuring my neck in the process, the Reds won! Bring it on Salford!