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.

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.

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!

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!

So Sad

For Easter, the players of the rugby team I work for went to the children's hospital to hand out chocolate easter eggs and I covered the photos. I shouldn't share the photos here because the hospital dealt with the consent forms and I don't actually know what it said, it might have only consented to be published in the paper.

But it was just really, really sad and depressing to see so many children with so many medical problems. We were told not to ask the children or parents what was wrong with them but one little girl's parents offer up the info. She'd had a stroke. She was no older than two.

Some of the players were great with the kids though - mostly the ones who have children themselves but that's not surprising. Hopefully it brightened the kids day, if not our own.