Merry Christmas.....

....and a Happy New Year to all.

Winter weather blues

I thought i'd show some of the photos from my last two games covered so you can see what has to be overcome during the Northern Ireland winter in order to get decent results. Between the fog at the Lurgan Celtic v Hill Street game and the wind and rain at Stangmore Park, I don't know which was worse.

Click an image for the galleries.

Lurgan Celtic v Hill Street





Dungannon Swifts v Lurgan Town

Lurgan Town v Dromara Village

Some action from Saturday's encounter between Lurgan Town under 14s and Dromara Village. Both teams gave it their all but football can be a cruel game as Dromara put 4 past Lurgan Town without reply.

Click an image to view the entire set.





I don't usually add any toning to my football photos but I thought this one summed up Lurgan Town's day. Having put in so much effort but coming away with nothing to show for it.

Some recent action

Back to business last week with some sports action.

iso1600 was used for the football and iso3200 for the rugby. I never like using 3200 but there simply wasn't enough light coming from the floodlights. Even using iso3200 I had to push the exposure further when processing. Gotta be done unfortunately.

Anyway, as usual click an image to open the relevant gallery.

Lurgan Tigers Floodlit Blitz
Pollock Park 23/10/09







Lurgan Institute v Camlough Rovers
Lurgan Park 24/10/09

Prague - better late than never

I don't think I have ever put in as much work and effort into processing a batch of photos.

Between being completely burned out / run down this week and technical problems (probably my own fault in fairness) it has taken me until now to get them all processed, resized and uploaded.

I gave a lot of my images from this trip a 'Lomo' look which I thought portrayed how bitterly cold it was. Having said that however, the city is so photogenic and the Old Town in particular being truly charming. Excellent food, excellent beer, excellent sights, excellent city, excellent trip. I hope to return some day on a trip that Tracy and I have been toying with. Hopefully it'll come true.

For now click any image to open the set and enjoy.



Wenceslas Square at night.



Old Town Square. The Astronomical Clock can be seen on the left.



The National Museum during rush hour. Cheers Dad (he knows why).



Prague Castle. The view from our hotel room. Thanks again to my parents for swapping rooms with us.

While I process my travel photos........

.........here is Saturday's action between Lurgan Town and Oxford United Sunnyside. They maybe be under 13 but they sure give it their all.

Prague photos should be up in the next few days.

Click an image to open the set.

Just before we head off.........

We're heading across Europe again in a few hours. Another Northern Ireland game but this time its a family trip which was booked with my 30th birthday celebrations in mind. Can't wait to see Prague! 'Our wee country' slipped up in the last game so we're basically out of the running but with the pressure off it could make for an awesome trip.

I just thought i'd post my 2 favourite shots from today's action. Dollingstown v Markethill Swifts and Lurgan v Ballymoney.

Saturday's Action

I started off at lunch time on Saturday at Pollock Park for the Ulster Bank Section 1 League decider between Lurgan and Downpatrick. I had to shoot off to Knockramer Park for the Lurgan Celtic v Chimney Corner game, so I missed the finish but still managed some action.

Click an image to view the entire sets.

Lurgan v Downpatrick
Ulster Bank Section 1







Lurgan Celtic v Chimney Corner
IFA Championship 2

First football of the season

I've covered a few pre-season games over the summer but Saturday saw me getting into the nitty gritty of First Division of the Mid-Ulster League. The local derby of Hill Street versus Lurgan BBOB lived up to it's promise. A thoroughly entertaining game bathed in glorious sunshine - ISO 200 for sports anyone!

Hill Street ran out as 3-1 winners on the day.

Click an image for the set.

Berlin

We got back from the trip yesterday. Truly exhausted but what a trip. A great city and a good result for Northern Ireland.

We took in the major sights such as the Brandenburg Gate, Olympic Stadium, Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie and what remains of the Berlin Wall. Its plain to see how far this city has come in the last 20 years and I look forward to another visit some time soon.

Click an image to view the set.

I've now added a short HD video also.

Berlin from Stephen Greenaway on Vimeo.

Away Days

Every now and then I get the chance to travel across Europe to watch the greatest wee country in the world play football.

Tonight we leave for Chorzow, Poland via Dublin and a few days in Berlin.

This trip has taken months of preparation and a small fortune but if I can come back with some decent images and a few points in the bag for Northern Ireland then i'll be happy.

C'mon Norn Iron!

On Assignment: Donkey Derby

The rain held off long enough on Saturday to allow for a great family day out with all the thrills and spills of the Donkey Derby & Fun Day at Pollock Park.

Click an image for the set.

Tall Ships 2009

We visited the Tall Ships at the Belfast Maritime Festival over the weekend. I packed up all my gear in anticipation of getting some great shots. Upon arriving I quickly realised that due to the sheer numbers in attendance 'decent shots' were not going to happen. I made my peace with this and set about creating a decent image of the fireworks at the end of the evening. Surely one of the bridges would make the best vantage point. Sadly not as the M3 flyover blocked the entire view of the ships. This led to a mad dash to try and get some sort of view. Just as the fireworks were starting I decided to try and make the best of a bad situation and started firing off a few shots of my own. I did come away with one image that I really like.

On Assignment: Gerard McMahon Testimonial

I was honoured to cover "Gerdie's" testimonial game against St Johnstone last week. It was nearly 20 years ago as a 12 year old I stood in The Oval's shed in East Belfast and witnessed what will go down as one of Glenavon's greatest triumphs. Missing 2 of the best strikers in the league through injury Glenavon were massive underdogs against the biggest, most successful team in Ireland, Linfield. Not to worry though - after coming back from a goal down to 1-1 Glenavon were awarded a free kick at the edge of the Linfield box. Up stepped 18 year old McMahon to fire Glenavon into the lead and send not only the Lurgan side into a frenzy, but most 'neutrals' also. Glenavon went on to win the Irish Cup and the rest as they say, is history.

Gerard was destined for bigger things across the water but would ultimately come back to his home club and go on to deservedly gain his testimonial.

Click a thumbnail below for the gallery.

Our return to London

Tracy and I went back to London last week for a few days. It was our second time there and it certainly won't be the last. I don't think i'll ever tire of the place.

Having grabbed most of my 'landmark' shots the last time I only had a few that I wanted to get this time. My two aims were a low light shot of Westminster and an HDR of St Pauls Cathederal.

I came away with a few pleasing efforts - click a thumbnail to view the set.

On Assignment: Minisprint Summer Championship

Another hi-octane feature for the Lurgan Mail. This time at Bluestone for the 'Minisprint Summer Championship'.

A very dark (and wet!) evening meaning high ISOs for decent results.

Click a thumbnail for the entire set.