Ronald McDonald house charity – Gala Ball

What a fantastic evening the Ronald McDonald house charity gala ball was!

The people were fantastic, the entertainment was awesome and the money raised was outstanding!!

Photos of now been all processed up my website to be viewed and purchased. Simply click online shop link from the menu on the left.

If you volunteered for this event feel free to contact me and I’ll give you a complimentary copy of the group photo below.

Volunteers at the Ronald McDonald house charity gala ball with Ronald McDonald himself
Volunteers at the Ronald McDonald house charity gala ball with Ronald McDonald himself

Being an event photographer does have its perks as you get to meet a wide range of people and people which you would not normally have contact with. And in this case it was Erin Molan from the footy show as she was the MC for the evening.

Ronald McDonald house charity with Melissa Gelonese, Erin Molan and Brendan Maunder (aka me)
Ronald McDonald house charity with Melissa Gelonese, Erin Molan and Brendan Maunder (aka me)
Erin Molan as the MC
Erin Molan as the MC

The event was of course sponsored by many people and in this case the major sponsor was Lexus of Canberra so while people were getting their seats men Ronald took the opportunity to get some photos in and around the Lexus vehicles that were in the main foyer.

Ronald McDonald standing alongside a Lexus
Ronald McDonald standing alongside a Lexus

With any gala ball there is always performance to entertain the guests while they eat dinner and this gala ball was no exception.

The have wonderful performance from The Emeralds which are the official cheerleaders for the Canberra Raiders.

The Emeralds - the official cheer squad for the Canberra Raiders performing at the Ronald McDonald house gala ball
The Emeralds – the official cheer squad for the Canberra Raiders performing at the Ronald McDonald house gala ball
Me catching up some of the ladies from The Emeralds
Me catching up some of the ladies from The Emeralds

And this was followed on by some official speeches and a gentlemen that can only be referred to as a speed painter. He would put up a blank canvas and within a couple of minutes would paint some really amazing pictures at the best part is he would do it while the canvas was upside down.

Official speeches
Official speeches
Speed painter doing his thing
Speed painter doing his thing
Up upside down Miss Jane
Up upside down Miss Jane
Lexus of Canberra claiming this speed paining
Lexus of Canberra claiming this speed paining

With some additional fundraising the evening cracked on with the Michael Jackson tribute band which really got the party going as the dance floor filled up quicker than a green pint on St Patrick’s Day. 🙂

Michael Jackson tribute group
Michael Jackson tribute group
One of the Thriller dances
One of the Thriller dances
Doing your thang Michael
Doing your thang Michael
One of the backup dancers
One of the backup dancers

To which the evening’s entertainment ended with a cover band from Melbourne.

Belting out one of her fantastic tunes
Belting out one of her fantastic tunes
The crowd was going off like a frog in a sock
The crowd was going off like a frog in a sock
The view from one of the tables
The view from one of the tables
The freedom of a performer
The freedom of a performer

All in all everyone had a fantastic night and there raised something like $400,000 for the evening which is fantastic.

The night ended with Lexus of Canberra giving away a car in a raffle to which Anthony Minichiello drew the winning ticket.

One of Australia's rugby league greats, Anthony Minichiello picking the winning ticket for the Lexus Canberra car raffle
One of Australia’s rugby league greats, Anthony Minichiello picking the winning ticket for the Lexus Canberra car raffle

Bloody Ronald McDonald!!!!

What is that saying about working with kids and animals?????  I think you need to add Ronald McDonald to the list… ha ha ha ha

Working through my photos from last nights Ronald McDonald House Charities Lexus of Canberra Gala Ball held here in Canberra at The National Convention Center I came across this photos and couldnt help but share!!!!

I can now tick off “Get Photobombed by Ronald McDonald while shooting one of rugby leagues top cheerleading squads, The Emeralds” from my Top 10 things I need to do as a professional event photographer list…. bwhahahahaha

Here I was just clicking away and Ronald McDonald comes out of nowhere!!!!!!  BAM!!!!!!!

I love Ronald McDonald….  😉

 Ronald McDonald Photobombing a shoot with The Emeralds cheerleader squad for the Canberra Raiders at the Ronald McDonald House Charities Lexus of Canberra Gala Ball held here in Canberra at The National Convention Center
Ronald McDonald Photobombing a shoot with The Emeralds cheerleader squad for the Canberra Raiders at the Ronald McDonald House Charities Lexus of Canberra Gala Ball held here in Canberra at The National Convention Center

 

Its a Gala Event!!! A Ronald McDonald Gala Event!!!!

Prepping for an event is a double edged sword…  On one side you are getting excited and butterflies for the the excitement of it all  and on the other side you are going through your check list to ensure you have all the equipment to take on the event that you are going to cover.

With today’s event being the Ronald McDonald House Charities Lexus of Canberra Gala Ball held here in Canberra at The National Convention Center. It kicks off at 5 pm and will go until 2 am…….

What this means for me is given the size of the event, the use of flash as it will be dark, performances that need to be captured it will take a bit of equipment and more importantly a whole lot of flash units and batteries.

YAY for a party… I do love a good party and this one should be a cracker…

So what does an Event Photographer take on such and assignment?   Well this is a very personal thing as each photographer has their own style but this is roughly what I will be taking.

  • 1 x Canon 5D mkII
  • 1 x Canon 5D mkII
  • 1 x 70-200mm F2.8 Canon L lens
  • 1 x 24-70mm f2.8 Canon L lens
  • 3 x Speedlites
  • 3 x external battery packs for the speedlites
  • Colour correcting gels for the speedlites to balance the colour of the lights against the colour of the rooms.
  • 3 x defusing caps for the speedlites
  • 1 x remote trigger for the speedlites
  • 3 x Elinchrom Rangers Quadra packs
  • 6 x Elinchrom Rangers Quadra heads
  • 6 x Elinchrom Rangers Quadra battery packs
  • Colour correcting and theatrical gels for the Elinchrom Rangers Quadra, where I can create some unique images.
  • 2 x Remote triggers for the Elinchrom Rangers Quadra
  • 4 x light stands of different sizes
  • 6 x sandbags
  • 1 x GoPro in protective water proof case – ha ha ha….  You never do know what might happen…  😉
  • 28,321,988 x AA rechargeable batteries
  • Lens Cleaners
  • Some clips, straps, a few bags, tape, claps, etc
  • A external charging unit to keep my iphone charged so I can get Behind The Lens shots…. ha ha ha

mmmmmm  Am I missing something….  I know I wont need to pack fun as I will find it at the event…. Oh yeah my pack horse…  Now where did I put him…. ha ha ha ha

For all you Canberra Raiders fans out there I will once again be running into the best cheer squad in the League if not the country The Emeralds so stay tuned for some great photos of these fantastic bunch of ladies as they will be putting on a performance.

If you want more info on the event or just want to know more about what RMHC does, have a look on the link below.

https://www.rmhc.org.au/our-programs/houses/canberra

Ronald McDonald Gala
Ronald McDonald Gala

The Emeralds auditions

On Sunday had the pleasure of attending the Emeralds cheerleader auditions. These cheerleader group and the official cheerleaders for the NRL Canberra Raiders, and while the season is just finished they are ahead of the game to go along and secure the group for next year.

I must say sitting in the corner of the room taking photos of the event was kind of awe-inspiring in the fact that these girls were shown a routine I have never seen before and were then asked to perform it.

I for one have no idea how they did it!! But it was awesome and I captured some really fantastic shots.

Here is just one of the images captured with the rest of follow in due time.

EMERALDS CHEER SQUAD AUDITION, SEPT 14TH
EMERALDS CHEER SQUAD AUDITION, SEPT 14TH