The work of acclaimed AFL photographer Michael Willson is being exhibited at Horsham Regional Art Gallery.

Framed in Footy: AFL Photography by Michael Willson showcases one of Australia’s most skilled sports photographer’s work throughout the past 20 years.

Willson has hand-selected the photographs – with some featuring AFL superstars who have grown up in the Wimmera, including Adam Goodes, Joel Freijah, Jarrod Berry and Jake Lloyd.

The exhibition offers a unique perspective on the sport and invites people to consider football through the lens of photography, storytelling and art. Willson has documented the passion, athleticism and emotion of Australian Rules Football – his images have become part of the game’s visual history, capturing moments of triumph, resilience and humanity from both the men’s and women’s leagues.

At the opening on Friday night, Willson, originally from Swan Hill, said his hometown was similar to Horsham in many ways.

“Basically my whole upbringing revolved around football, like I’m sure a lot of people around here,” he said.

Willson said he vividly remembered growing up around the Lake Boga Football Club where he watched his boyhood heroes prepare for a game, smelling of liniment.

 “It’s funny, a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be following Scott Pendlebury around for his 433rd record-breaking match, and I was in the locker room when he was putting his jumper on, and I just caught a smell of the Deep Heat, the liniment, and it kind of teleported me back to that little seven-year-old standing in the corner of the change rooms at Lake Boga,” he said.

“It was a little bit of a pinch me moment – whether you’re about to run out in front of 95,000 people at the MCG or 500 people at Lake Boga Recreation Reserve, the one common thing is football, and that brings us all together.

“From a very early age, I just had that appreciation for what the game could do for the community, and bringing people together.

“I played a lot of football at Lake Boga – my dream was to be a Collingwood Football Club player, but that didn’t eventuate unfortunately – so for me the next best thing was being able to take pictures of the football.”

The exhibition is open until October 4. 

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