Australian Football Association of North America

Well firstly I had better introduce myself.  Michael Brown (Mike, Mick, Browny, etc) is my name and I am one of the Photojournalists located here in the home of Aussie Rules, Melbourne Victoria.

Having been a Photographer for around 20ish years I thought that I could not possibly love my job anymore than I did...that was until I was asked if I would be interested in shooting AFL for AFANA.

Now obviously living here I had been to AFL games as a spectator before, so I know what the atmosphere at these games are like, what I didn't know was the huge difference from one side of a fence to another.

At our first game of the year Carlton v Essendon NAB Cup Rnd 1 I was excited but I tried to approach it all as calm as possible, Derrick & I arrived about 2 hours before the game to "scope out" the best spots to shoot from, and for him to give me the layout of the media areas etc.  Walking around that empty stadium was an experience in itself.  But no amount of preparation, or calming myself could have prepared me for the roar of that crowd when their respective teams came onto the field.  I had to sit back and soak it in for a minute or so, before I could get on to the job at hand.  After a while the calm had set in and I really felt like I was actually part of the game (a couple of times I was nearly in the game when the players spilled over the boundary)  It is an experience, and to me a privilege that not a lot of Photographers get to experience.

Walking away from my first experience shooting top level AFL I thought to myself, "wow it gets even bigger during the normal season."  Then it dawned on me, I would soon be taking photos of these guys on the "Hallowed Turf"....the MCG.  Looks like the butterflies will be back.

Oh and guys, please feel free to give Derrick & I some feedback on the photos.

Mike Brown

AFANA Photojounalist

Melbourne Australia