Iconic sports photography shows some of the athletic world’s most decisive moments. A game-winning catch, the tie-breaking score, crossing the finish line – but who ever captures the fans?
“Footwork: Where We Gather,” the latest exhibit at Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum, answers that question. Open now through the FIFA World Cup, the new exhibit from photographer Sheila Pree Bright explores how fandom “transforms everyday spaces into sites of ritual and belonging.”
Pree Bright turns the lens away from the fated fields and onto the people who hold the sports world together: fans. Starting summer 2025, she traveled around Georgia (and the world) to capture the fans of Atlanta’s sports teams, including the NFL’s Falcons, NBA’s Hawks and soccer team Atlanta United.
The exhibit features a gallery of photos and four large-scale images inside the Greek and Roman galleries, all shot on a Leica camera. It is part of Emory University’s “Footwork” series of exhibitions as Atlanta gears up to host eight FIFA World Cup Matches this summer.
According to the university website, the initiative aims to “highlight the importance of soccer to the history and culture of Emory, the region and the world.”
There are three exhibitions across the main and Oxford campuses. “Footwork: Celebrating Soccer, Culture and Community” at the Schatten Gallery of Woodruff Library uses a selection from the Rose Library to explore interconnected stories of soccer, civil rights and globalism from 1968 to today. “Footwork Firsts” at the Oxford Campus library’s gallery spotlights pioneering moments in Oxford’s soccer program and diversity efforts.
“Where We Gather” is Emory’s answer to a global culture coming together. Carlos Museum Works on Paper Curator Andi McKenzie said Pree Bright’s images feel like a “new kind of sports photography.”
Pree Bright has not historically been a sports photographer. In fact, she wasn’t even a sports fan before starting the series. One of her best-known works, “#1960Now” captured protest from the civil rights movement to the modern day. What drew her in was the World Cup, and the pockets of community around a major sporting event.
To me, it’s just more than the culture,” Pree Bright said. “It’s about us as people coming together.”
She also wanted to show Atlanta from a new angle. As a photographer, Pree Bright has traveled the world. When she tells people where she’s from, they often relate the city to music or celebrity culture.
“When I say I live in Atlanta, they say housewives,” Pree Bright joked.
“What I was trying to capture is something of a different perspective, so when this global audience comes to Atlanta, they have that in mind,” Pree Bright said.
But the photographer wanted to go beyond spectacle and entertainment and explore what fandom revealed about humanity. What she found was ritual, tradition and shared bonds. She compared it to church, with a near-religious dedication to each sports team.
Her photo gallery is paired with two selected Walter Iooss photographs from the museum’s permanent collection. Iooss is widely known as the greatest sports photographer of all time – he’s a student of “The Decisive Moment,” a 1952 photography book by Henri Cartier-Bresson that explored the concept of capturing the “decisive moment” when every element of a photo comes together in an instant.
Pree Bright is also a student of the “decisive moment.” Her gallery shows fans as they grill hot dogs and smoke cigars, or as a young child gets his jersey signed by a football hero. The images show the big and little moments – they even show fans during a losing game.
Much of her work is built around instant decisions. Pree Bright doesn’t have time to formulate a perfect frame or shot. She operates on instinct, using depth of field and framing to tell a deeper story. It makes her photos feel alive. It makes them feel authentic.
McKenzie explained that presenting Iooss and Pree Bright’s photos in tandem provided a “historical context” for the new approach to sports photography. “They fill out this idea of what [Pree Bright] was capturing in terms of fandom,” McKenzie said.
“Iooss, he’s this sports photographer who has been considered almost a fine artist, right?” McKenzie continued. “Whereas this is the opposite — a fine artist who is working with and focusing on the fans.”
Iooss’ photos freeze some of the most iconic sports moments in history. But McKenzie said they’re often the moment just before the crowd goes wild. It’s an anticipation you can feel in the photos, but the fans are often blurred or out of frame. Pree Bright’s images fill the gap.
“This isn’t a frozen moment of the game, this is why the game itself exists,” McKenzie said.
Pree Bright pointed out that those people are often neglected, though. In her travels she was well received by excited fans. She said “nobody paid attention” to them before she ventured into their tailgates and celebrations.
Now she sees the importance of sports and their fandoms. She described them as one of the few places where there are “moments of joy.” People from all backgrounds come together and create a community — no matter the latest conflicts in the world.
“I can’t change the world, but I can give somebody some inspiration about how we’re here together,” Pree Bright said.
Now, Pree Bright has a laserlike focus on the fans. She plans to keep shooting fandom, and aims to add Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves to her catalogue. She also plans to record a podcast about the series in partnership with Leica Camera, and eventually she aims to publish the collection as a book.
As for the sports? Pree Bright said she’s more of a fan now. “But I still care more about people,” she clarified.
“Footwork: Where We Gather” will be on display through July 19, 2026. Admission is $10 for adults and free for Emory University students.
