Sports photographer uses passion to overcome grief and other life challenges

November 25, 2023

Emma Stewart has a passion for sports photography as a way to overcome grief and other life challenges.

(Reegan MacAulay)

Emma Stewart always loved taking photos on her phone as a young girl, particularly of sports. 

It started when her brothers began playing hockey. 

“I would try and take pictures of them on the ice. My phone didn’t work that well. Pretty blurry, pretty zoomed in. But that’s where it really all started,” Stewart said. 

As a teenager, she and her friend Cole Rayner used to take photos of each other playing hockey. 

Tragically, Rayner died in a car accident in September 2020. 

“I never backed photos (I took of him) up anywhere and I lost them, so it impacted me a great deal when he died,” Stewart said. 

Sadness fueled her drive to help capture young people doing what they love. 

Photography also helped with her ADHD and anxiety. 

“It’s a way for me to be social without even realizing it,” Stewart said. 

For the next few years, Stewart went to horse clinics and hockey games, and took portrait photos of her friends.  

“From there, it kind of just all took off,” Stewart said. 

Her work caught the attention of the Mid-Isle Matrix Association, who hired her for the 2021-22 hockey season to take pictures for four different teams. 

Stewart impressed them so much that she was hired by the U13 team to capture their provincial tournament games. 

Even Saltwire was impressed as one of her photos at a U18 provincial tournament and ran it in The Guardian newspaper. 

That’s when she found the one-year photography program at Holland College. 

She applied and was accepted. 

But not long after, she was hit with yet another life challenge. 

One month before college, she was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. 

She had difficulties with sounds, lights, and crowds. 

“(The diagnosis) was really overwhelming. Going 19 years without knowing the way I was feeling was valid was a lot to process at the time. 

“But it was also really relieving knowing that there was nothing wrong with me. It definitely helped me understand my childhood and myself a lot better,” Stewart said. 

Teacher Jean-Sebastien Duchesne remembered Stewart’s early struggles within the program. 

“It took her a little while to get some of the technical aspects down. She maybe could’ve asked a few more questions, but eventually, she got the hang of things and they went really well from there,” Duchesne said. 

Stewart didn’t give up and eventually connected with classmates. 

“I ended up making a lot of really good friends in the program that I still talk to and work with to this day. I learned a lot with the program, mainly how to properly edit my photos,” Stewart said. 

Stewart’s favourite photo project was making a composite for a wall hanging in the Holland College cafeteria. 

She used photos taken at a junior-B playoff hockey game on March 26, 2023, of a breakaway and combined them to show a player’s progression toward attempting to score. 

“I love the way the composition turned out. It was super challenging at first to deal with so many layers in Photoshop and create shadows for each ‘player’ but I’m super happy with how it turned out,” Stewart said.

Emma Stewart's favourite photo project in Holland College's photography program was creating a composite for a cafeteria wall hanging. This was her final result after taking photos at a junior-B playoff hockey game.

(Emma Stewart)

She graduated in May 2023. 

Since then, she has been working for the Charlottetown Knights major-U18 team and the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. 

She also operates her own business HLE Photography (Horse-Lover Emma).

“The feeling of seeing people post my work, seeing how excited parents and kids get seeing my photos, and remaining involved in sports while not playing are why I’ve kept going. 

“Photography solidifies moments forever,” Stewart said. 

Lesley Evison, a friend and former classmate, was inspired by what Stewart overcame. 

“I was just as socially awkward as her when we met (at college). But seeing her grow, especially in the social aspect, is so awesome to me as someone who cares about her so much,” Evison said. 

J.S. Duchesne sees a bright future for Stewart. 

“I want her to continue working on her skills and be the best she can be and stay in the industry as long as she still really enjoys it,” Duchesne said.

Emma Stewart works at Charlottetown Islanders hockey games as a freelance photographer for her own business HLE Photography.

(Reegan MacAulay)

Follow HLE Photography on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hlephotography_/?hl=en.

HLE Photography website: https://hlephotography24.mypixieset.com/