National Volunteer Week 2022: The man behind the camera

National Volunteer Week (NVW) is the largest annual celebration of volunteers in Australia with the 2022 theme of ‘Better Together’ designed to recognise the positive change to communities through volunteering.

When it comes to well-known volunteer figures in the Queensland squash community, the name Craig Stewart will come to mind for many.

Known for his work under Seize The Light, Stewart has photographed all levels of squash across Queensland from QMSA State Titles and Queensland Junior Squash Championships to international events such as the 2019 World Doubles Championships.

“The most important reason I volunteer is to provide a long-lasting legacy of squash around the Brisbane area,” Stewart said.

“The enjoyment for me when it comes to photographing is capturing an image that is unique. 

“At the end of a session, it is nothing to have 1,500 images captured on the memory card, but if you can find 1-2 special images, that makes the photography worth the while.”

A keen squash player throughout the 1980s, spending almost every day at the Goondi Squash Courts in Innisfail, Stewart’s photography journey all started after completing his Bachelor's in Photography when he was looking to combine his two passions.

Recalling the first match he ever photographed, which was a final between Hong Kong,China’s Ho Tze Lok and Vanessa Chu at Sandgate Squash Centre. During the match, he quickly learned photographing squash was a whole different ball game.

“After sorting and editing the photos, squash was more of a challenge than I anticipated, and I instantly loved it. From that moment, I knew I had a lot to learn about squash photography,” he explained. 

“Today, my squash photos are more about capturing fantastic portraits and the athletic abilities of all squash players and those unusual moments.”

When he’s not volunteering, he can be found editing squash photos or creating collages and is currently in the process of returning to Primary teaching. 

While photography is only a hobby and passion for Stewart, he one day hopes to set up his own business to sell his photos. 

“A photography business is all about a supportive community and network.  At tournaments, it is wonderful to have so many people come and say ‘hello’.  

“I believe my photography business will be complete once I reach my goal of selling my photographs to a wide audience, but for me, it is more about the squash community than selling photographs. 

“For me, squash photography is a nice way to give back to the sport, especially when my images are utilised to spread the message of squash from locally to the world stage.”  

With a multitude of tournaments set to take place over the next seven months, Stewart is looking forward to the upcoming Queensland Junior Squash Championships (QJC) on 27-29 June.  

In fact, it will be the fourth QJC he has photographed.

“I really enjoyed photographing the 2021 Queensland Junior Championships in Cairns and after six days, I ended up with 12,000 images,” Stewart recalled.

“It was intense but so enjoyable. The days were long, which included sorting and editing photos ready to be used for the next day. 

“The best part of the tournament was I visited Mum in Innisfail.”  

National Volunteer Week is a chance for all of us to celebrate and recognise the vital work of our amazing volunteers and to say thank you for their contribution.