How old are you? 26
Where do you live? Concord
Where do you work? I have my own photography business, Janelle Sprague Photography (visit Facebook.com/Janelle Sprague Photography). I also work part time at the Courtyard by Marriott/Grappone Conference Center as the sales and marketing assistant in the sales office.
Where did you go to school? Plymouth State University, for my bachelor’s in business management.
What do you like to do for fun? Other than driving around with my camera locally or on road trips, you can be sure to find me downtown dancing or singing the night away. The spotlight and I are good friends.
Favorite places to be? Sitting by, swimming in or floating down a river. Fall and summer are my favorite times to explore the rivers, mountains, quarries and scenic byways.
Last book you’ve read? I enjoy the novels by Carl Hiaasen. You may know him best for Nature Girl and his recent book, Bad Monkey. I enjoy witty authors. I also recently read Women, by Charles Bukowski. I fell in love with his works after reading, his most well-known, Ham on Rye.
How did you find out about CYPN and how has it benefitted your business or you personally? I’m sure she’ll enjoy getting a mention in this article but I owe a lot of my networking to Jessica Fogg of JFogg Social Inspirations. I told her I wanted to be more involved and start networking, and we sat at True Brew Barista going over all the local groups to be involved in, networking events, and events to get involved in like Midnight Merriment, Market Days, Boys and Girls Club, Girls Inc., etc. Since then it’s been like rapid fire. Hardly anybody knew my name last year and now I run into strangers who say that they’ve heard of me or seen my images. I’m really grateful for Jessica Fogg and for the organizations that help young people be involved and learn the confidence to talk about your business and skills.
What organizations are you involved with? I’m currently the house photographer for the Woman’s Club of Concord, as well as serving on their public relations board and on the recent New Year’s Eve Bash Committee. I’m excited to say that the Woman’s Club has also recently become members of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce and I’m now able to attend the Business After Hours events.
Most inspirational person in your life: I would have to say currently, it’s Scott Bulger. If you don’t know him or his art, you should. I first met Scott a few years ago when I signed up for one of his summer dark room photography classes. I enjoyed learning the dark room process and shooting with film, but what I enjoyed more was getting to know Scott and seeing his work. He is the real deal. He is constantly creating, experimenting, and doing what he loves. He doesn’t believe in teaching you how he creates, or how he believes we should photograph. He shows you the basics, the options, the techniques and then basically says “go.” I’ve been fortunate to take part in a few of his recent projects and it’s taught me what it’s like to understand what you’re photographing and why. I encourage everyone to go to a gallery that is displaying his work.
Greatest role model? For this I’ll speak in terms of photography. Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of my all-time favorite photographers. He was the master of candid photography and created the term, “defining moment.”
He walked around and traveled with his 35mm Leica and a 50mm lens, knowing exactly where to be and when to click for that perfect capture. It’s amazing to me because you have to realize he was using film and couldn’t see what he was taking until later when he processed the image. Film was expensive, so you couldn’t snap 100 images freely like you can today. He knew his camera inside and out and used that knowledge to wait, observe, and click when the moment came along. It reminds me of how I’d like to live as well. Take chances, observe, be aware of the moments around you and if you can, capture it, and remember it because the moments are rare and life is short.
What’s your favorite restaurant in Concord? I have a dairy and gluten allergy so I have to search for places that have those options for me. The safest places for me to eat are Café Indigo, Spoon Revolution and either of the In a Pinch Cafés. These are vegan, or gluten-free friendly places and they make me happy. I’ve recently found out Portland Pie Company in Manchester offers both gluten-free bread and vegan cheeses, so my tail’s wagging and I can’t wait to go.
What’s your favorite place to go in Concord? Outdoors, I love the walking trails and river off Second Street. For entertainment, it would have to be karaoke at Tandy’s Top Shelf on Wednesdays and local music at True Brew Barista.
Favorite movie of all time? Oh boy, that’s difficult. My two favorite movies growing up would be Some Kind of Wonderful and Benny and Joon. Currently my friends know me for my obsession with Anchorman. I will find a way to fit a quote from that movie in conversation with others nearly every day… because 60 percent of the time, it works, every time.
What is one of your life goals? I consider myself a pretty eclectic person so these “choose one” questions are difficult for me to answer! There are a lot of things I hope to do in my lifetime: travel goals, artistic goals, business goals, etc. It’s too hard to choose just one, so I guess my biggest personal goal is to always be true to myself and never find myself in a position were I’m not doing what I love, or holding myself back for one reason or another. Life is short so I try to make decisions having that in mind.
What has been your favorite CYPN event so far? I enjoyed the CYPN event at the Common Man last year where they featured the Concord Main Street Project design boards and some of the people involved in the project. It was great to hear what their visions were and hopes for growing downtown Concord. I’m from Connecticut and have only been in Concord three years. I’ve seen what it has to offer so far and looking forward to seeing where it’s going.
Favorite famous person? Dead or alive? Why are you doing this to me? If you see me on the dance floor, you’ll see my love for Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, King of Rock and King of Pop, may they rest in peace. Famous person alive today? Currently it’s Kristen Wiig. If you enjoy laughing hysterically, watch anything with her in it. Laughter is medicine.
If you could visit any country, where would you go? I’m a major animal and nature lover so it’s a big daydream of mine to trek through the Amazon rainforest or the jungles in Africa. I say daydream because since I was a kid I’ve thought I could be Mogli living among the animals, so I just picture myself seeing a lion or tiger and being like, here kitty kitty…and here lies Janelle Sprague.
Where is the best place you’ve visited? I’m a big fan of the Hard Rock Cafés and I enjoy collecting their pins. Once I did a Hard Rock Café road trip tour from Connecticut to Texas with family. I hit nine of the Hard Rock Cafés along the way in Boston, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Myrtle Beach, two in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and two in Texas.
Tell us a few interesting facts about yourself. I’m originally from Connecticut, I came to New Hampshire when I went to Plymouth State University, fell in love with the state and haven’t left. After college I worked at the Snowy Owl Inn in Waterville Valley living in one of the guest rooms in the basement. Nearly every day I came across moose, deer, foxes and even bears. If I forgot to empty the outside trash barrels you can bet I was stepping outside in the morning to a bear on the hotel porch or at the bottom of the stairs with his face in the trash. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan of road trips. My next planned trip is to hit the scenic byways between Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.
The Concord Young Professionals Network is a professional and personal development initiative created by the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce just over five years ago. Free events are held on the third Wednesday of every month at various Concord venues, where hundreds of young professionals of all ages can interact socially, build a network of contacts, exchange ideas and have fun. To receive notices of upcoming events, please visit concordypn.org or visit facebook.com/concordypn.
