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Sprowls gestured at the wall in front of both of us, which was decorated with framed photographs. There were landscape photos which gave the youthful, yellow nostalgia of the 1990s and early 2000s. A studio image of a popsicle melting into a \u201cJazz\u201d Dixie Cup which stood out from the entire room in its brightness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI still love doing this work, and when the mood strikes me, I\u2019ve been trying to get back into it. This is actually a new space for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sprowls moved into this space in January through Jeb Feldman, head of non-profit Braddock Economic Development Corps located in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Today, and largely since the 1970s and 1980s, Braddock\u2019s African American, Latino, and Caucasian residents have been experiencing rampant poverty compared to statewide averages, according to Family-to-Family Communities Archive. Sprowls has known Feldman for the past nine years, and their friendship resulted in him being able to find a workplace separate from his house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, I called Jeb and we talked, and he said there\u2019s a space that\u2019s right next to it, we share a wall, his bathroom is actually on the other side of that wall,” Sprowls said. “He [Feldman] said how he is cautious who comes in here and who wants to rent. We talked about it, and it just made sense.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: What is the main emotion you experience while photographing for Hello Neighbor? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: \u201cWhat is that emotion? I think the umbrella emotion is joy. You know, there\u2019s always a little bit of anxiety before you shoot, if it\u2019s a small event or a wedding. There\u2019s more anxiety with a wedding, but good anxiety, because I want to do the job well. Sometimes I\u2019m photographing in a space that\u2019s dark, in a theater or something which I have to work around. I have to workshop how to do that. Sometimes all it is putting a flash on my camera… I\u2019d rather put that flash on and present them better photos than I have to bump my ISO up and it\u2019s going to be noisy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sprowls photographs a variety of events for refugees with Hello Neighbor, including potlucks and indoor dances. He enjoys seeing the kids interact with each other and their families. He said that it is a “beautiful, community-driven event,’ describing the refugee-centered events which include food, drinks, and activities for the children of the families to enjoy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s joy that I feel, specifically with Hello Neighbor, and some of the other non-profits I work with. They do immigrant and refugee work too, and I really love interacting with the kids. I think they like interacting with me a little too much sometimes. They want to, like, you know, take my camera and take photos sometimes, like I\u2019ll take selfies with them. It\u2019s a good reminder to have fun.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn all chaos there is cosmos, in all disorder a secret order,\u201d by Carl Jung may be the few words which can describe freelance photographer Christopher Sprowls\u2019 work style. Sprowls presents himself as the grunge poster child from his past, with long hair and neutral clothing colors. He embraces that being a professional photographer is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[15,13,7,16,6,20],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles","tag-hello-neighbor","tag-people","tag-pittsburgh","tag-profile","tag-refugees","tag-volunteer"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pointparkjournalism.com\/PioneerMagazine\/S23\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/210225_helloneighbor_delphinenicole_1.jpg?resize=1024%2C684&ssl=1\")
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