
ABOUT HOUDSTA

Arch Rock State Park, OR
I CREATE VISUAL IMAGERY FROM LAND & SKY
I'm an outdoor nature & landscape photographer portraying the phenomena of nature and its balance with humanity. My work strives to bring out beauty & harmony in the everyday places we live, work and play bringing awareness and attention to our communities through visual imagery. You'll find my work in magazines, reports, & websites, seen through Politico.com, CTPost.com, CTWine.com, published by UCONN, ion Bank, Wallingford Magazine, and multiple & ongoing publications for the CT Farm Bureau Association.
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My desire with a camera is to create pictorial stories - visual imagery that's engaging to the viewer, giving pleasure to the senses and in many instances, creating a state of peace.
Mark Houde - the Houdsta
Wallingford, CT

Gouveia Vineyards Ice Angel, Wallingford, CT
HOUDSTA IMAGERY
Occasionally I'm asked where the name Houdsta was derived from. The story while quite simple, is personally meaningful. Sometime ago my daughter's lifelong best friend Nina began calling me "the Houdsta" (as in Hood-sta) in a humorous way. I found this quite amusing. Before long, my daughter and her two best friends were all calling me the houdsta.
I've watched these three girls grow-up together from their earliest days of school. A friendship between them ever-so-strong. Always an Arts family, dancing was a big part of their lives from pre-teen to 18 and through dance, their bond grew stronger as did ours with their parents. I watched them all bloom into beautiful young, intelligent women and as they ventured off to different colleges starting new lives, I urged them to make a pact with each other to always remain like sisters and to create an arrangement to stay connected throughout their lives regardless of the space between them or life's busy fast pace.
When considering a name for my photography, it was quite simple: The Houdsta was the obvious choice further enabling the promise they've made to each other and to me - to support each other throughout their lives and celebrate all that is good. To Nina, Taylor & Sarah, may your friendship commitment's remain as beautiful as your hearts and may you not forget the promises to each other.
- The Houdsta

Senior Trio: Last Dance