INTERVIEW | Absoluteart

Interview with Connie Frisbee Houde by Carena Carrington

Connie Frisbee Houde is a travel photographer that captures images from all around the world. Connie has been a working photographer for years and has been featured in many shows especially in the Albany area. On April 20, 2018 at Stuyvesant Plaza I sat down with her and asked her a few questions.

Carena: Who are your biggest inspirations and what inspires you the most?

Connie: I love what Steve McCurry does. He's a travel photographer who's also into fine art but he's been altering his images so this upsets a lot of people. His photographs are quite remarkable. Another inspiration to me are he National Geographic photographers and what they do.

Carena: What location did you enjoy taking photos the most and why?

Connie: I think I would say my trip to Afghanistan. I kind of felt the most challenge because I really felt like I was trying to come up with something that would tell the story when I came back. In the long run it was rewarding because I was in a place where not many other people were going, so what I was photographing had a purpose.

Carena: Name a place you've never been to that you'd like to visit to take pictures?

Connie: Tibet and Nepal. That part of the world just fascinates me. I still think there are places off the beaten track that haven't been visited yet. It gives you more of an opportunity to do something unique.

Carena: Can you explain the process behind how you develop a final photograph?

Connie: I usually don't set up for photos. I'm observant of what's around me and want to capture what's happening in the moment. I'd like to represent the place that I am and not sensitize something. What's different to me is what's normal to them. Once I get home I download the photos and look at them. Usually I find the first time I go through the pictures I'm disappointed. I've realized that the images are so fresh in my mind that the photos just don't do it. Ten Ill do some post processing like cropping, lightening faces or color correcting. I don't do a whole lot of manipulating effects because I don't want to change things too much.

Carena: Where was your first show? How was it? What did you display?

Connie: It was at the Vietname Memorial Gallery. It was titled... I forgot the name, but my husband served in the air force in Vietnam and we had the opportunity to go back together. I wanted to capture the difference of what it was like when he was there and how its changed. I think I did an okay job with that but I could've done better. The things I were pleased about were that I had gotten a grant for $350 and I got all the same frames for my work. My husband went to the store and talked about being a vet and they gave him all the frames that I needed for the show. It was a big deal for me that I got frames that were all the same. It was a really good experience.

Carena: Do you prefer landscapes or portraits?

Connie: I used to shy away from landscapes and it was more portraits. Then I sort of realized if i want to sell my work many people don't want to have a portrait of someone they don't know on their wall. I've gotten myself to take more landscape type photos that will be more sellable. Adding the landscape and people add a whole other element to what I'm showing.

Carena: What are some themes that are shown throughout your work?

Connie: The beauty of the people and place no matter where they are. Looking at the "other" people that aren't like us. I like to show the normalness of something and not make it stand out.

Carena: Do you have your own favorite piece?

Connie: Not really.

Carena: What would you do differently in your art career?

Connie: I would go back to school for photo journalism or documentary photography. I would love to be in the academic setting where you're reading something and discussing and getting other opinions about it. I'd love to have those stimulating conversations. I was not the best student in college at the time and I didn't take advantage of those opportunities.

Carena: What advice do you have for other aspiring photographers?

Connie: Try to be an open person. As a photographer I feel that people respond to your personality and if you're an open person you'll get a whole lot further than if your more stand offish. I also would recommend to look at as many other photographers as you can and be willing to experiment. Be willing to have failures. Never assume that you know everything.

Carena: Was photography your first art medium or did you start with something else?

Connie: Some of the creative sewing and things I did were some of my first creative works but photography was my first serious medium. I don't paint.

Carena: Name any obstacles you've encountered during your career?

Connie: This is going sound funny... money. The reason I say that is because it's an expensive hobby and you want a high end quality camera. Right now an obstacle for me is that I would like to take different courses with different things. I wish I had more time to experiment and try out some new things but it's hard because I work a full-time job. When I wasn't working full time I didn't have the money, but when I got a full-time job I had the money to do stuff but no time. I'm horrible with languages and I wish that I could communicate with people in their own languages when I travel. I feel like it keeps me away from connecting as in depth with them as I'd like to.

Carena: If you could collaborate on a project with any other artist who would it be?

Connie: My mind just went off in about five different directions. I think it would be fun to collaborate with a musician. When someones singing or orchestrating I'm seeing images and I'd like to see those images on a screen with the music. I would love to create back drops for the action thats going on in front of a scene like a city street for plays. Same way with a poet or something else like that. I've always wanted to collaborate with a writer and the one time I tried it, it was a disaster.

Carena: What are you currently working on?

Connie: I have two trips coming up so I'm working on preparing myself for those two trips. One is to Guatemala. I try to prepare myself by reading about the country I'm going too. By doing that reading I have a better idea of what to record and photograph. The second trip is to Honduras and that will be my fourth trip there. Not that it will be my last but it will be my last for awhile. I want to figure out what to take this time that will help continue the story.