fishing for apples

Cosmic Surgery selected for Foto8 Summer Show 2012

2012-05-30T12:21:00.000+01:00

I'm Excited to announce that 'Katie' from the series 'Cosmic Surgery' has just been selected to be part of the exciting Foto8 Summer Show, 6th July -18th August 2012.

Please check out the rest of the series here.

www.foto8.com

Lottie and Alex Origami Test

2012-02-21T19:37:00.002+00:00

To see the original photo click here

Third Origami Test

2012-02-09T16:10:00.000+00:00

Second Origami Test

2012-02-07T22:41:00.002+00:00

Excuse the bad quality picture (taken on my iphone)

Origami Test

2012-01-31T22:44:00.003+00:00

First I started making origami flowers with envelopes, then I decided to use the face of the portrait to manipulate, but wasn't sure about the flower shape..

So I created a Origami Kusudama (a full circle of star like shapes)

And here is a self-portrait with my face as a 3d origami ball..

From the front

From the side

Pop Art - Secret Affair

2012-01-31T12:17:00.001+00:00

Loz Taylor a Pop Artist asked me if I would like to do a collaboration with him. "A head and shoulders photo of you - as a woman having a secret affair. Think Cindy Sherman. Wigs, sunglasses, etc. You decide on the look."

Here are my test shot, now we just wait to see what Loz Taylor does with them..

The London Art Fair

2012-01-18T21:09:00.002+00:00

I went to the London Art Fair today and had my portrait drawn by a robot!

It did end up looking a like me mainly because of the round glasses, but it was just fascinating watching the robot put pen to paper so decisively.

Monique van der Steen - Ten Seconds Project

2011-12-31T12:42:00.002+00:00

Yesterday a submission from the Netherlands came through. Photographer Monique van der Steen has created a great contribution with her matching wallpaper hiding trick.

See her photograph and video below (make sure you watch the video!)

To see more of Monique's work go to www.moniquevandersteen.nl
Join the game of hide and seek with your camera, and submit to alma@haser.org www.tensecondsproject.co.uk

Submission from Gandro on holiday in Norway

2011-12-27T09:31:00.011+00:00

They call themselves Gandro

All the pictures and videos were taken in norway and can all be seen on the Ten Seconds Project website,

www.tensecondsproject.co.uk

To join in, read the rules and hide and submit

alma@haser.org

www.tensecondsproject.co.uk

Ten Seconds Project Submissions December

2011-12-23T15:42:00.005+00:00

I have received three more submissions in the last few days, Please take a look at them, they are all great! www.tensecondsproject.co.uk

I need a few more Ten Seconds from people before I can start organising the Exhibition, so if you like you work see in a gallery in London and want to have some fun, join in! (and tell all you friends)

Anahi Aliaga - Photographer/Graphic Designer

Fiona Bizony - Artist

Hannah Sharland - Primary School Teacher

Abigail Portus - Architect Student

Scott Phillips - Founder of Rise Art

www.tensecondsproject.co.uk

Follow The Red Line

2011-12-16T18:59:00.001+00:00

Recently EAGERmagazine submitted a great Ten Seconds which you can see here.

Now the lovely girls from EAGER have asked me to join their new project, 'Red Line'
"Wouldn't it be cool to connect photographers all over the world? We think so. That's why we started this quest for the longest conceptual photo series ever!" - EAGERmagazine, connecting people with a red line.

Here is my contribution:

Go to their website to see the rest of the submissions and and how to enter the project.

www.didyousayeager.com

December Submission for the ten Seconds project

2011-12-13T16:20:00.000+00:00

Ignacio Pérez Pérez and Fantomas the cat created some great photographs and videos for the Ten Seconds Project. To check out all his submissions go to www.tensecondsproject.co.uk

And to see more of Ignacio Pérez Pérez performance art go to www.antesdenadaydespuesdetodo.net

The Other Art Fair

2011-11-29T18:07:00.007+00:00

Last weekend myself and my London house mate Alex Simpson shared a stand at The Other Art Fair.
It was held at the Barge House behind the OXO Tower on South Bank from the 25th-27th November.
A que was formed to get in on the 24th for the Private View and there was an excellent turn out for the rest of the weekend. I met some great people and have made lots of new contacts. A great experience for anyone to find out more about their own work and how to sell and talk to customers and galleries.
This was the first year of the fair, so it will be exciting to see what the next one will be like.

Here are some photographs from our stand.

www.theotherartfair.com

The Ten Seconds Project on Dazed and Confused

2011-11-01T12:39:00.001+00:00

The Ten Seconds Project has been getting a lot of attention recently. Today Dazed and Confused is featuring a Q&A with me and the project. Also EAGERmagazine have featured it on the online magazine and even contributed to the project. Go check out the recent submissions! www.tensecondsproject.co.uk

Top left to bottom right: Alex Simpson, James Stokes, Petra Oldengarm and Jessica van der Burg and Joe Ryan.

Ten Seconds Project

2011-09-29T10:57:00.002+01:00

Today I have launched the Ten Seconds Project website. I have created it so everyone can find out more and join in with this exciting game of hide and seek with camera's.

Anyone can do it.

The 'Ten Seconds' Rules

To join in with the project there are a few things you have to do, it's all very easy and fun.

1. Get together with some friends, or you can do this on your own (which is what I did.)

2. Get two cameras, one to take the picture and the other to record the video.

You can tape the cameras together to get them levelled and in the same position.

A tripod is very useful and recommended, but you can get creative and use furniture or shelves.

3. Find a small space, area to hide in.

(It is often funnier if you don't practice getting in the space before taking the picture,

but you can always re-take the shot as many times as you like.)

4. Press both shutters (the video first and then the self-timer) and the run to hide.

5. Once you have taken both video and photograph and are happy with them,

send them over to me at alma@haser.org. And I will upload them on here for all to see.

If I get enough people interested in playing this game, I will not only create an online exhibition,

but would like to make a traveling show, (you will of course all be credited.)

Check out the website www.tensecondsproject.co.uk and join in with this exciting project!

Here is the Press Release:

The Ten Seconds Project

Alma Haser has created The Ten Seconds Project paying homage to her childhood version of the game, hide and seek. Here is how it all began; when Alma was a child she used to play with her younger brother, Oskar. They lived in an old match factory deep in the Black Forest in Germany. Both parents were artists, and their home was extremely creative. They made handcrafted toys and allowed their children the freedom to run wild.

Alma’s father often filmed his children while they played. When she rediscovered archive footage of herself as a child it sparked the idea for this project. After watching the home video of her and her brother playing their own version of hide and seek, she decided to recreate the game with her adult self and her camera.

Now Alma is playing against herself. She chooses the hiding locations and sets up her cameras to record and seek. The new rule to the game is that she only has ten seconds before the self-timer goes off and she is caught on camera.

The Ten Seconds Project has already attracted interest from galleries, magazines and other artists. Kate Edwards the Guardian picture editor said, “Brilliant project - I really like it, and love the way you have developed it from recreating a childhood game to videoing the process. It’s really clever and I agree, could well go viral.”

Alma has now created a website to allow other people to join in the game. She plans to start an online craze and then eventually when there are enough entries, to start a travelling exhibition. Anyone and everyone can join in; you need two cameras, one to take the picture and one to video yourself as you hide. For the rules and more information please go to www.tensecondsproject.co.uk or email alma@haser.org.

Looking For Paper Flowers

2011-09-15T17:30:00.000+01:00

This is a new project I am working on...

Candid Arts Trust

2011-08-25T11:16:00.005+01:00

My 'Ten Seconds' project will be showing at the Candid Arts Trust in London, from 2nd - 11th September 2011. So if you about please do go and check it out.

The Private View is on Thursday 1st September, first floor Gallery from 6-9pm and its FREE, so your all welcome. Unfortunately I wont be there in person, but I will in spirit and on the walls in my pictures!

Featuring new work by:
Alma Haser
Emma Walker
Geoff Bartholomew
Hannah O Hara
Jasmine Cooke
John Maher
Kayung Lai
Khyle Henderson
Kyle Zeto
Louisa Maxwell
Norma Walton
Oliver Watson
Olly Clarke
Rebecca Hallett
Rocio Pe Efe
Ruso Bochorishvili
Tamzin Plummer
Thomas Bacon

Open Daily
12 noon - 6pm

More information at:
http://www.candidarts.com

Places we go

2011-08-10T16:24:00.012+01:00

Last Summer I went traveling around Europe. I traveled to Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Haslach (my home town in Germany,) Luxemburg, back to Budapest, Spain, Copenhagen and then back to England. Spain was a very spontaneous visit, to see my Granddad and to get some sun (it had been raining the past weeks in Budapest.) My granddad and I had a few relaxing days together up in the southern mountains of Spain. One day we walked up the mountain overlooking the town of Gaucin where my grandfather lives. I took my pinhole polaroid camera he had given me a few years ago and propped it up on rocks or trees before joining my granddad for a few seconds. The polaroid film is very out of date, and that is why it has a ghostly blue tinge.

(Granddad and I, September 2010)

I decided to do the same kind of series with Pat when he visited. We went to Bath in Somerset one afternoon and took these five polaroids.

(Pat and I, August 2011)

Back to the Darkroom

2011-08-10T09:01:00.016+01:00

Last week my friend Pat from Australia came to visit. We both have a big passion for photography and decided to take advantage of my mothers old darkroom equipment which had been abandoned in our studio. There was no dark space we could adapt in our studio, so we moved everything to my mothers new house, into the utility room.
Pat and I both searched high and low for the developing tanks for film, but with no luck. Instead of wasting time we thought we'd spend the time experimenting with Black & White photographic paper. We cut the right sizes and loaded our cameras. I was using my 4x5 Crown Graphic, and Pat was using his 120 pin hole camera. The results were better than we had expected and it was great to be able to run down stairs after shooting and popping the sheets of paper into the trays to see the pictures apear. Man I love being back in the darkroom!

Here are some of the shots I took (all of which have been scanned in and inverted.)

(This is the first portrait I took of Pat, click on the image to see the quality.)

(I'm out of focus, I must have placed my head slightly more forward than Pat.)

(My brother and his girlfriend came by the house so I took a quick portrait of them both, they are brutally honest pictures.)

(The portraits are great but creating scenes of narrative is what I love to do most of all! Click on the image to see larger.)

Now I want to experiment with black & white film and then possibly hand tinting my prints..This was something I did earlier today.

(These are just a pictures I took of the photos with my phone.)

Three golden apples

The story and idea came from the greek myth - "After Atalanta participated in the hunt and received the pelt, her father claimed her as his offspring and wanted her to get married. Although a very beautiful maiden, Atalanta did not particularly want to marry after an oracle told her that she will gain bad luck if she marries. In order to get her a husband, her father made a deal with Atalanta that she would marry anybody who could beat her in a foot race. Atalanta happily agreed, as she could run extremely fast.

She outran many suitors. The one that finally became her husband accomplished this through brains, not speed. Hippomenes (also known as Melanion) knew that he could not win a fair race with Atalanta, so he prayed to Aphrodite for help. The goddess gave him three golden apples (sometimes the fruit was quince instead) and told him to drop them one at a time to distract Atalanta. Sure enough, she quit running long enough to retrieve each golden apple. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes finally succeeded, winning the race and Atalanta's hand."

Dusk and Dawn test shots for my Hare project.

2011-07-15T20:54:00.011+01:00

The 'Hare' project:

My surname, Haser, means Hare in German. For one of my first University projects I photographed 'Alma Roads' all around England, with people from the street. (click here to see the series.) So I thought it would be fun to now do something with my surname. I read a poem called 'The Names of the Hare in English' with over 70 descriptions of the hare. I wanted to create a photograph for each description, or at least the ones I could relate to.

Shoot 1:

14th-15th July 2011

Last night my mother and I ventured into the corn fields above our house. I had been meaning to start my 'Hare' project for some time, and recently I had bought myself a smart white suit that would be my costume for the project. It only seemed right not to waste anymore time. So at 19:30 mum and I carried my 5x4 camera up to the fields, mum for the first time, was my assistant. She was also wearing white so that I could use her as my stand in to focus the camera and get the right light reading. After a bit of cursing and shouting we got the shot.

The next morning at 05:00 we got back into our white gear and drove back up to the fields. It was very misty and the sky was beautifully pink. The idea of this picture was to have two paths and myself walking down the one facing away from the house. I was re-creating 'The one who doesn't go straight home.'

DUSK

(digital test shot)

DAWN

(test shot with my mother modelling for focusing and light purposes only)

My 'Ten Seconds' Project

2011-06-20T16:36:00.037+01:00

When I was a little girl, I used to play with my younger brother, Oskar. I was always the boss, and directed what we had to do. We often played hide and seek, but had invented our own way of playing it. I would tell Oskar where to hide, and then count and look aimlessly around pretending not to know where he was. Or we would both hide and get our father, who used to look after us in the mornings, to be the finder. Our hiding places were never very hidden, and in most cases still revealed our small feet or bottoms, but never our faces.

‘Ten Seconds’ is a series of photographs that pay homage to our childhood game. I am now a lot older, and my brother is out in the world, all grown up. I have based ‘Ten Seconds’ on the game we used to play. This time I am directing myself, and the new rule is that I have ten seconds to try and hide, or make myself as small as I possibly can, before my camera goes off on self-timer.

I have also been recording the game with a camcorder, so that I am almost my own seeker, my adult body squeezed into confined spaces, never completely concealed, but also never revealing my true identity.

When we were children, our father used to video us playing. The home movie of my brother and me playing our own invention of Hide and Seek will be shown as part of the Series.

I think this project has the potential to go viral. Recently a new craze appeared, called ‘Planking.’ A person has to lie flat with their arms by their sides; feet stretched out and face looking downwards, expressionless. People all around the world are joining the craze and posting their photographic evidence on Face Book. ‘Planking’ has encouraged creativity and resourcefulness, and brought a community of people together from all different walks of life.

‘Ten Seconds’ could do something similar. Through play, people will be encouraged to be creative and inspire others. I would love to originate a harmless game that involves good photography. Using social media, I would want to make this game ‘viral,’ so that anyone can join in, set the self-timers on their cameras, and hide in the smallest places available.

If you'd like to join me in my mission or just ask a question email me, alma@haser.org

A rainy Sunday afternoon

2011-06-12T18:54:00.011+01:00

'Ten seconds in the kitchen'

'Ten seconds in the cupboard'

'Ten seconds in the rain'

Untitled from Alma Haser on Vimeo.

Guernsey Photography Festival

2011-06-08T10:18:00.012+01:00

1st-3rd June

We arrived on the island at mid day, got a taxi to the Pine Way B&B and dropped off our bags. The lovely lady at the Guesthouse organised us some bikes so mum and I cycled around the coast before heading to the main town where the festival was taking place.

We stopped for lunch at Crabby Jacks by the sea and then carried on, stopping whenever I saw another a beautiful land mark or a roadside sale box (cute little boxes in hedges, where the locals sold their home grown raspberries, flowers and vegetables. Click here to see some of them.)

We came to a great orange rock, which stood out in the distance and I loved the colour against the blue sky. I set up the camera and ran over to where mum was standing. 'Turn around and show of your nice yellow flower,' she said, before the photograph was taken. Mum had bought me the flower at Bristol Airport so I would stand out amongst the other photographers at the festival.

At the opening night in St Peters Port, I met Jocelyn Allen, the winner of this year Guernsey photography competition. She is the same age as me and is also doing a lot of self-portraits. I really like her work and it was great to meet another young artist doing well and enjoying what they do.

I was also captivated by the work of Nelli Palomäki, who shoots beautiful black and white portraits of children and adults who interest her. I really liked her artist statement. There was no bullshit, just the truth to how she creates her work and feels about photography today (you can read her statement on her website.)

I also had a photograph on show at the festival, in the Tim Andrews exhibition. Tim Andrews approached me last year, asking if I would take his portrait for a project he had been doing for a few years. I was photographer number 141 to take his picture. He has been diagnosed with Parkinson's and has been using the medium of photography to document and bring awareness to the disease. Here is the photograph that is being shown as part of the project. (you can see all the work at the Guernsey Photography Festival until the 30th June.) Also an there is an article on the Phaidon website.

A visit to Stockholm

2011-05-23T09:38:00.007+01:00

Last weekend I visited my friend Luca in Stockholm. Luca and I met in Nottingham while we were both studying our last year. I was doing Photography and he although super creative and arty was studying Neuroscience. He is a very clever and eccentric. He comes from a small town in the tip of Italy, but travels a lot and collects friends from all over the place. He seems to know everyone!

Luca was working in Stockholm, at the university, researching creativity in people by doing a tapping test on them. I didn't quite understand it myself, but it certainly did seem fascinating. I wanted to take the advantage of having a friend in Stockholm and go see the city. So I flew out on a £24 flight and had a great weekend of cycling, buffets, jumping in the forest, and junk shops.

Strangers house

2011-05-22T17:25:00.011+01:00

Recently I took my boyfriend to my childhood home. I was born in an old match factory deep in the Black Forest in a small town called Haslach. Our next door neighbour, an old lady with fluffy white hair, passed away in April this year. I will always remember her sitting in front of her house smoking and watching people go by. Last year she was getting frail (she was at this point 92!) I used to find her sitting in her living room fast asleep with the TV on full blast. She was a friendly but stern little old lady and my brother and I always made the effort to visit her when we were about.

Anyway when my boyfriend Dylan and I got to Haslach, she was no longer with us and her house was very much empty. I had never really been past her living room, kitchen and hallway, so it was exciting and a little strange when my father unlocked the house with the key he had been given by her son. My dad opened the doors of the rooms each more exciting and jaw dropping than the next. The house was gigantic, Dylan and I were getting giddy with excitement and trigger happy with our camera's. After we had been shown all the rooms and even been taken up to the dusty two story attic and it was time to leave and go out for dinner.

The next day after breakfast we asked my dad to let us into the house again so we could have a longer look and take some proper pictures with a tripod. The lighting was orange and moody. I took a self portrait first but then thought I'd like to involve Dylan somehow. He suggested we got naked and sat oposite each other at the table. Brilliant! I looked around for some props. I loved the cheap red felt rose which was already on the table and wanted some tea cups to pretend we were having a tea party. Luckily Dylan found a vintage china tea set in the sideboard. We quickly undressed, self consciously trying not to attract the attention of the gardener who was pottering around outside.I set the self-timer and ran to my seat oposite Dylan who was already in character... CLICK, and here is the photograph.

'Drinking tea in a strangers house'