About Me

SUSU HAUSER

PHOTOGRAPHER / VIDEOGRAPHER / PRODUCER

Here’s My Story.

Spending a year abroad in Australia jump-started my thirst for travel, adventure and photography. In one year’s time, I sky dove over Franz Josef Glacier, South Island New Zealand, took a 3-day hilltribe trek outside Chiang Mai, Thailand, and dove the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, amidst other adventures.

Having completed a B.A. in Visual Media Communications in 2003, I immediately moved out to Los Angeles, California to pursue my career
in television.

My break came with Original Productions on the Emmy Award-winning docu-reality series, Deadliest Catch. My experience, diligence and hard work landed me a Production Coordinator role the following season, and from there, my career blossomed.

Having dabbled in both field and office production jobs, I soon realized
my heart was in the field, and more specifically, with a camera in my hand.

I began operating camera in 2010, and the love affair continues to grow
with every production.

I find myself operating in unconventional environments most of the time – from 110-degree heat in the West Texas Plains, to -70 degrees in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.  Most often, I am hired as a shooter/producer for my ability to juggle all aspects of field production and produce a complete story.

In 2015, I co-founded The Invisible Lens, a full-service production company, and my adventures continued. Career highlights with The Invisible Lens include: a full-length conservation documentary concerning undiscovered species in Ethiopia’s Bale Mountain National Park,

a cinematic memoir about NASA physicist George Gloeckler and the pioneers of space exploration at the time of the Voyager missions, an environmental documentary entitled Voices of the Inside Passage which was selected to the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, a medical docu-series for Detroit’s Top Docs, and a plethora of volunteer work with nonprofits across the country including Making Dreams Come True, Skajaja, Meadowlark Integrated Healing, The WildLife Act, Fair Trade Federation, NC ERA, Moms Demand Action, and NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Prior to moving from California, I was also fortunate enough to show some of my travel and macro photography at the FM Fine Art gallery in Los Angeles.

Though the pandemic put an abrupt end to my role as a multimedia specialist with The American Kennel Club, I’ve used this opportunity to find foundation and have established my own full-service production company, Susu Hauser Photography. I most recently produced Dress for Success Triangle’s Women Making Change video, and I am in the development stages of producing a documentary about the Fair Trade market.

In the words of the late, great, titan for social change and social justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I wish to be remembered as “someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has.”

That is my purpose. I look forward to connecting and collaborating with you!

The Woman Behind the Invisible Lens

BY DANI LYMAN // CREW CONNECTION

“I feel empowered when I’m holding a camera,” Susu Hauser, adventurer, world-traveler, filmmaker, TV industry veteran, wife and cinematographer says with a gleam of pride in her eye. And she should feel proud. As one of the few female camera operators in the docu-reality TV world she’s a groundbreaking trailblazer paving the way for more women to emerge in this extremely male dominated field.

Despite her long list of credits and her massive accomplishments around the world (working Deadliest Catch in Alaska to trekking Ethiopia with a camera) she is often still treated as the sidekick or “little woman” next to men in her industry.

Susu doesn’t complain about it. She doesn’t play the victim or pout, instead she straps on her hiking boots, slings a camera over her shoulder and proceeds to her next adventure, proving with every impressive credit that the camera knows no gender. If you’re good, you’re good. And she’s good. These are her thoughts in her own words about her journey as a woman behind the camera.

Empowerment through Cinematography

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” – a wise person once said, and it couldn’t be more true of my craft.

“As a female cinematographer, I feel an adrenaline rush with every new environment I delve into, every walk of life I engage with, and every new adventure I embark on. The camera has been my tool to live life to the fullest  – whether I am coasting down 10,000 ft in a Piper cub with the engine cut out, or trouncing through the “emerald triangle” of Northern California in full camo, I have challenged my physical and mental body to greet the unknown. There is fear, freedom and empowerment that comes with all this.

Life Behind the Camera

I wrote an essay in highschool about my desire to be a National Geographic photographer “when I grew up”. Never did I think that 10 years later, I would be doing just that…

I have since been fortunate enough to have kissed the Blarney stone, visited the lost city of Pompeii, enjoyed the thermal baths of Budapest, swam from island to island in the Adriatic sea, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, sky dove over Fox Glacier in New Zealand, polished my Thai cooking in Chiang Mai, watched the sun rise over the temples of Angkor Wat, kayaked the Mekong… (and the list goes on…).

With every new excursion and adventure, I have honed my photography skills. So you can see, travel, adventure, and photography are my lifeblood. I have a thirst for diverse cultures and exotic lands. Cinematography has enabled me to marry all these passions, and I am beyond grateful for that.

A Woman’s Rise up a Male Ladder

Truthfully, my rise up the ladder in this industry was slow, steady and incremental. On the one hand, it was a bummer seeing my male counterparts wiz by me in the job positions and titles when I knew we had the same work ethic, talent and drive… It seemed as though there was a tendency to shy away from putting females in the field unless they were fulfilling positions as coordinators, managers, and associate producers.

On the other hand, I gained experience in every job title leading me to eventually running my own production company with my husband, The Invisible Lens. These rungs on the ladder included – Post and production PA, Field and Post Coordinator, Production Manager, Associate Producer, Assistant Camera, Producer, and Camera Operator.

Advice for Women Up and Comers

Be persistent. I ventured out with countless male camera operators before getting my hands on the camera. Observe them, soak them for knowledge, be indispensable, and if they are confident enough within their own craft they will help you learn the ropes.  It’s one thing to get an education from a film school, it’s an entirely other thing to be gaining practical knowledge in the field.

Know your thresholds, be safe, and speak up when things don’t feel right.

A Message to the Industry

My message to the industry on behalf of us few female camera operators is – do not underestimate us. I may be only 5’5’’(on a good day!), but I can trounce through the woods with a Sony F800 on my shoulder just like the rest of them. – And I may even be smiling while I do it.