I was born and raised in Germany, where I studied Communications and Political Science at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. After many years in the TV and film production industry, I moved to the United States.
It was on a grey, windswept day at the enchanting Isola d'Elba in Italy that photography found me, and I fell in love with it. In Maui, Hawai'i, my home for six transformative years, I swam with wild dolphins in La Perouse Bay, embracing the essence of the Aloha spirit. My wanderlust led me to the breathtaking landscapes of Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, where I lost my heart to its beauty. My journey into the world of coffee began in Milan, and I now consider myself a coffee snob. As a devoted cat mom, I also cherish the companionship of dogs and all creatures great and small.
Through my lens, I seek to capture the poetry of life—the dance of light on the ocean and the fleeting moments that often go unnoticed. Photography, to me, is an invitation to be present, to look beyond the surface and discover the extraordinary in the ordinary. I believe that Aloha always prevails, and not a day passes without the gentle pull of Hawai'i in my thoughts.
Currently, I am based in Santa Barbara, California, but I travel worldwide and maintain a home base in Maui. Thank you for visiting my page. If you'd like to connect for more information, please send me a note—I would love to hear from you.
With Aloha,
Clarissa
Meet Clarissa
[ read artist statement ]
Image by Nina Mullins
image by Nina Mullins
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I see the poetry in life and the camera is my tool to capture the beauty of you and life in all its expressions. I believe in the authenticity of images that reflect the heart of those moments when time seems to stand still.
In these precious instances, I am a conduit: there to capture the unscripted. When you experience something completely — your lovers embrace, the feel of your baby in your arms, the soft fur of your pet under your hands, the sun and salt on your skin, the sound of wind and rain.
I am there not to intrude, to choreograph or pose you, but to lead you into a space in which you can be your true self. That genuine energy becomes my compass: When you open up and it flows through you, and the act of cherishing brings you out of linear experience and into a timeless realm. I am there to capture what these moments feel like, creating photographs that transport you back to the wonder of it all each time you look at them.
Through my lens, I strive to preserve not just images, but the emotions and sensations that make life extraordinary.
Artist Statement
An ongoing collaborative theater process between youth from a juvenile detention facility in Santa Barbara county and undergraduate students from the University of California Santa Barbara. Using the template of Homer’s Odyssey, the participants gather on the university campus to explore the mythic elements in their lives in order to reconstruct the epic poem in their own voices.
The Odyssey Project at theater Dance Department
University of California - Santa Barbara
A photographic documentation of a community-based research study for pregnant Latinas at the Vanderbilt University Medical Division of General Pediatrics Center in Nashville, Tennessee exploring ways to decrease pediatric obesity. The portraits of the participating mothers and their babies were chosen for a one year long exhibition in the lobby of the Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville.
Madre Sana Bebe Sano at vanderbilt university
Nashville Tennessee
tales of love
A photographic exploration of Love transcending gender, race and cultures.
The Going Home Project at CAW santa barbara
A Community Arts Workshop in Santa Barbara.
Journeys and reflections about homelessness by youth who have experienced it firsthand. Photography and teaching.
