Welcome,
I was born and raised in good old Germany and studied Communications and Political Science at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. I fell in love with photography on a windy beach on the enchanted Isola d'Elba in Italy many moons ago. I love to travel and caught the Aloha spirit for life when I lived on the island of Maui, Hawai'i for six years. I swam with the wild dolphins in La Perouse Bay and lost my heart to the beauty of Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud. I am a coffee snob since I was introduced to cappuccino in Milano back in the days where there was no good coffee to be found anywhere else and delight over street food in faraway countries and at home. I am a cat mom who loves dogs and all animals just the same.
I capture the poetry of life with my camera, I love the ocean, the beauty of nature and the incredible light that surrounds me is a constant inspiration for my photographic work. To me photography is about being in the moment and going beyond what the eye can see. I believe that Aloha always wins and not a day goes by without thinking of Hawai'i.
Now I am based in Santa Barbara, California. I travel worldwide and also have a home base in Maui. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like to get in touch for more information just send me a note. I'd love to hear from you.
With Aloha,
Clarissa
personal and non profit work
CARE.4.PAWS. AND K-9 PALS
Creating portraits of shelter dogs to help them find a home.
THE BOND
Capturing the special bond between animals and their human companions,
Animal Spirit
Capturing the unique personalities and soul of animals.
TALES OF LOVE
A photographic exploration of Love transcending gender, race and cultures.
MADRE SANA BEBE SANO AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
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, Tennessee.
The Odyssey Project andt Theater Dance University Of California Santa Barbara
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 at a detention facility for juveniles in 3 months program to explore the mythic elements in their lives in order to reconstruct the epic poem in their own voices.
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.
We have been friends together in sunshine and in shade
Caroline Horton