Born and raised in New York City to Time/Life Photographer Eugene Cook and internationally acclaimed soprano Phyllis Curtin, Claudia has made her home since 1965 in Berkshire County Massachusetts.  

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Her early travels with her parents introduced her to the beauty of nature at home and abroad.  Her father's admonition to always have a camera at hand made it somewhat inevitable that taking pictures became second nature.

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A graduate of Wellesley college, Claudia's degrees in psychology and philosophy have proven useful in her past lives as Executive Director of The Berkshire Opera Company and for the seventeen years she was the sole proprietor of a retail music store.   Today, she keeps her focus on her photographic career.​

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Claudia currently resides with one humanoid cat whose name changes by the month, enjoys visits from her three beloved adult children, and shares all of her life with treasured partner, musician David Reed.