Clare Ong is a Singaporean photographer, filmmaker, and environmental storyteller based in Boston. She studies Film, Journalism, and Marine Science at Boston University, driven by a passion for using visual storytelling to inform, inspire, and advocate for change.
From a young age, Clare has been drawn to capturing real stories and the natural world. Whether through documentaries, photojournalism, or scientific research, she is committed to making complex issues accessible to the public.
Clare served as the Photo Editor for the award-winning independent student newspaper at Boston University, The Daily Free Press, in the Fall of 2022. She covered historic moments, from President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot speech to Massachusetts governor Maura Healey’s election victory. Her documentary Love on a Leash (2022) that explored dog therapy for students with emotional disabilities, won first place in the video category of the Boston Press Photographers Association 2022 College Contest. She was also nominated for Best Production Designer in Indie Short Fest’s January selection for At What Cost (2023), a social impact fiction film on the Asian-American experience.
As a certified American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Scientific Diver, Clare has researched coral heat stress responses, coral diversity in Belize, and conducted AGRRA coral surveys and extensive fieldwork. She believes conservation efforts need compelling storytelling to raise public awareness and strives to make scientific research more accessible through impactful narratives.
Clare is the current President of the BU Student Chapter of the National Press Photographers Association and a member of Delta Kappa Alpha, a national gender-inclusive professional film fraternity.
She has interned at Ochre Pictures, an award-winning Singaporean film and TV production company, and The Smart Local, one of Singapore’s largest online media publications.
