Serge Nazarieff was born in 1935 in Lausanne and completed his studies at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. In 1962 he published an anthology of short stories Comme un chien errant, in the following year a novel L'effritement and in 1964 a play Une coupe d'amertume. It was during his travels tot the Far East, which he undertook between 1964 and 1967, that he made a documentary film in India and discovered a love of photography. Upon his return he took it up professionally and specialized in archaeological and documentary photography. In the spring of 1981, togetherwith Pierre Strinati, he published a photographic book Clair de Roche. Naked Elements is devoted entirely to his photographs.