Behind The Lens: A Profile Of GofG's Top Photographers

Wendy Ploger

I'm originally from Santa Barbara, California. I like taking photos because I get to meet a lot of interesting people. The best Guest of a Guest event I've ever photographed was Paper Magazine's Beautiful People Party with guest Duran Duran and Aziz Ansari. My favorite NYC venue to shoot in is all of them! There are so many cool places in NYC. My best tip to give people preparing to be shot in a photo is be yourself, have fun and don't bother hiding your drink - you can't fool anyone. My biggest inspirations are my fellow photographers. If I could do a shoot with anyone, living or dead, it would be... With another photographer, it would be Elliott Erwitt, a street photographer who captures the decisive moment with humor, lightness and beauty, and he seems like a super cool guy. Or Bill Cunningham, New York Times photographer - probably the sweetest and most inspirational guy, not to mention his unpretentious eye for fashion. I'm not sure I could keep up with him on my bike, tho. For someone I'd like to photograph, it would probably be a famous actor like Cate Blanchett or Bradley Cooper. When I'm not taking photos, you can catch me working on personal photo projects, playing tennis, chasing pigeons and crafting the perfect manhattan.