Shoot to Thrill

Professional adult industry actors can be a fickle bunch. For proof, you need look no further than one of Gelf's recent Non-Motivational Speakers series, when one of our scheduled "performers" went MIA, never bothering to get in touch until the ass-end of the weekend. Thankfully, the New York-based erotic photographer Ellen Stagg was in attendance that Thursday night, and was gracious enough to take the mic and enlighten the Lower East Side audience with selected adventures in porn-star portraiture.

Admittedly, Gelf was not Stagg's big break: That would be last year's IFC short documentary series, The Stagg Party. Shot by the burgeoning mumblecore director Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends), the series chronicled Stagg's work, her decidedly non-judgmental purview, and her unflinching pursuit of beauty in the female form. Also, there were titties.