In all modesty, Sylvia Plachy tries to vanish behind the lens—yet somehow she seems to be inside the picture, the genie that lets loose its swirling, slightly off-balance energy. Her Goings On About Town (Aperture/The New Yorker) showcases the Hungarian-born, New York–based photographer's realistically rhapsodic vision of a city where, in her words, you can "step out and chase your dreams." Above, "Bambi the Mermaid, Coney Island, Brooklyn"; below, "Stars of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular."