Gerd Ludwig initially studied German literature, political science, and physical education at the University of Marburg, before leaving prematurely to travel in Scandinavia and North America, supporting himself with jobs as a bricklayer, sailor, and dishwasher.
His work in the region resulted in his exhibition and book, Broken Empire: After the Fall of the USSR, a ten-year retrospective published by National Geographic in 2001.
Gerd Ludwig is a veteran of the renowned A Day in the Life book series created by David Elliot Cohen and Rick Smolan.
In 2011, he created a kickstarter campaign that supported his return to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to continue his ongoing coverage of the aftermath of the world's worst nuclear disaster to date,[6] becoming one of the first internationally recognized documentary photographers to utilize crowdfunding for a personal project.
The vehicles rest against backgrounds of varying ambient light on the winding streets of the Hollywood Hills to the flat gridded suburbs of the Valley.