Love isn\u2019 t always black and white, and photographer Andre Wagner shows the range of the emotion through his gray-scale images.<\/b>
\n\u201cOne of the things that I noticed quickly, \u201d the photographer Andre Wagner said of moving to Bushwick, Brooklyn, from Omaha in 2012, is \u201chow you can see the affection of people out in public because so many things happen on the streets.\u201d Mr. Wagner drew upon his background in social work when he started taking photos. \u201cLiving in Brooklyn, I see a lot of that family interaction, which I\u2019 m really interested in capturing.\u201d
He took these photos in April, roaming between Downtown Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg and Bushwick.
Mr. Wagner is also interested in the way different people come together on New York City subways and buses. \u201cHere in New York, public transportation is such a big way of how people move around the city and all different kinds of people share the space, whether it is inside the subway or in a bus, \u201d he said. \u201cSo I\u2019 m always interested in trying to figure out how to show the diversity or just the range of how we have to all share this space in transition.\u201d Of his method, he said: \u201cI almost never ask for permission to make photographs. The process is just an impulse. I make the photos and smile if the subject looks at me.\u201d
Mr. Wagner often stands near subway stops to see the foot traffic. This photo was taken on Broadway, a main strip in Brooklyn, right under the subway. \u201cThey just caught me visually, \u201d he said. \u201cI thought they looked striking and interestingly put together.\u201d
This scene reminded Mr. Wagner of Jill Freedman\u2019s 1976 photograph of girls jumping rope on a roof. \u201cIt\u2019s such an amazing photograph, it\u2019s so lyrical, the gestures are just beautiful, \u201d he said. \u201cWhen you see a photograph that is so good and you are photographing that same kind of subject matter, you want your photo to be able to live up to that a little. But her photograph is amazing, but this is an ode to Jill because her picture touched me so much.\u201d
Keston, left, and Cedric, both 11, live in Mr. Wagner\u2019s neighborhood. He photographs them often. This photo was taken around the time that Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old in Texas, was fatally shot by a police officer. \u201cThey are not far from that age, \u201d Mr. Wagner said. \u201cIt hits so close to home: That could have easily been you, that could have easily been Keston. So that American flag holds so much weight.\u201d
\u201cSpread love, it\u2019s the Brooklyn way, \u201d the Notorious B. I. G.\u2019s lyric from the 1994 song \u201cJuicy, \u201d comes to mind with this photo. \u201cHe\u2019s representing Brooklyn, he\u2019s got his kids, they are all fitted up, they\u2019 ve got their hats \u2014 I just thought it was a great moment, \u201d Mr. Wagner said. \u201cBlack fathers, they get a certain kind of stigma. But I see this all the time where black fathers are out with their kids, just holding their hand, taking them to school, just being present, being a dad. I love that kind of image.\u201d
\u201cIt was so tender and so sweet and so sincere, \u201d Mr. Wagner said of the way this woman knelt to talk to a girl he thought may be her daughter. \u201cAnd it was visually just really beautiful the way they just fell into the center of the sidewalk and everything else formed around them.\u201d
This photo was taken in Downtown Brooklyn. Mr. Wagner liked that there is a hidden message in this image: \u201cI just love the way her jacket kind of fell in front of the trash bin and highlighted the word that says \u2018love.\u2019 \u201d
This photo was taken on Nostrand and Fulton Avenues, a spot Mr. Wagner likes to frequent; because the streets are wide and the buildings low, he is able to capture light and space. He thought this couple was very stylish, but also liked showing all the other people who made up the scene. \u201cThe guys next to the subway are Jehovah\u2019s Witness, and there is also a delivery guy in the background, \u201d he said. \u201cJust people occupying the street that are part of the neighborhood.\u201d
Bodegas are a lifeline in New York City, and this photo was taken at one in Brooklyn. Mr. Wagner was reminded of his past when he saw these two: \u201cIt made me think about when I was in high school, you know, trying to talk to the girls and be cool. There is a sense of agency that kids have over their own life in New York that is really interesting. They are out, they are on the bus and on the subway. They are moving around in a different kind of way than I grew up with in Omaha when I was in my parents\u2019 car.\u201d
Mr. Wagner is very interested in documenting moments in parent-child relationships. \u201cIt feels like this silent moment in this busy downtown street, \u201d he said.
Mr. Wagner spends a lot of his time photographing on the subways. So why was he drawn to this scene? \u201cIt was a windy morning and it was blowing her hair, and there was just something about all the movement, \u201d he said. \u201cI don’t even think she noticed me.\u201d
This photograph was taken near some basketball courts in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where children from the neighborhood were playing. Mr. Wagner was initially drawn to this boy\u2019s braids, jean jacket and Jordan sneakers. But he then sought to capture an introspective moment. \u201cI feel like he should be so happy, but he looks so bored and he looks off alone by himself, \u201d he said. \u201cSo I liked the contrast of this: what he\u2019s doing, but how he actually feels.\u201d
Something about this woman reminded Mr. Wagner of someone he knew in Omaha. She had \u201csomething very classic or traditional about her look that I was interested in.\u201d
Mr. Wagner spends a lot of his time biking or walking across the Williamsburg Bridge. \u201cThis woman was walking toward me, and I just felt that this bridge served as a runway and she is having her own fashion show, \u201d he said.
This is not the first time Mr. Wagner has photographed this stylish man. He sees him all over Brooklyn, and \u201che\u2019s always superfly, \u201d Mr. Wagner said, adding, \u201cThe last time I photographed him he had on some overalls.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019 m drawn to interactions with people, \u201d Mr. Wagner said. \u201cIf you are in a neighborhood or you are part of a culture, you see the full range of how people live.\u201d
More love shown here. \u201cI saw them coming from down the street and they were just in their own world, it was like nothing else around them mattered, they were just engaging with each other, \u201d Mr. Wagner said. \u201cThe mom saw me and she smiled. It was really nice.
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