#3 – Capture ’Kontrast‘ in a picture

Abstract

Todays task was to create one or more photopraphs / pictures around the topic of „Kontrast“ / „contrast“. The chosen tool ware our mobile cameras. The challenge was done in our close neighbourhood in Munich. Some post-processing of the fotos was allowed to underline the own idea.

Tools	iPhone camera (editing: Adobe Photoshop)
Timing	2:30 hours
Date	03.07.2023
Participants	Christina & Christoph
Deliverables	1 or more photographs as png/heic/jpg

The photographs

… from Christina

Christina: „When Christoph came up with the idea to shoot some photos around the topic contrast, I was not very eager. I had the idea nature vs. concrete already in my head. And although it is not very creative, there was not much to photoshop in my orginal photos. People try nearly everything to put nature down. The pendulum swings in both directions, we cannot live in. In 2023 humankind became aware even in shiny-, wealthy- and overachiever-arrogant Bavaria that there is a global warming. We need to break up the mindsets and concrete. I want to live here, not to starve some day under a heat dome. I want to go for a walk here, not to be imprisoned inside. I want to view more than concrete, cars and streets. Bring the green back… in every street. On every building. Times up, Munich!“

the photograph shows a black and white cobblestones scene. only next to a gutter there are some green grass and dandelion leafes and one yellow, which brings some colour in the overall contrete scenery. — Photo ‘Kopfsteinpflaster‘ from
©Christina (2023)

the photograph shows a black and white urban scene. a parking slot and some stairs into a building (school). only next to a pole there are some grass and dandelion leafes, which brings some colour in the overall contrete scenery. — Photo ‘Schulparkplatz‘ from
©Christina (2023)

the photograph shows a black and white urban scene. only in the front is a flower, which brings some colour, green, in the overall contrete scenery. — Photo ‘Brauerei‘ from
©Christina (2023)

Indeed, Christinas idea may seem a bit corny in the first place. But on the one hand, it is a topic that Christina feels very close to (me as well). The humans made cities and took down nature. But at some places, things are turned upside down: The nature revolts. The nature breaks up concret and shows up. On the other hand, Christina converted her idea very well. She had a good eye for scenery and perspective. In the end, her outcome looks great and resonate her passion for that topic very well. I hope that her work inspires people around how beautiful nature is and how carefully we should treat it.
Christoph

… from Christoph

Christoph: „Before we got started and went outside, we had a little brainstorming session together. I found it very helpful in order to circle around the topic „contrast“ and what it could mean for a city. As I wanted to focus on a the (sub-)cultural aspect of city-life, I tried to focus on graffiti, stickers, tags, street art. All of them always reflect taste, belonging and mostly opinion. And you can find them everywhere: On walls, buildings, street signs, power boxes, etc.. For me it was also a good lesson to pay attention to the details. To find the non-obvious, especially in my city that I know well. This opened my eyes for new perspectives. From our little walking tour I had three favorites. The first one is soccer-related, something you find a lot in Munich. The second one aims towards mobility and how to prevent certain habits… or not! And the third one has a nice overlap with Christina’s approach, how nature find it’s way into urban territory and claims it.“

A street sign called "parkschein", which means "parking ticket". it is a photograph and in the background there is a big concrete building visible. on the street sign, lots of stickers can be found, so that the sign is barely readable anymore. The stickers are from several football fan clubs and initiatives, some of them are even layered over each other or scratched out, that shows a kind of remote rivality. — Picture 1: A street sign that is heavily stickered by several football fan clubs. It shows rivalry, therefore contrast, in a very good way.

a photograph of a house-wall that has a sign "fahrräder abstellen verboten" which means "no bike parking here". the sign holds a small sticker for a bike demonstration event. furtheremore, direcly in front of the sign, a montain bike was parked. — Picture 2: A contrast, that is just too obvious: A bike parked in front of a „no parking“-sign. Note: A little bike-demo sticker can also be found at the sign.

the photograph shows a street but only the vertical rain gutter of a house is in focus on the right side. there is a huge sticker with a big flower on it. it appears, as if the flower would bloom out of the wall corner. — Picture 3: The contrast blends in pretty well: The flower, here represented by a sticker, growing out of the building into urban terrain.

The nice thing about Christoph’s photos are perhaps rather banal motives. At the first glance. The viewer have to think a bit… The idea of stickers on urban signs gives a society a voice when everything wants to be regulated. Park here, don’t park here. See my advertising. See my political statement. See my instagram. Looking at the sign, where the sticker is on, while looking also on the sticker. The meta-level here is the anarchic, gray area where of the sticker recipient (and also the sender, who have to accept a slight vandalism); While the overall situation is only understood from the audience as third party from the third wall.
Christina

Outtakes

… from Christina & Christoph

A photograph of the wall of a house with a sign "Anlehnen von Fahrrädern nicht gestattet" which means "Leaning bikes prohibited". There is a sticker on the sign that shows an former super-model. It turned out to be Claudia Schiffer. — We had a very long discussion about that sticker. We both had several suggestions of who she is, and with the help of the internet, we finally could clarify. Could you name it?

Conclusion

We were on the brink on having a lazy Monday evening, but then decided to do another design challenge. Which turned out to be a good choice. Being creative, working on a topic, exchanging ideas, really feels satisfying to us. We hope to have our next one soon, also ready to share with you!