London Contrasts

“Contrast is what makes photography interesting.” Conrad Hall

Let’s talk a little bit about contrast, shall we? Contrast can come in a variety of forms: hot/cold, tall/short, dark/light, good/evil, hard/soft, and so on. While I thought about today’s photography focus challenge on contrasts, I had no idea I was about to step inside of one. I have spent most of my first week in London in the Bloomsbury area around my flat, or just a little outside of that vicinity. I went to Camden today, and to the Camden Lock. Camden Lock has a variety of shops, a market, food vendors, and music. It was a bit of sensory overload. It is definitely a contrast to Bloomsbury. While Bloomsbury is sensory overload in its own way, the busy sidewalks and crazy traffic, Camden is crowded, kind of dark, and just a different kind of culture. It is definitely more “punkish” than Bloomsbury. This is going to sound bizarre, but Camden kind of reminded me of Las Vegas. The volume of people and the market vendors who are competing for your business make it feel very Vegas-like. As Lauren said, “less lights, but I can see it.” I wouldn’t mind going back down to Camden because they definitely have some unique gift offerings. I have to admit, though, I like my little slice of London I’ve carved out this past week. I am proud of myself that it is becoming more normal and familiar to me, when just one week ago, London was the ultimate contrast to home.

I chose this photograph to represent “contrast” to me. If you look at the picture, you will see that there are tree branches and flowers growing directly out of the brick. I thought that the contradiction between the life of the trees and flowers to the stone, that is not alive at all, was very representative of “contrast.” Even through the brick, life is finding a way.