His images are studies of scenes that, at first glance, seem unspectacular. Industrial buildings, Bauhaus-corridors, Venice without pigeons, New York street life, snapshots of outmoded, common routines. Through just such scenes he creates a haunting and powerful figurative language: it distils the essence of architecture, captures the sense of a place and translates form and patina into poetry. Kobel’s photo series makes the quiet nuances of a moment or motif perceptible and visible.