Guardian Camera Club: Smallnorthernbird's portfolio review

smallnorthernbird_portfolio1: Embankment station, London, 2008, I guess I just like the movement and the reds and blues! The direct stare of the subject makes this picture seem a bit too personal, detracting from the movement and atmosphere of the passers by and busy underground station Photograph: Smallnorthernbird/flickr

smallnorthernbird_portfolio2: Cochabamba, Bolivia where I'm currently living, the campesino women on the street are a sad reminder of the massive poverty that still exists here. In full black and white you can't make out the graffiti so I enhanced it in photoshop. Nicely composed but this picture needs much more contrast to use the graphic strength of black and white. Bringing a colour in to emphasise the graffitti is a good idea but that then becomes the focal point of the image instead of the woman Photograph: Smallnorthernbird/flickr

smallnorthernbird_portfolio3: Barcelona 2008, somewhere around the modern art museum, I like the contrast of the old and new building and the symmetry of the boys. Nice geometric picture. An image with so much going on (the lines, figures, reflections, diagonals) should be more confusing but none of the elements of the picture are lost. The different perspectives are broken up by the geometry. Very successful Photograph: Smallnorthernbird/flickr

smallnorthernbird_portfolio4: I love this photo but the context is important, it was taken at a Bedouin villages in the Negev desert in Israel. I was there working with a NGO. 1 week before the Israeli army had come and bulldozed their village, we were there to help rebuild but still the children were very scared and distrustful of strangers. This image would work well as part of a picture essay but as a standalone picture the explanation is necessary to work out its context. However the symmetry of the leaning girls and the complimentary colours still make this a nice picture Photograph: Smallnorthernbird/flickr

smallnorthernbird_portfolio5: Bolivia again...6am in the hot pools, this photo makes me feel warm. An atmospheric image. All four elements are represented - fire, water, air and earth. The figures don't detract from the environment due to the way they are lit. If they were completely silhouetted or their faces were showing, this would have become the focus of the image Photograph: Smallnorthernbird/flickr

smallnorthernbird_portfolio6: Taken in the botanical gardens in Cochabamaba, Bolivia. I like the way some of the water almost looks like liquid gold. Autumnal in feel, very painterly and slightly surreal. The water has an oily quality. The bright reflections create depth and density and save the picture from being too dark Photograph: Smallnorthernbird/flickr