Irwin at the Grill
by Bear_Music

Comment:
the skewed perspective is throwing me off on this, especially in the top 1/3 of the image.

Neighborhood Parade
by loseme

Comment:
glad to see these still exist places, they were always so much fun when i was growing up and sadly seem to be less frequent lately.

Small Town, Big Pride
by MelonMusketeer

Comment:
loved the thumbnail when i first opened the challenge page, but like my own camera screen has done to me, the small size was not 100% honest. sadly the firework is slightly overblown, though it does give it the appearance of lasers in a sci-fi movie...

i like that you were able to give an image with fireworks and an exposed landscape (not just shadows), but i keep coming back to the "fooled by the thumbnail"-ness of this firework which i want to be cleaner.

it's still a lovely image and i'm going to give it a 7

Freedom celebration on the beach
by ShutterPug

Comment:
great capture of the fireworks, the little falling particles are what make this shot in my opinion
7

It Might Get Loud
by Brent_S

Comment:
well, this is certainly a cluster-bomb of light (and if you were there, sound). it's a tad busy, but i love the silhouetted people in the rigging (or whatever the proper nautical term is, if rigging isn't right).
then again, without the business of the scene, the silhouette may be lost entirely, so it's a hard sell to take any points away.

a 7 from me then

Freedom
by ShaneBlake

Comment:
the best thing in this picture, for me, is the guy standing still watching the fireworks go off. while a fun experiment with long exposures and light trails, i do find the mirrored circles offset to the exploding fountain to be more distracting than enticing in the image.
a 6 from me

Katie, 4th of July 2014
by boocowski

Comment:
man, i always had a hard time lighting these and it looks like she is too. she's been holding the lighter on that one for about 3 minutes now and it still hasn't started doing anything. i keep waiting to see something happen......the suspense is killing me!!

a 7 from me.
i like the tones and the expression here :)

projection
by NiallOTuama

Comment:
title: spot on for how people perceive the self-boasting - a projection to everybody else
subject: spot on to how many people feel after witnessing an american show of "america-ness" in full force: vaguely aware of something bright and loud-looking in front of them, with a general haze accompanying it

Meanwhile... on the other side in Taiwan...
by GeorgesBogaert

Comment:
interesting way of getting an american-centric party image when there is nothing remotely like that happening in Any Other Part of the World during the entry window.

“The red and white and starry blue is freedom's shield and hope.” - John Philip Sousa
by mefnj

Comment:
willing to wager this will score at least a full point over my flag entry...
6 from me