nice shot.

excellent effort, well done.

nicely done

Fantastic!!

hahaha dog was so happy

wow author...amazing shot...instant fav from me...

"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning... Red sky at night, sailor's delight!" Beautiful shot. I love the silhouettes of the boats. Would be nice if the sun wasn't quite so centered

Excellent...

love this entry! Background fits very good and the expression on her face is pride and happiness combined. Lots of work lies behind her, she climed the mountain and stands now on the peak. Just lovely. Great entry and right on theme. GL

WOW! Look at that silver lining!

congratulation!superb entry

"To create interesting light one must create interesting shadows" (Syl Arena) - Well done

Ahh I love this, I too graduated college later in life,54 so I personally know how she feels. to you Author and to this lovely graduate.
You are both winners here for sure
Very good capture.

beautiful strong colors

ah, her eyes are shining of pride

Nice thinking! GL!

Good point, friiskiwi. And, the background is good. Everybody knows that if you want to win a contest here the background has to be black!

Great shot, my only criticism is that I would have had the light from the other side, the the shadow from the tassel wouldn't have fallen on her face.

Love it and right on point with the subject.
Agreed with jawshoewhah. I like the black background best.

I disagree about the background. The out of the dark effect is set much better with the dark background. Good choice the first time. Good shot! GL!

I think, that a white background fits much more for this women.

Congratulations to her

I think the shot is technically perfect

Great pano, spotted the guy in the yellow cap twice!

lovely

Beautiful color!

fantastic shot author...top entry for sure...well done

So much for being anonymous.. but probably just me.

great shot

To avoid the shadow of the nose in your models face try this...
Place a mirror on the exact oposite direction of the light source (flash in this case i believe).
Mirror will work as a "fill light" using the light from your light source.
That way you'll have a better result with NO shadow on the face & a PRO look on yor photo!!!

Love all the color in this one. N ice exposure!

This reminds me of Palm trees. Very nice...GL

That equipment on the right really MAKES the photo. Good job

Great!!! Fireworks seem to be in the middle of nothing!

This is for sure a fav for me!!!

Fantastic image...gl

very very nice shot...gl

Great vibrant colors! Like it alot!!!!!

lovely..

A most deserving placement!

Perfect =)

Wonderful colors! GL!

GL!

Congrats for your second place!

Ditto

Excellent..

Very nice work here author...wonderful textures and details,I feel ilke I'm able to step into the image...

This would have been so cool had the ferris wheel been spinnin'

Nice. I like the old B-ball hoops.

Great shot