Celebrations

Wow, I have never seen a drill team like this before! I love the colorful and unique costumes of this group, as well as the emotion and excited expressions on everyone’s faces. Great job filling the frame with all of these vibrant details. Well done!

This is such a fun image! Great use of high depth of field; I love seeing all the layers of bubbles against the rows of city building windows in the background. I like your use of a hand and bubble wand as a framing device, too. Well done!

Lovely image! I’m drawn to its abstractness. Great job using a slower shutter speed to capture the motion of the sparks flying through the air - this speaks to the energy of the battle the caption describes. The silhouetted weapons also add an ominous and mysterious quality. Well done!

Lovely image of a Bar Mitzvah. I especially appreciate all of the religious details you were able to capture, the emotion on family members’ faces, and the many different hand gestures visible in the scene. Great job composing the image and capturing the moment. Well done!

Great job capturing the moment as well as the range of emotions associated with celebration: happiness, sadness, and maybe even sibling envy in this situation? The look on the little boy’s face is just priceless. I especially like how you’ve composed and layered the photo to focus on his expression. Well done!

I got a good laugh out of this image! Great job capturing this playful and slightly absurd moment. I love the blending of Halloween celebration with everyday life. Was the baby in the buggy also wearing a dinosaur costume, by chance? Well done!

What an intriguing image! I particularly appreciate its focus on moments outside the peak action of celebration - on the lull and downtime that often occur before and after. I am also struck that I cannot see anyone’s eyes; the muted expressions on people’s faces make me more curious about the nature of the event. Well done!

Wow, intriguing image! I love the rich lighting and colors in this scene, as well as all of the different hand gestures that are visible. Some of the people carrying the statue look as though they are adjusting their hoods - that’s a nice human moment in an otherwise very formal celebration. Well done!

What a fun moment! Great job filling the frame here and using a slower shutter speed to capture the motion and energy of the exploding champagne. I love seeing the excitement on the recent graduates’ faces through all of the foam, as well. Well done!

Beautiful image! I love the focus on the woman’s joyful expression, as well as your use of framing here. It almost looks like the dancer is surrounded by a bright blue halo. It’s also neat that you were able to capture a scene that’s almost entirely shades of one color. Well done!

Lovely image. Great use of low depth of field to isolate the child’s face and her contented expression. I also like the abstraction of the lights into floating white orbs - it adds a magical quality to the scene, appropriate for the holidays. Well done!

What a fun image! I love how you’ve filled the frame with layers of color and people. I particularly like seeing the awestruck expressions on the faces of the couple in the foreground - that really sets the mood of the entire photograph. Well done!

This fireworks image really stood out to me. Not only does it capture the pyrotechnics themselves, but it nicely illustrates their visibility in the surrounding environment through a playful double-reflection. I also like seeing people’s engagement with the fireworks display. Great attention to context and detail, and wonderful layers. Well done!

That’s wild! I’ve never seen drums that illuminate percussionists’ faces. The low positioning of the light source creates some rather haunting shadows - how appropriate for the celebration of Halloween! Great job capturing this scene and the glance of one percussionist as she looks out into the audience.