like the details very well

very nice

Congrats! Well deserved win!

GL to you

Wow this is incredible!! Best of Luck =)

ha ha, the REAL question is......who ate the cake afterward???

some people are just blind author...........but, in fairness, what doesn't help in this shot, is the lack of pollution on the beach in the background.........imo, that would have helped your case immensely.......

Fingerprints....heh, heh...! LOL!

In the light of current media outcry I believe that this entry is well on topic, professional or not ... well done author

by the way, this is the way a model should be! She has meat on her bones and she is very sexy!

There's also a smudge just below her chest on the model's left side, don't know how I missed it before perhaps I was distracted

I see that spot too. hmmm This is an awesome shot and a very creative take on the theme. I guess it is up to the mods what they want to do because they are the ones to decide whether they wanted pictures made to look like nature took over, or whether they wanted pictures of the real nature taking over. Hey, since you were there, why didn't you take pictures of the actual oil coming in?
Beautiful picture though.

Very well done Author!! Way to capture current events! Kudos!!...

And as Steve said... whats the smudge about?

Great shot, but what is up with the smudge next to the model's hip? Looks like something was Photoshopped out. Is that true, or am I grasping at straws?

nice job......... GL

To go back to the entry , it was a bit hard for me to see what you wrote (the SBS made things clear). Is it an idea to manipulate the smoke a bit so that the letters fit better on the smoke/ so that you can highlight the letters better? Just an idea . Good luck!

good luck

Well it's already been said but I like to see myself talk so I'll add my
2 cents I don't think there is any question of weather or not this is on theme, man comes in and does what he wants with no regard to anything but profit, and mother nature says f off and pukes all over a ridiculously hot chick.

Nice rendering, author. Faces can be difficult for many! Good luck.

I think it's definitely on theme. I remember when I was growing up on the gulf coast and they were going to start off-shore drilling in the 70's. There was a HUGE uproar. People were freaking out and screaming about the possibilities of accidents and spills. "No, no" we were told. "The chances of that are so microscopic it's not even worth considering." It's obvious that (as usual) industry got their way. And, it's also obvious that the risks of an accident were NOT so microscopic. Government oversight became lax and corrupt (under both Republican and Democrats for decades) and industry did what industry does - run things at the lowest cost possible to maximize profit. We'll be seeing the results from this for decades (Exxon Valdez was 20 years ago but there's still oil under the sand of their beaches). Basically, it's on theme because man tried to tame nature for his own purposes, and nature said "screw you, here's what happens." And, as long as the author took the picture themselves, how "professional" it looks is irrelevent. Don't we all try to look professional (although they should have gotten that spot between her eye and nose)?

Good one - I think it's on theme and well done into the bargain

Good Luck Author.....

Well I think its on theme because oil is natural, not human

you heard it here guys, it can't be removed cause it looks too professional, theme be damned.

I think it's nature fighting back. Let me explain. We inflict this disaster of oil spills on nature by going to radical extremes, just to get the precious crude. Sometimes, like in offshore drilling, we drill thousands of feet below water, hence fighting nature, and the depth of the ocean and the pressure from the weight at that depth, that can cause accidents. So therefore, it is definitely on theme, for nature is fighting back with extreme ocean water depth pressure.

Besides, we can't remove this, it's just too professional looking. In fact I almost wanted to question the validity on it because it looked very pro (but I'm not) so once again, GL!

Great shot, but isn't oil man polluting his own world, rather than nature fighting back.

It is definitely a unique take on the theme and kinda sexy too! GL!

Just put your source image in your SBS. And don't forget the two steps.

yes nice results and done in a timely fashion. good job author

hehehe.. smoking used to be a very ritual orientated event.. only done at times of high worship and the making of peace... (ie Peace Pipe Ritual) ... it was the commercialization of tobacco that took away the spiritual significance.. (leave it to the pastie face white man to ruin a good thing (ack.. I'm one of those Pastie Faces).. smoking actually does have medicinal value... but not the way its been bastardized with chemicals and modernization

The smoke may be toxic... and it is rude to smoke in the presence of others who don't like it.. but in the same right.. taking medicine that passes though the body and poisons the ground water is just as bad (but we never talk about that do we children)

I'm a smoker.. but it's an addiction.. but by smoking it keeps me from.. ahem.. smoking something else.. it also helps me.. err umm.. go to the bathroom (which is much better then taking tons of laxatives LOL) I used to smoke three packs a day... I've gotten down to about 3 to 9 cigarettes a day (packs last me about 3 days now)

and after that diatribe (yes, I do love to yap) please pray for us smokers.. we know it's a disgusting filthy habit.. but oh the smokey goodness.. hehehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSzCyZhFPqo

Lovely SHOOP author..hehehe.. I like the peppermint smoke

Yes, you do the corrections; then you click "my stuff" - "my contests" - "edit entry", and reupload it (don't forget to check hi res box).

And smoking harms people that don't smoke but live or work together with a smoker! I embrace your idea, author!

well played.... good work....

How about let the world make their own damn choice.

You might want to give the edge of the hair a little burn to give it more depth, but that's about all that really stands out for me. GL!

hey, you beat me to it...nice job! GL

i quit smoking myself.. but i still believe it's a persons right to choose..

You can still clean it up and upload the updated entry. I find myself changing entries long after the original post.

You missed a little bit of the original background on the blue dragon Good luck