The time has come, though this was tough to judge. All entries are excellent for this subject.
For the winner, I have to go with gump's Mt. Rushmore profile. I've never seen Mt. Rushmore from that angle. The lighting and striking contrast of Washington's face just makes it "pop" for me. Congratulations.
For 2nd place, I go with "Old Glory", by djb47. It's a very creative perspective of the U.S. flag.
3rd place is "Up, up, and away" by atupdate.
Honorable mention for humor goes to CedrusMacro for "Rush hour traffic".
I also give an honorable mention to all other entries. All were good examples of the theme and technically excellent.
-- Chris