Those are pretty nice...I esp. like the light beams in the bottom. The only problem I've encountered placing sprites directly in front of the camera is that it can destroy the framrate if you run your monitor refresh at higher refresh rates.

If I have my monitor set at 1600x1200 with a refresh of 65 and run my game at 1024x768 and then put a sprite right in front of the screen, my fps dips from 75 to 30-45. If I run everything the same but the refresh is at 60, it will remain at 60. Likewise if I run the monitor at 1024x768 and use a higher refresh like 85 or up, and run the game at the same resolution, the fps will dip to similar numbers but remain maxed out without the sprite.

This is one reason why the two screens with the glowy fog in my newest screenshot update have been altered to no longer have that look.