The joy of flight

[binga63]

reeds for supports.. a shopping bag for the sails and cotton for string... a study of what simple joy flying a kite can bring

 

[The_Traveler]

alternate title - 'Thank you, God, I love this spool of red string'

Good technical points, exposure, sharpness, etc but the framing puts the centre of interest in the top right corner and the title has to carry the meaning of the pictures.

 

[amolitor]

It also feels a bit flat, lightwise. Maybe I am just being corrupted and am starting to need more more more pop more color more contrast, but it still feels a bit flat.

That, and what Lew said. This would work in the context of some other photos to show me what's happening, as a "personality" shot placed together with a couple (or more) shots that make it cleat that kites are going on. By itself, it's just a sort of a bizarre thing about string.

 

[binga63]

Ahh yes point taken... but without the string there would be kite anarchy... it is the string that binds all kites to the ground

 

[sm4him]

Cute kid, but I have to agree, without the kite for context, it loses something.

Honestly, I can't even see the string that's coming off the spool toward the kite--so at first, I actually thought the kid was holding some kind of weird red remote and was trying to figure out what that had to do with the joy of flight. I thought maybe it was for a remote-control airplane.

On the other hand, I have terrible vision, so it may clearly be kite string to everyone else.

 

[binga63]

more from the joy of string... I could have posted all the images in hindsight but I really loved the rapt look of t he child in the first one .. here are some others from the series


Kite 2 by Binga63, on Flickr


Kite3 by Binga63, on Flickr


Kites 4 by Binga63, on Flickr

 

[imagemaker46]

Apart from the last one you posted, they don't say anything about flight, kite's or much else. A kid sitting on the ground holding a spool of red thread says nothing more than a kid sitting on the ground holding a spool of red thread. Shooting the last one wide was the only shot you should have posted. The others all lack content.

 

[binga63]

Apart from the last one you posted, they don't say anything about flight, kite's or much else. A kid sitting on the ground holding a spool of red thread says nothing more than a kid sitting on the ground holding a spool of red thread. Shooting the last one wide was the only shot you should have posted. The others all lack content.

Do any of the pics show sadness? do any of the pics show the children looking at the ground?
The pics show the JOY which is the feeling you get when you successfully get and hold a kite in flight
I know that feeling.....
My pics are study of those faces
My words from the first pic>>>... a study of what simple joy flying a kite can bring

I don't know about you but I find the faces of people flying kites more appealing than the kites

 

[The_Traveler]

You portrayed these shots as something to do with kites and children.

That didn't come across. Implying that the viewers are deficient if the images don't speak to them as they do to you is a bit solipsistic, I think.
More likely is that you are projecting your feelings too strongly onto the images.

 

[imagemaker46]

Apart from the last one you posted, they don't say anything about flight, kite's or much else. A kid sitting on the ground holding a spool of red thread says nothing more than a kid sitting on the ground holding a spool of red thread. Shooting the last one wide was the only shot you should have posted. The others all lack content.

Do any of the pics show sadness? do any of the pics show the children looking at the ground?
The pics show the JOY which is the feeling you get when you successfully get and hold a kite in flight
I know that feeling.....
My pics are study of those faces
My words from the first pic>>>... a study of what simple joy flying a kite can bring

I don't know about you but I find the faces of people flying kites more appealing than the kites

If you had of just cropped the happy kids and not mentioned the joy of flight, you would have had a better reaction.

 

[TATTRAT]

I don't know about you but I find the faces of people flying kites more appealing than the kites

I understand where you are coming from, but, if the kite was in the frame it would bring a lot more sense and feeling to the shot. . .and I wanted to see the kite, especially after you gave a description of its humble build.

 

[binga63]

You portrayed these shots as something to do with kites and children.

That didn't come across. Implying that the viewers are deficient if the images don't speak to them as they do to you is a bit solipsistic, I think.
More likely is that you are projecting your feelings too strongly onto the images.

Lew then my question to you as a photographer ....
when you shoot a picture
is it not your feelings for the image the reason you shot it in the first place?
You don't shoot for the compliments of others when you are on your trips?
You shoot your pics because the scene touched a nerve
whether I successfully conveyed it or not is immaterial in the whole scheme of things, the only bit that would change if the chance to shoot Kite fliers again presented itself to me
would be that I would shoot a couple of close ups of the kites themselves
I would still shoot the string loving pics as they had meaning to me... the photographer...
I am sorry that that the viewers who saw them on the forum saw no value in them

 

[The_Traveler]

is it not your feelings for the image the reason you shot it in the first place?
You don't shoot for the compliments of others when you are on your trips?
You shoot your pics because the scene touched a nerve
whether I successfully conveyed it or not is immaterial in the whole scheme of things, the only bit that would change if the chance to shoot Kite fliers again presented itself to me
would be that I would shoot a couple of close ups of the kites themselves

You love your wife/girlfriend and almost certainly you find her more beautiful than someone who didn't feel the same way about her.
And you probably wouldn't expect others to find her as beautiful as you do just because of those feelings.

Same with pictures.
The better the picture the more that beauty is inherent in the image and doesn't have to be supplied by the photographer's attachment.

I am sorry that that the viewers who saw them on the forum saw no value in them

If you respond with hurt feelings to honest comments, then you won't get honest comments

 

[binga63]

Hi Lew

My comments aren't from a bruised ego

I post what I see and what gives me an emotional response
and I enjoy honest comments

but should I not respond, I am not being derogatory or demeaning to the responders am I?

And maybe my choice of words could be better.

I should have worded my response as
thank you for your constructive criticism, I wasn't being solipsistic and forcing my feelings about Kite flying
I should have worded my first post better and supplied more images to give the story body instead of fracturing it into just one part of the whole
next time I will
thank you

Chris

 

[imagemaker46]

If you were doing a full photo story on kite flying, a couple of these would have worked in well with that story, but you would have had to include more images of the kids with the kites to complete the story. What you shot and what anyone shoots has value to themselves first and to others after. As a photo story, it is incomplete. Without the words explanining what the pictures are about, they are just smiling kids. Obviously you have captured the joy and fun they are having, the value to you, and if they saw them would alos value them.