The joy of flight

[sm4him]

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

I have a different opinion from this. Yes, I shoot to please myself, and what I shoot is based on what strikes my fancy, hits a nerve, stirs an emotion, etc. If my picture accurately reflects the emotion or whatever it was that caused me to take the photo, then yes, it is a success in my book. I have *quite* a few pictures like this--a few of them are among my favorite shots, yet they have not been received that well.

Now, here's the thing--when I POST a picture, I'm no longer the sole judge of its quality and impact. By the very act of posting it (whether the "posting" is on a forum or social media site, my own website, or perhaps a print that I hang somewhere), I am INVITING others to determine if I have conveyed what *I* think I've conveyed. So yes, whether the "audience" *gets* it or not is quite relevant, IMO. If they don't, I have failed to accurately convey TO THEM what I was trying to convey. It doesn't necessarily mean that *I* don't still love the shot.

In the instance of the first picture, I really think, as image-maker (and probably others) said, if you'd left the title off completely, you would have been better off.

Without the title, I look and see a cute kid with an interesting expression. I *still* don't see "joy", frankly, but I do see emotion of some sort, and it holds my attention a bit. But because it's titled "The Joy of Flight"--now, I look at the picture and I'm just confused, because I don't get ANY immediate connection to the idea of flight. It completely disconnects me from the photo.

That's just my 1.75 cents, and the way I see things.