Just curious, I like this image that was rejected for "lack of aesthetics or commercial appeal" of a rocky path through a river bluff.

Remember, you approach this image with your memories of the place. You know what it looked like, smelled like, where you were going, and what was around the corner. Somebody just looking at this image doesn't have those associations. Without them, it's a dull image.

As far as the aesthetics go, it's not a very visually interesting image. There is no point of interest in the photo composition. It just looks like an un-composed shot of some flat ground and some uninteresting rocks with some faded graffiti on them. Plus the sky is blown out.

As far as commercial appeal goes, can you think of a reason why someone would purchase this image? It's not immediately obvious that there is a path or trail, so nobody is going to use it for a trail metaphor. The rocks and trees aren't the focus of the image and aren't particularly interesting anyway.

Does that make sense?