The question ‘is it art’ is tiresome and of no interest to all but to the artist. As photographers, our work has as its beginning a scene in the world beyond us. We need to consider what is the added value we bring beyond a facsimile of the scene? And so, when considering my own work, I do ask myself 'is it art'. 

On a sidewalk in an industrial neighborhood in San Francisco I found the scene in the image shown here. What’s the added value I brought relative to the original scene? 

I framed the image and liberated it from its industrial settings. I defined for the viewer a vantage point.  I oriented the image so as to enhance its dynamism. Is that sufficient?

I don’t know if the painting was intentional or not. Does that make a difference?