Welcome to my series where I talk about the stories behind my fine art photography pieces.

The ‘How I Turn My Street Photography Into Art’ Series

Welcome to my series where I tell the story behind some of my fine art photography pieces. I hope to convey to photographers that street photography is a great source for creating art. If you’re like me and love the visual arts but lack any talent to paint or draw, photography has become my artistic surrogate that allows me to create whenever I desire. That’s because my companion passion is street photography and I’ve literally thousands of images to choose from to create fine art photography pieces, and with and with any luck, I’ll be producing works of art for years to come.

For my first entry in my How I Turn My Street Photography Into Art, I’ll talk about the story behind “Girl Alone”.

The Story Behind “Girl Alone”

When India had been in strict lockdown at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I returned to my image archives to search for street shots that I could transform into fine art. I had two reasons for this, three really, if I counted amusing myself to keep sane from being cooped up for months. A retreat into the world of Photoshop had been my primary focus. Secondly, I’d wanted to create new images from the old.

For a little background, the above image of the girl was taken back in Kolkata during my 2017 #3StrangersAday project - on Day 86. I was using my old Canon Rebel T3 back then, equipped with the 24mm 2.8 pancake lens. Here's the original edited shot.

Why ‘Girl Alone’

When I originally took this shot, I found the girl all alone on this table. I believe it was being used by a vendor for marketplace items, and no one else was around. I figured someone had left her unattended or she had wandered here alone and just plopped down for a nap. There could be any number of reasons for her nap, including her guardians slipping around the corner to grab a cup of chai. Regardless of the reality, for me, “Girl Alone” become the perfect title for my finished piece.