 
The tragedy that took place in Ferguson, Missouri occurred on August 9th, 2014, but it was the weeks following that proved to be the most challenging. The photo essay “Ferguson, Uncensored” shows some of the images that ensued in the weeks following Michael Brown’s death. The two pictures below along with the article accompanying the photos, tell the author’s story but don’t explain the situation as a whole. The photographer utilizes several techniques, such as coloring, lighting, framing, and shot lengths to help account for the disconnect between police officers and the African-American community.

The duty of police officers is to protect and serve the community. The weeks following Michael Brown’s death, protests of police brutality erupted. What did the police officers do? They trampled the first amendment rights of the protesters and punished those who would speak out for the cause. The image above shows the extreme force that was used by police during this time. It is a close-up of an officer covered in armor looking through the scope of a sniper rifle. At first, it is unclear what he is looking at, but the text accompanying the photo clarifies that he is watching over the protesters. The utilization of the techniques above helps explain the author's beliefs. First, the picture is a close up of the officer; this allows for the viewer to see his facial expressions. From this image, it can be said that the officer was very focused, and was willing to fire if needed.  Second, the lighting of the picture helps emphasize the officer and the gun. The background of the image is very light which makes the officer’s dark clothing more pronounced. Lastly, the author created a caption, along with a short explanation of the picture. It reads “Armed Force…A police officer watching over demonstrators protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown on August 13th, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri”. (Dickinson) The photographer framed the photo in such a way that only the officer can be seen, which makes it difficult to understand what is occurring around him.  Based on the caption it can be said that the officer is looking through the scope, keeping a watchful eye over the protesters. It also helps explain the image to a viewer who may be uninformed about what is occurring in Ferguson, since it states the shooting death of Michael Brown. The usage of these techniques, along with the caption help display police brutality against the protesters in Ferguson and can explain the displeasure many protesters had with officers during this time.

The hostility between police officers and the black community in Ferguson, Missouri reached its peak the weeks following Michael Brown’s death. The image above is a long shot of an African American woman surrounded by dozens of police officers dressed in swat gear. This woman is holding her hands up alluding to the claims that Michael Brown had his hands up when he was shot by officer Darren Wilson. This image helps promote the claims of police using force to deter protesters. Based on the picture alone there does not seem to be a need for so much force by the officers, but what is unclear is what is behind the photographer. Similar to the image in the prior paragraph, the photographer uses the contrast between light and dark to emphasize the police officers. But the difference is that this photo contains numerous people. It can be seen that the photographer fixated on the police officers in the background rather than the woman in the foreground. The officers are in focus, whereas the woman is out of focus, which helps with the idea of police being in control. The photographer also framed the photo to include the mailbox, which contains the words “Fuck The Police.” Although this seems like a minor detail, the graffiti expresses the ideas of several protesters and can explain the results of the hostility. The caption and the explanation state “Hands Up, Don't Shoot…Police force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods on August 11th, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri”. (Dickinson) The caption is alluding to the African American woman who has her hands up in reference to Michael Brown. This caption had since become a motto for the entire Black Lives Matter movement. The photo is significant because it displays the force that police used to trample the first amendment rights of the protesters.

“Citizens voicing righteous grievance about racial injustice and police violence have been met with a horrifying, militarized police response.” (Dickinson) Tim Dickinson, the author of “Ferguson, Uncensored,” expressed his ideas in writing above the pictures, and used the images to back up his claims. This quote is just a portion of what he believes and is seen in numerous pictures throughout the entire photo essay. The image in the previous paragraph supports his claim because the police are dressed similarly to soldiers in war. The difference between the officers and the soldiers is the fact that the officer’s duty is to protect the people they feel threaten by, whereas the soldiers are defending those people. Instead of doing their jobs, the police officers used extreme force to threaten the rights of the protesters, causing them to become more disruptive. If the police officers refrained from infringing on the rights of these protesters and understood they were the target of the protests, things would not have gotten out of hand.

 The job of the images in a photo essay is to back up the claims of the author, in this photo essay the images help provide examples of police using force to disrupt the first amendment rights of the protesters, instead of realizing that they were, in fact, the targets of the protests. The addition of the captions allows for the viewers to understand the images according to the author. It is important for the author to utilize all of these techniques to help promote the idea that the police used military tactics to deter protesters, rather than protecting them.
 