
During August 2014, the people of America were going through a time of emotional unrest. On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael “Mike Mike” Brown was shot in the head twice by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri (Dickinson, 173). Immediately after the shooting, it was deemed a murder by the people of Ferguson, although not everyone agreed. Across America, a dispute broke out on whether or not this shooting was in fact a murder. While the dispute raged on, the people of Ferguson began to riot and make their point known that the police were at fault for the death of Michael Brown. During this tense time, photographers released pictures of the scene in the hostile community of Ferguson. Whitney Curtis, Scott Olson, and Jeff Roberson are the photographers that were able to capture the scene of Rashaad Davis, a citizen of Ferguson, and the police. These pictures were made to spark the emotions of the people in America and each photo has a different way of doing so. The same picture with three contrasting views is interpreted differently due to the angles, focus, and colors.

The angles of the three Ferguson photographs allow each picture to illustrate a different story. The first Ferguson photo, taken by Whitney Curtis, is taken from a side angle. The way that the picture is taken allows for both the man, Rashaad Davis, and the police to be seen. It is difficult to tell whether Davis is backing away or walking towards the police with his hands up. From this view, some people interpret that Davis is not surrendering and is walking towards the police in a malicious way. Others interpret that he is backing away from the fully armed police and surrendering. Also from the photo taken by Whitney Curtis, Davis’s face is clearly seen while the police are not. His face causes viewers to side with him because he seems to be helpless as opposed to the police that are unwavering as they march towards the man. Seeing Davis’s face is important because it brings compassion to the viewers since they are able to recognize it. Also, viewers can see the raw emotion on his face. Since the faces of the police are covered, viewers are not able to feel compassion for them. Viewers cannot tell whether the police are scared, malicious, or just trying to help Davis. The next photo is taken by Scott Olson and has a very different angle. From this photo, the viewers clearly see the police while Davis’s back is facing the camera. This angle shows Davis with his hands up while the police continue to move towards him fully armed. This causes the viewer to interpret that Davis is surrendering but because the police are ruthless, they will not put their guns down. The angle of this photo is important because it emphasizes the police’s guns while Davis is unarmed. The viewer can clearly see the armed guns and this causes emotion that the police are not going to leave Davis alone. In the final Ferguson photo, taken by Jeff Roberson, the angle is similar to that of the second photo. A picture is taken of Davis’s back while the police move towards him, but Davis is now in the center of the photo. The angle is looking up at the scene unfolding which makes the police and their guns visible. This angle is important because it shows all of the police together with their guns up except for one African-American officer that is towards the back of the picture. The officer’s far off position indicates the lack of confidence and standoffishness as opposed to the white officers that are within a closer proximity. This angle causes viewers to interpret the scene as white versus black since the only African-American officer in the picture is further away and does not seem to want to go through with walking towards Davis. 

The focus of each photo causes the situation to be interpreted differently. In the photo taken by Whitney Curtis has both Rashaad Davis and the police in focus. This allows for viewers to interpret that Davis is either backing up or walking towards the police. The viewer sees both sides of the picture in focus instead of one and this causes more room for interpretation of the situation. The police and their guns are also in focus which allows for viewers to see that they are not backing down from the unarmed man. Viewers interpret this situation as Davis being helpless while the police are ruthless. Others interpret this situation as Davis approaching the police because he can be seen as moving forward. In the photo taken by Scott Olson, the police are the center of attention while Davis is off to the side. The focus of this photo puts more attention on the fact that the police are fully armed while Davis has his hands up. The police being the center of attention emphasizes the police and their guns which causes viewers to feel compassion for Davis instead of the police. In the photo taken by Jeff Roberson, Davis is in focus. The center is considered the most important piece of information to viewers. Since Davis is the center of attention, it emphasizes him in the scene and viewers are immediately able notice more about Davis instead of the police. They are able to notice that he is unarmed and surrendering to the police.

The colors of each Ferguson photo cause different emotions from the viewers. The photo taken by Whitney Curtis, there are cop car lights on in the background. The lights are very bright and are behind the police which draws more attention to them. The bright lights of the cars are important because they cause the viewer to notice the heavy police presence around Ferguson while there are no civilians in the area except for Rashaad Davis. The heavy police presence and the lack of other protestors cause viewers to wonder why Davis is outside alone. These viewers interpret that Davis was up to no good because no one else is outside. Other viewers interpret this scene as Davis being targeted since he is the only person in the picture. In the photo taken by Scott Olson, there is much more attention on the items in the scene. Davis’s blue shirt and blue mailbox next to the police stand out in this photo. The color blue is associated with sadness and Davis is wearing blue. This gives the viewer the feeling of sadness because of the conflict in Ferguson. The mailbox was spray painted to say “fuck the police” and viewers interpret this as irony because it is the color blue that represents police. The orange storage units in the background of the photo draw attention towards the police and their guns. It is ironic that this color stands out behind the police because it represents enthusiasm and happiness while the scene is anything but happy. In the photo taken by Jeff Roberson, the lighting is very dark. Viewers interpret this as being the correct way to represent this photo because of the seemingly malicious scene. Also, the color of the police uniforms stands out. Typically, police are seen in their normal blue uniforms but now they are wearing military uniforms. The police in this photo are interpreted as if they are going to war with the innocent people of Ferguson. 

The photos taken in Ferguson are able to document the emotional unrest of this town. The tension between the citizens of Ferguson and the police are captured in these photos and allow for the people of America to gain their own opinion on the situation. After viewing these three photos, the people will all have their own interpretations and emotions about the scene unfolding. Without these photographers capturing different angles, focus, and colors, all opinions would be one-sided and not left for interpretation. 
