
In Tim Dickinson’s “Ferguson Uncensored” we are presented with words and images illustrating the tension between black rights protesters and law enforcement. With the help of photographer Scott Olson he encaptures the raw emotion after the shooting of Michael Brown and specifically in this photo from the Hands Up, Don’t Shoot protest. A very similar picture was taken by Jeff Robertson for an article Zoe Carpenter wrote for the Nation. This article for the Nation embodied the same ideas as Dickinson’s story, but included a different photo. These images from the protest are very similar, but each has slight differences. Each of the photos slight differences presents new information which is based on the camera angle and the editing tools the photographer uses. It allows us to gather more on the storyline being told by using these different photographic techniques. We get to see more of both photographers’ styles by viewing both pictures from the same situation.  Even though the same message is being expressed in both photos, the use of different angles and editing tools allows us to pick up on different information present in each picture the photographer took. 

In the photo done by Robertson we see lots of photographic action happening. Directly in the middle of the scene is a black man with his back turned to us with his hands up. Right in front of this black man is lots of SWAT police walking towards his direction. The direction the cops are walking in is based on the movement seen in their feet. The black man on the other hand is hard to see if he is moving towards or away from the cops. This movement in the photo allows the viewer to realize this is an action shot being taken. Also, from looking at the photo this is a wide shot. A wide shot allows the viewer to gather all the information from the scene instead a just specific up-close things. In this scene it helps the viewer further gather information of the cops seen further away and the red/blue lights on the fence that are most likely from a cop car. The one thing that is very important is that both the cops and the man are in focus together which draws attention to both not just one or the other. By both being in focus the idea is that both the cops and the black man are important to this scene. Another important thing to notice is that only two of the SWAT police have their guns raised at the man with his hands up. This makes this scene still intimidation but less threatening than if all had the guns raised. Also, there is little to no editing done to this photograph which goes hand and hand with the fact that it is a raw emotion shot with lots of action happening in it. Though there is not a lot of editing done to this photo color does hold some importance to this photo. The color of the man’s shirt stands out compared to the rest of the scene because it is much lighter in color compared to the background. The eyes are also drawn to the reflection of the police lights on the fence which is important information in the scene as well. Drawing attention to these two things is very important because it reflects the information the photographer is trying to get across to the viewer. By doing this it develops a whole synthesis of the scene. The use of wide angle and little to no editing is very important in this photo by Robertson because the viewer gathers all the information necessary to make assumptions that this is a serious scene reflecting what Zoe wrote about in her article about Ferguson. This scene allows the viewer to feel the emotion, but it’s raw and makes the person viewing the photograph believe they are right in the scene. The photo by Robertson is very natural and embodies the protests of Ferguson without being over the top.

The photo taken by Olsen shares the same message about protests in Ferguson but gives a different perspective than Robertson’s. As in the other scene the same main characters in the photograph are the black man with his hands up and the SWAT police. Unlike the other photo this is wide angle but it is taken from slightly a different spot. The other angle was directly behind the black man where this one is from the side and slightly farther away. With a different angle more evidence is given like the mailbox with the phrase “Fuck the Police” written on it. Another major difference is the lack of motion of the black man in this photo. It looks as though the man with his hands raise is standing still and the police are stepping towards him. This gives more of a look of innocence and vulnerability to this man because he is just standing there with hands up not really doing anything while the police look like they are coming full force at him with guns raised. At the same time in the other photo the view is as if all the SWAT were coming towards this man but in the this photo only a few were coming at him as there are more in the background just standing around. Similar to the other photo not all the SWAT have their guns raised, but some still do make this look like a threatening serious situation. The biggest difference between both these scenes has to be the use of editing done in the photo. In this photo there was color enhancement. Looking at the other photo there is the dullness of the colors around unlike here where the wall in the background is bright red and the color of the man’s shirt is much brighter and noticeable. This use of color enhancement adds more of effect to the scene and draw to look around at everything present. Color is very important to this photo because it draws the main focus to the man with hands up, but also by having enhancement of the background it says to look around at everything in the scene to get a full picture of what is happening. Enhancement in this photo makes everything stand even more and brings even more intensity to the scene. The fact the red is so enhanced can lead to believing the photographer wanted to reflect a theme of maybe bloodshed especially over innocent deaths in Ferguson. Another editing technique that was applied was making the police in focus and the man with hands up not. This focuses your attention on the police more than the man. By doing this the photographer wants the viewer to see what the police are doing to the ma. This develops even more a picture of vulnerability and innocence to the man with his hands up. Olsen’s photo is very different view through the use of these editing techniques and a different angle. It brings about a more serious tone of the issues happening in Ferguson.

These two photos truly share the same message, but express different information in both. Through Robertson’s photo we get a grittier, realistic action shot of what is happening in Ferguson. It allows the viewer to look at both the police and the man in the photo and everything that is happening around with a true sincerity. The colors in Robertson’s photo show a drearier mood which reflects the sadness of Ferguson. Olsen’s photo on the other hand with all the editing techniques is a showier stand still in the moment. This photo with the editing puts more focus on the police making the man with his hands raised look more vulnerable in the scene. It is more intense and hostile than the photo taken by Robertson. Though both scenes use different techniques the same message is getting across to the viewers. Both photographers use a wide shot which allows the viewer to take in as much information from the scene as possible. Though that information is slightly different the viewer gets the main message of the Ferguson protests and what the Hands Up, Don't’ Shoot protest really encaptures. Both photographers do a professional job of relaying their information across to those viewing it even though both have different forms of expressing it. It also goes to show how having different perspectives helps the viewer get different information from the same scene that is happening. These were just two photos from this day, but there were multiple other photographers who got different shots from this day as well each with a different perspective and mood. This shows how each perspective of a person is different and how the more perspectives there are the more the viewer can learn from it and specifically in this case the more the viewer can learn from a photo and what is happening in it. 
