At first this image draws you in to the center, with two sets of people colliding in the middle making it seem it is something of importance within the image. The people are very different, as the police officers seem prepared for the worst, while the woman seems optimistic and peaceful. Alignment and proximity are the two main tools in garnering attention in this image, and give it more valuable meaning. 

A myriad of elements are used in this image. Color, space, and point of view all play a very large role in creating an image that people are drawn too. Although the people themselves draw lots of attention, the image is filled with tools that make the center the focus of the image. At first glance you obviously notice the police as well as the woman and it is the largest part of the overall image and is definitely the focus of the piece. The line dividing the woman and the police officers is very important to the piece. The officers on the left side and the woman on the right side, the contrast between the lines leads to moving your eyes back to the center where the artists want your attention. The artists to an exceptional job with lines and contrast in order to navigate you to look exactly where they want. Although the police officers seem as if they had charged toward the woman they also seem reserved and it gives me the feeling that they are trying to comfort her and make sure she is safe. It provides an interesting thought because people have different views of police, especially in our generation. Most people grew up with the impression that police officers are good people who help keep us safe; now, many people believe that police officers are more of a threat to their safety than ever before. This makes the image of a wall of police officers seem more menacing as you look to the left side and it makes the individual seem in a position of less power and therefore fearful. 

Power is key, especially to police officers who use it as a tool to execute their jobs. The riot gear that is displayed not only in the middle of the image but the angular line on the left side makes me feel that they are in position to do what they please. This is interesting because on the right side we see no one behind the woman leaving room for me to assume that this battle seems less likely to win this ‘battle’. In contrast, the tree that is immediately to right of the woman give me hope at the same time, because it looks like something is sprouting and change is upon us. This is very valuable to the image because it restores faith in the singular human being and shows us the power that each one of us has when we choose to break out and confront the bigger powers, which we may be fearful of at first. As the image keeps drawing me back to the middle, the woman seems calm and peaceful giving me reason to believe that she is trying to make a difference, and making the difference in a peaceful and helpful manner. With no words in the image, we have more of a reason to interpret the image in our own light. Color also plays an important role in this piece that may be overlooked at first but can be valuable evidence in understanding how this image is being portrayed. From the main police officers to the rows of them, all we see is black. It isn’t necessarily scary but it does give us an idea of unity and solidarity, but also conformity, which is an interesting contrast to review. To the woman’s right we see the tree filled with green and the grass below the same color. The green makes the right side of the image seem like the good side, as if it is more safe for regular citizens. This is scary because I think that had someone interpreted this image 50 years ago someone would have a very different viewpoint that what our generation sees. This is also important to understand because looks can be deceiving and you always having to keep that in the back of your mind. 

I believe proximity is one of the reasons this image can be deceiving. Although we can see the interaction between the police and the citizen we don’t really have an understanding of what they are speaking about, leaving us with more to reveal on our own. The only odd element that stood out to me was the people in the background looking    by the woman’s actions. I would think that there would be a reaction by the people or at least some support for the woman. Although you could just assume that the photographer maybe grabbed the image before they could react, this gives me the opportunity to guess that these people maybe didn’t support her actions but rather sided with the police. I understand the subtext rather than just taking everything I see as the truth. 

All of these tools serve a purpose in making the reader avert their eyes to where the artists want. The photographer does an excellent job of making you think about what is going on within the image, and also what that means to the image. The photographer is able to do this by using a diverse group of elements that are highlighted by using alignment and proximity. 