Throughout the visual text “Ferguson Uncensored” the image focuses heavily on the tension between law enforcement and residents of Ferguson. The photographer aims to focus on this conflict by using multiple elements shown throughout the image. In the visual text the photographer intentionally chooses to position the photograph in a specific way that allows for him to use contrasting color schemes to better illustrate the recurring conflict between law enforcement and residents in Ferguson.

To effectively highlight the tension between law enforcement and residents of Ferguson the photographer chose to focus the image on the man throwing the bottle towards the police. The image is designed to take support the residents in Ferguson, since it shows the man being surrounded by gas bombs that the police threw towards him. To draw attention to the man being attacked the photographer chooses to present the man slightly to the right of the center in a bright blue jersey. By showing the man in the center of the picture and in a bright color, which contrasts with the dark background, it allows for the photographer to emphasize him towards the audience. He also shows the man in blue, a color which is typically associated with feelings of peace and rest, which leads viewers to expect the man to be more calm. However, in the image he is holding a glass bottle he is about to throw, yet the photographer can frame the man as peaceful and calm by accentuating his blue clothes. The blue also contrasts with the dark background which results in the blue being more prominent. The colors schemes used in the picture are extremely effective in allowing the photographer to highlight the tension between residents of Ferguson and law enforcement.

In the image one of the main focal points that allowed for the photographer to highlight the tension between law enforcement and residents was through his use of the color schemes. The image particularly focuses on showing the fog surrounding the man in brighter colors like white and orange. These colors draw more attention to the gas which is important because it allows for the photographer to show the presence of the police, despite them not being shown in the picture. The color scheme of the picture is also mainly dark, containing mainly the colors grey and dark on the outsides of the image. The dark background forces viewers to focus on the areas of the picture that have a positive light, which is primarily the gas. To enhance the importance of the gas, it is also shown with a powerful orange light on it, which results in viewers focusing on it more. By contrasting the gas with the dark background as well as by using the orange lights it allows for the photographer to innately show the presence of the police in the picture, without them needing to be there. The gas is also surrounding the resident which is a metaphor for how the police, and law enforcement in general, are suffocating the residents of Ferguson. This is important since it allows for the photographer to show the tension that the increased tension between residents of Ferguson and law enforcement led residents to protest.

After looking at the contrasting color scheme as well as the positioning of the fog and the man it is evident how the photographer utilizes these elements to draw attention to the tension in Ferguson between residents and law enforcement. The image was directed towards viewers who were unaware of the events in Ferguson, which allows for the photographer to frame the picture to show the hostility and inhumaneness of the law enforcement. The photographer uses a bright color scheme to draw attention to the gas smoke that police threw at protestors, he also shows how the man is throwing his bottle in retaliation. By using the bright color schemes to draw attention to the gas as well as the blue color that the man is shown wearing it allows for the photographer to emphasize these two objects to viewers. The gas is meant to act as the police presence, which is suffocating the man shown wearing blue, a peaceful color. By using bright colors to highlight the gas and by using the color blue to indirectly cause readers to view the man as retaliating it directs readers to think the severity of the situation is due to the police force in Ferguson.

The pictures focuses on the tension that is going on between residents in Ferguson and law enforcement. The photographer is able to use different elements of figurative language like color schemes and specific colors as a way to emphasize the tension between both groups. In a different context this picture might not mean a lot, but taken specifically in the community of Ferguson it resonates the readers to immediately associate the topic with the police conflict, and the photographer is able to show the presence of the police by using the gas. The picture also utilizes bright colors to effectively grab the attention of readers to specific parts of the picture. The authors of “Ferguson Uncensored” focus intensely on the stress between the residents of Ferguson and law enforcement, however this is only to bring attention to the matter which could hopefully bring an end to racism all across the United States.
