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Storm Berberoglu
English 101 MWF
Professor Zackowski
September 23rd, 2015
Description of a Visual Text
Part 1

The night is August 24th and the most iconic photo is taken from the riots in
Ferguson, Missouri, by photographer Robert Cohen. After the fatal shooting of
Michael Brown, and un armed teenager, by an act of police brutality from Darren
Wilson, peaceful protest began. Ferguson, and the rest of the United States has
suffered an unjustifiable relationship between law enforcement officers, the use of
force, and the militarization of the police against African Americans. Once
Michael browns death dropped, peaceful protest emerged. The police of Ferguson
responded negatively, initiating curfews, arrest, throwing tear gas, and bringing in
thousands of dollars in weapons to contain the protest. Once that started the riots
began, looting started, businesses in ashes. This mere 8.5 inches by 4.75 inches
seems to capture it all perfectly. In the photo, a young man is wearing an
American flag t-shirt holding a bag of chips in one hand and a tear gas canister in
the other hand ready to be thrown back at police. Everything is dark and gloomy,
the only light is coming from the gas canister. Theres people cheering in the back

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ground and sparks lie on the floor. The man is fed up with the brutality and is
protecting his people, his stance shows that he is open to what will come his way
but will not stand idly by. He seems sturdy and collected while all hell is breaking
lose in his hand and background.
Part 2
At first the photo itself seems rather chaotic and messy. The back ground in
unfocused and dark, people are blurry and it looks dull. Very few things in the
photo are focused, and the colors of the pictures do not seem lively or vivid.
Although, once broken up like how we are about to do, it simplifies its self. The
background becomes vivid and neat. The mess straightens itself up and becomes
manageable to read. How we are going to break this up is by closest to farthest by
working our way backwards. With each division we are going to dissect it to show
all the minuscule details in a way most oversee. Then with each division were
going to be dividing it into segments that makes the detail even more precise and
zoomed in, if you will. The segments are not in an particular order or set way, they
were picked from what seemed to be the most apparent and legible in this picture.
Division I
Were going to start with division one. This one seems the most simple and
laid out. At first glace you see the most major parts. The road, the man, the
smoke. IT All seems pretty easy, right? The road is division one, the man becomes

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segment A, the smoke becomes segment B, and each thing in this creates its own
story. Were going to start with the basics, which is the road, an ash colored street
darkened from the night. It stretches 8.4 inches across the photo from east to west
and 1.4 inches wide before it gets cut off from grass. The ground shows many
different shadows, each with differences in shades of gray. There seems to be
streaks of gray and white lines across the whole street, none of which seem to hold
any type of pattern. The first streak of gray is about 8.5 inches long and 0.5 inches
wide. The second one lies on top of the two yellow lines, 1.5 inches of dark grey
lie here then gets gradually lighter for 3 inches, turning into a smoky gray. 2
inches right on the street it is no longer gray but more of an orange. That carries on
for another 1 inch before it starts to fade how it did on the left side. Another 0.5
inches holds a faint light yellow streak going left about 1.5 inches. Then 0.1 inches
above that line holds a dark gray shadow going 0.4 inches left into the photo. A 0.5
inch streak of light orange is above that one, going an inch into the photo left
before it is disrupted by the mans foot. Once more, 0.5 inches above that previous
line holds a slightly darker grey stretching assumed all the way across the photo
despite the disruptions in the picture. Less than 0.1 inches upward there lies a faint
yellow line stretching 2.8 inches left, being cut off by the mans leg and doesnt go
any father. 0.4 inches is the last streak on the right side, it is a faint gray color
stretching out to be 3.7 inches inward. Now were moving back down to the

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bottom of the photo and looking at the road. On the road there are two lines that
are parallel to each other. The one closest to the bottom stretches across the photo
at 7.1 inches and 0.2 inches above that is the second line which measures out to be
8.5 inches. The first line closest to the bottom boarder of the photo is almost an
inch shorter than the other, it begins to fade away then completely disappears.
Together, the two yellow lines seem to be a chromatic scale of yellows. From the
start of the lines on the left side, they appear to be a mustard yellow, as you travel
farther down the lines they begin to brighten. Towards the center of the lines is the
peak of brightness, becoming more white than yellow. The fire above the lines
nearly drowns out the lines.
Traveling father down the road to the right they begin to lose the brightness,
change from a near white yellow fading back into that mustard yellow as seen in
the start of the lines. Now were moving 0.5 inches above line 2 and in the road is
a cloud of smoke that clouds the air. This is segment B. The cloud of smoke has
an abstract look to it. The bottom of the cloud it made reaches 3 inches across and
a maximum of 3.8 inches tall. Shape of the could is almost like a U shape, two
high peaks and then a dip in the bottom. The farthest side of the U shape cloud is
the lightest, less concentrated could of smoke. As you travel down that cloud of
smoke, it begins to get more condensed. 4.6 inches east from the photo and 0.6
inches north stands a man. Now moving back we see the man, segment A. Both

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segments go along with each other since theyre connected. Segment A, the man is
the most focuses thing in this photo, mainly because he became an iconic figure
after this photo. His stance shows that he is open and exposed , but he is ready to
hold his place if necessary. Now were going to examine his dimensions. He
stands more to the right of the photo, about 3 inches away from the boarder of the
photo. This man is 3 inches tall in the photo and he crosses into other divisions.
The legs are 2.9 inches apart. The first leg west of the photo is 1.8 inches long at a
130 degree angle, and the other leg appears to be 1.6 inches long at a straight 180
degree line. In between his two legs is a shadow 2.5 inches long and 0.1 inches
thick. His foot on the right leg is planted firmly on the ground standing his place
while the other is titled like he himself is about to strike, His torso measures out to
be 1 inch exactly slightly twisted back. He is wearing an American flag thank top.
The colors of the flag are drowned out by the canister in his hand. Which is ironic
because that canister was thrown by the police who are suppose to the one the
protectors of our country, but this man, a by stander, is the one protecting and
defending his people while the police are the ones causing the harm. The strips
measure out to be 0.1 inch each. The upper right of his shirt holds the stars of the
flag. Moving at a 30 degree downward angle less than a centimeter lies his hand.
His right arms measuring out to be 0.5 of an inch bend towards his body holding an
opened bag of chips. The bag of chips is about 0.4 inches large, and shows that he

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is an unarmed random bystander. He was just enjoying his snack unexpected of

this happening. Moving to the left side of his body, looking upward is his head.
This part of his body extends into the other division but were keeping it in
division 1. His features of his face are blocked out by his dreads. The swaying
motion his body is in tosses his hair over his face and makes the hair look like it is
being thrown back. Moving back down and past his torso holds his second arm.
Extended away from this body at 1 inch holds the canister thrown at him and his
community. The canister, on fire, a weapon used against his, is now being as a
protection. The canister emits all the smoke that makes up segment B and emits an
illuminsent light that puts a spot light on the man throwing it back. Theres sparks
flying from the object is like the way it sparked more riots through the city and
across the country. 0.5 inches above the two lines on the road and 0.6 inches away
from the boarder on the left side lies 3 solidary sparks in almost a perfect row. 0.7
inches away from the sparks more become apparent, they become bigger and more
prominent closer to the source of it all. The light emitted from the canister shows
all the features in the road, cast shadows, and shows details that I cant seem to
make out apparent. The whole division seemed pretty straight forward like the
road itself but ends up holding a lot more than what I anticipated.
Division II

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Now were on second division in this picture. The second layer of the
photo, the middle ground of it all. Nothing in this division seems clear, it all seems
rather distant. Although, once broken down like how we did previously it clears
itself up. This division is placed a little father back and kind of peculiar in how I
(thanks to your help!!) broke it up. The clearest way to do it seemed to be dividing
the middle layer of this picture into two equal triangles on either side of the
picture. 1.75 inches from the bottom of the photo and on the east side is the first
triangle. The bottom leg on the triangle stretches out to be a nearly perfect straight
line measuring out to be 3.75 inches, Now were going to travel to the upper leg of
the triangle, it starts to extend at a 45 degree angle upward and reaches all the way
to the top at the photo at 4.8 inches. The two legs meet nearly in the center of the
photo, about 4.6 inches in. Within this specific triangle holds distant details. From
where the two legs of the triangle a lot of objects are in play. The inside of the east
division holds two different types of atmosphere, the ground and the sky. 0.5
inches takes up the ground for about 1.8 inches inward, it appears to be a deep
forest green then the sky takes its place 3.1 inches in and consumes the rest of the
photo. From the point where the two legs of the triangle meet, 1 inch in, a mans
leg come into the picture that measures to be half an inch thick. With a .25 inch gap
theres another leg measure .4 inches thick. Moving back to the first leg of the
man farthest east, his dark blue jeans are illuminated. Looking past the legs, we

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move to the border of the photo and traveling 2.3 inches upward and less than 0.1
of an inch inward is what seems like a floating ball of light. Theres no pole or
post holding it up but its safe to assume that the moon would be that low or that
close to those people. Now, were moving .75 inches into the photo away from the
photo and less than 0.1 inches upward there stands a sign. 2.2 inches tall, and the
widest point measures to be 0.5 inches, which is segment A in division two. The
sign itself is divided into two pieces, the first part of the sign measures out to be
0.75 inches and 0.5 wide, and the upper part of the sign measures out to be 0.75
inches and 0.5 inches wide, the signs read out to be some type of protection sign
reads the bottom and the top one holds the speed limit. Behind the first sign is
another, about .4 inches back. The words on it are fuzzy and not legaible. I dont
think that was a coincidence, the sign has a police symbol right underneath the
speed limit sign. Nearly everything in this part of the division is blurred out
besides the man throwing the canister back to the police and that sign. I believe its
saying that theyre going to fast, in a way. Too brutal. Too militant. Too out of
control. Thats why there has to be a sign. Maybe to warn people in a way. The
farthest back in this part of the division is a faint shadow of a car. About 0.5 inches
away from the second sign appears to be one more. Completely faded away in the
distance only a shadow is seen. It appears to be 0.5 inches long and nearly 0.25
inches wide. Looking left from the most distant sign the man is shown, but behind

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him, still in division 2, is a some type of car. From what we are able to see of it, it
measures out to be 0.9 inches wide and about 1 inch tall. The light silver color
darkened by the night makes the car seem nearly impossible to distinguish.
Traveling down the leg of the triangle, or the boarder of this division, you see the
the cars taillights lightened. Without those bright red lights emitting from the
vehicle, it could easily of been over looked. 1.2 inches from the left side of the car
is the license plate. The arrangement of letters and numbers arent legible, and
being able to figure out the type of car this is isnt possible, but the fact that the
lights are on and seems to be steady means that someone is parked and safe. Right
below the license plate is a blood orange dot. It might be a reflection from
something or even a distant spark but its exactly underneath the plate. Now were
moving to the west side of the photo, to the second part of the triangle. The bottom
leg of the triangle measures out to be a little smaller than the east one, at 3.6
inches. The bottom line of the triangle is slanted at a 20 degree angle upward. At
the top left of the page in the upper corner, begins the second leg of the triangle. It
stretches out to be 4.6 inches and at a downward angle at 45 degrees. The inside of
the triangle holds a very simple atmosphere. Looking back down at the bottom leg
of the triangle, and 1.75 inches left begins an uprising of smoke. I believe this
signifies the uprising in riots that are soon to come. Surely after this photo was
taken a peak of riots in Ferguson happened. The smoke is 1.2 inches thick in the

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beginning, the color is a light yellow. As it rises up it and fills the air, becoming
less thick but covering more areas. This signifies that not is this problem happening
here, but all over. The smoke could in the division measures out to be 3 inches tall,
and the widest point it 2.8 inches thick. The colors towards the boarders of the
photo become a light smoky white, but the center is live and vivid bright yellow.
Like the riots in Ferguson, lively and vivid but as time progressed it began to get
faded and dies down. Lost in the air of current events. The bottom of the cloud of
smoke is fairly bright, like a whiteish yellow like the tips of fire. Sparks lie on the
ground of the road, spread out nearly 4.5 inches wide. Now moving back to the
top of the division, behind the cloud of faint smoke, seems to be a white square
shape. The smoke makes it nearly impossible to comprehend what it is but it looks
like it could possibly be a street sign like what was seen in the east division. From
what I am able to make out of it, the sign is definitely white and has the
dimensions of 0.4 inches long and 0.75 inches tall. Moving slightly lower from the
sign seems to be a dark shadow of some sort. Unfortunately, due to the darkness of
this photo it is unable to be distinguished. The divisions seemed fairly simple but
hazy at first like division one, but again, once broken down it held a lot more
meaning than what was perceived in the beginning and was able to be read.
Division III

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The last division is the farthest and the largest out of all the divisions. This
division is the most blurred, unfocused, filler in the photo. It holds a lot of tiny
items in the back ground that seem unclean, and appear to be rather unimportant.
The background of photos are usually fillers, nothing to important to pay attention
too, but this photo is different. How this division is divided makes a rather
peculiar shape mimicking the triangles like division two but has a curve to mold
itself around the mans head from segment A. Other than that the two lines of the
almost triangles meet nearly in the center at 3.4 inches into the photo and 0.5
inches away from the bottom boarder. The bottom leg of the triangle is the upper
boarder of the page, measuring out to be 8.5 inches. Now were moving on the the
outsides of our boarder starting the with left. The east leg of the triangle is pointed
at a downward angle at nearly 45 degrees for 5.4 inches. The other leg of the
triangle on the west side measures out to be 5.4 inches pointing downward at a 45
degree angle. Now, were going to look at the insides as an entirety. The
background is a dark midnight black that fills this whole division besides the
people, the smoke from segment B traveling upwards and what appears to be the
moon. Were going to start from the top of this division this time and work out
way down. At the very top theres not much to take note of beside what appears to
be the moon, or perhaps a street light. It is high in the air which makes it seem to
be the moon but mimics the same appearance in the random light in division two.

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0.7 inches down from the top of the boarder and starting from the left boarder and
going 3.5 inches right lies this light. At nearly a perfect circle and shining a bright
yellow light it is the only thing lighting up in the background. Traveling a bit
farther down smoke begins to intrude in this division. The smoke, unlike in the
previous division becomes very light and airy at the very top, but as we travel
down the boarder of the division at the 45 degree angle the smoke begins to get
thicker, less transparent and more vivid. The light white color becomes a heavy
clear white smoke color. The smoke itself is about 3.5 inches long and no more
than 1 inch wide. Moving left from the smoke stands two young men. The first
one closer to the smoke is 2 inches tall and from what I can tell and nearly an inch
wide. This man is dressed in all black. He almost blends in with the background.
Maybe on purpose, perhaps for the fact to draw no attention His stance seems
relaxed and almost at awe, his facial features are blurry but appear to be happy. 0.2
inches to his right stands a man nearly his polar opposite. He is smaller measuring
out to be 1.5 inches tall and 0.5 inches wide, dressed in all white besides his hat
that makes him very noticeable, and his body language is drastically different. His
arms are raised like he is in the middle of screaming or cheering. A bandana covers
his face so we are unable to see his expression but his body languages gives just as
much off. This man his drastically different from the one standing beside him in
nearly every way like each represents the difference point

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