Imagine that you are a jury member at the trial of the Brooklyn shooting described by Detective Harris. As a juror, you're asked to imagine an event you did not see and make enough sense of it to render a judgment of fact (refer to the section on arguments of fact in Chapter 8, pages 530-33). How do the five different shots of the supermarket at the corner of Bergen Street and Kingston Avenue help you contextualize the alleged crime? What shots would be most influential in your assessment of the case and why? What opposed interpretations of the crime scene photos could the prosecution and defense possibly offer?
Detective Harris writes about taking crime scene photos with an audience in mind: the potential jury. He takes shots from different perspectives to give jury members records through which they can assess witness testimony credible or not, and he hopes to give them an overall context of the crime. Keeping in mind Harris's goals for crime scene photography, try your hand at "crime scene" photography. Seek out some kind of static event on campus or in your neighborhood—a car that's been dented, a picnic table that's been moved from its usual spot, or a site that's been roped off for construction. Take a series digital photographs that can help an audience reconstruct what event led up to the scene you've chosen. Write a series of explanatory captions that explain the perspectives and mise en scene you've chosen.
