It all goes back to the comment Innominate made about the possibility of the shutter not having been raised at all & Kate having false memory.
What I have deduced from all the shutter talk is the slats would have to be virtually all open for anyone inside the apartment to see out into the car park as the slats on the shutter open from the top down. That would have let quite a lot of streetlight into the apartment but, more importantly, I think it would have been noticeable to anyone walking through the car park
Soz misty to disagree.
1) According to talk at the time, the street lights gave out very little light anyway; they were replaced fairly soon after Madeleine vanished. The photos you see do not necessarily show how strong the lights actually were, because the intensity of light depends on how long the exposure was.
Long exposure = stronger appearing light.
Lower exposure = weaker appearing light.
Nobody is likely to take a photo that is dead on the correct exposure time ... and a longer exposure will give a better image, so the betting is that the images show the lights stronger than they were.
2) there were three lights that would have illuminated the car park and/or the shutters had there been no trees (as in later photos)
i) The light at the entrance to the car park, but this had its lamp amongst the head and leaves of two trees. Little light apart from odd fragments would get thru here.
ii) The light on Tannerman corner (He was walking towards it). We have all seen the massive bank of trees at that NE corner of block 5 . John posted the photo of that in the last couple of days. No light would have penetrated that
IMO
iii) The lamp directly opposite the Mccanns patio on Rua Francisco Gentils Martin. Because the NE corner of the kitchen of 5A blanked light out, that lamp would not illuminate the shutters on Madeleines bedroom nor the front door at all.
IMO, the only light that would be thrown on the window would be light originating from the Communal hallway into the other Tapas apartments. There was no direct route for this light but some might have been reflected from the walkway wall. (the walkway immediately in front of the building). I doubt that would amount to much.
3) Anyone walking across the car park would be doing so at a very definite angle Pls look at GE and draw a line representing the route someone would have walked to the centre of the block where that walkway started. As you enter the car park cut the corner as a walker would. You will find that the angle that the person had to walk meant that his periferal vision did not allow him to see Madeleines window.
After dark, he would be looking where he was going and without deliberately looking around, he would NOT see Madeleines window, nor the front door area. Most people, after dark look the way they are walking.
Interestingly NOT seeing Madeleines window because his periferal vision dioes not reach that far, applies both coming and going.
I have used Heribertos chart for Periferal vision limits
I really think that so long as an intruder made no noise, with the lack of light and periferal vision situation, he was pretty safe from anyone seeing him outside Madeleines window or outside the front door. Same as the raised shutter would be out of normal view to Tapas group coming and going.
When I was there in 2010, the car park was dismal and the walkway area after the hallway mentioned above, was even more dismal / dark. The front door area seemed pitch black
Sorry this is so long. I doubt anyone will bother to read it !
