IS THIS TENNIS PHOTO REAL ...OR COULD IT BE FAKE...

[Benice]

They didn't need a photo to prove that.   Madeleine went to the creche on that day the Nanny in charge would confirm that.

Not to mention countless other holidaymakers/parents who were in the same vicinity as the McCanns and who may have passed them on the street or were at the play area at the same time - or whose children played with Madeleine at the creche that day etc. etc.   Families with twins do tend to attract attention.   

The idea that it is only those people who gave witness statements saying when they saw Madeleine are the only people who saw her that week is totally unrealistic.

On the other hand there would be no reason for other people who remember seeing her to make a point of letting the authorities know that - as there were no claims being made that she wasn't alive and well on Tuesday.
AIMHO

[Robittybob1]

Visual re-enforcement for any verbal evidence.
People can be mistaken, but a photo - who would argue with that, other than photoshop? 

The trouble with the Tennis Ball photo is the lack of context (if that is that right word)  There is no other person in the photo, no background objects to place the scene, no great shadow that would help us discern the time of day it was taken.

[jassi]

In my opinion loads of people have done, can and do spend a very great deal of their time and bandwith on exactly that; arguing and discussing each and every photograph which features Madeleine, ever published in the public domain.

On this thread we are playing groundhog day with yet another discussion of the 'tennis photograph' ... no doubt soon the 'last photograph' will probably receive it's airing on the forum yet again.

The technology does exist, and has done for quite some time to expose photoshop doctored images, so were I you I would have absolutely no fear that the official images of Madeleine have been interfered with for nefarious purposes.

Certainly true if you have the original high quality data available.  More difficult when all that is available is a lower quality version, or even a photograph of a photograph.

[G-Unit]

Why do you say very few photo's were taken?   You don't know that.   There could be lots,  the fact you haven't seen them is no reason to say there aren't any.   Probably they had other children in them and so they haven't been made public.

The photos in the PJ files show the group's children. It's not clear who submitted them, but it's doubtful that the ones taken in the Payne's apartment or on the beach were the McCann's because they were't there. I don't recall them claiming ownership of the playground photos. They have claimed ownership of just two; the tennis photo and the pool photo. Neither appear in the files. I can think of only two reasons why not.

1. The PJ withheld them.
2. The McCanns didn't surrender them.

[Brietta]

Certainly true if you have the original high quality data available.  More difficult when all that is available is a lower quality version, or even a photograph of a photograph.

I think you are right there; just having a look at different copies of the same image which appears on many different sources illustrates your point perfectly.  Sometimes the difference is quite marked.
The tennis photograph is a case in point ... I've seen quite a few of that print which have been altered in some way and not necessarily on purpose.

[Carana]

The trouble with the Tennis Ball photo is the lack of context (if that is that right word)  There is no other person in the photo, no background objects to place the scene, no great shadow that would help us discern the time of day it was taken.

The purpose was to highlight Madeleine so that someone might recognise her (not extraneous distracting elbows or other details for wannabe armchair sleuths).

[sadie]

The trouble with the Tennis Ball photo is the lack of context (if that is that right word)  There is no other person in the photo, no background objects to place the scene, no great shadow that would help us discern the time of day it was taken.

But the shaley-orangey colour is correct when compared to OC tapas tennis courts.  It is the correct colour and many tennis courts do not have that colour surround.  Checked on GE of 2007

Thanks to misty reminding me, I now know that the green is the main playing part of the tennis court.
 and that too matches GE representation of OC Tapas courts 

I am not sure that this is terribly important tho.

[slartibartfast]

But the shale is the correct colour and many tennis courts do not have that colour surround.  Checked on GE of 2007

Many do.

[sadie]

Many do.

Agreed, but do many have a playing area in a green colour too?   Or an adjoining lawn area?

[misty]

But the shale is the correct colour and many tennis courts do not have that colour surround.  Checked on GE of 2007

I am not sure whether the green is grass or the main playing part of the tennis court.   It could be either, but in the Tapas area it is worth noticing that the orange shaled area adjoins a grassed at its North end.

I am not sure that this is terribly important tho.

It's not a shale court, Sadie. It's an all-weather hard court, which is basically porous tarmac with special anti-slip coloured paint, usually red or green applied to the surface. The lines are painted on after.
I found shale courts difficult to play on as a child as footing is not very secure. Your shoes & socks also end up covered in brown dust. That type of court needs constant sweeping & the line markings are nailed down.

[sadie]

It's not a shale court, Sadie. It's an all-weather hard court, which is basically porous tarmac with special anti-slip coloured paint, usually red or green applied to the surface. The lines are painted on after.
I found shale courts difficult to play on as a child as footing is not very secure. Your shoes & socks also end up covered in brown dust. That type of court needs constant sweeping & the line markings are nailed down.

You are quite right misty.  It is shale coloured and I too used to play on shale courts.

A correction to my previous post where I said the green could be grass.  Robin Banks has shown a photo that has not been so cropped and it is clear from lines showing on that the green area is the actual playing area of the courts.  It is not grass.

The green/ shaley coloured orange combination is quite common, but so also are other colour combinations.   I prefer to think that the photo is campletely genuine and the court colour supports that.

[slartibartfast]

Agreed, but do many have a playing area in a green colour too?   Or an adjoining lawn area?

Yes.

[sadie]

Yes.

I agree some do, but a lot dont.

[slartibartfast]

I agree some do, but a lot dont.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the photo was taken previously at a local tennis court and used because it was a good photograph.

[Brietta]

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the photo was taken previously at a local tennis court and used because it was a good photograph.

That is very logical.

The photograph was taken in Praia da Luz.  So what?

The photograph was taken elsewhere.  So what?

There is absolutely no question that wherever it was taken ... it is a photograph of Madeleine McCann ... and therefore it cannot possibly be a fake.