Tennis Balls Photo - NEW ANALYSIS by Michelle Monk Photography

by **Tony Bennett** 03.11.18 20:21

A new analysis of the controversial Tennis Balls Photo has been uploaded to YouTube by a lady who runs a photographic business.

I think it is worth discussing.

It was uploaded on 20 October and has already ratcheted up over 10,000 views in just two weeks - a promising start.

It has been put on YouTube by:

Michelle Monk Photography ... Published, on Oct 20, 2018: "As promised, I have analysed Madeleine MCann's Tennis Ball Photo in great detail using Lightroom and Photoshop CC".

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I will say at the outset that I do not by any means accept all of her evidence, in particular I reject most of the "it just doesn't look right" comments.

However, I am interested in what she says about the possibility - much discussed on CMOMM - that in this controversial photo, Madeleine's head may have been shopped on to another girl's body. This would answer so many questions about this photo, which we must remember is supposed to have been taken by two or three different people on two or three different days (see Lizzy HideHo Taylor's excellent videos on the subject).

I am interested in whatever observations people with significant digital camera and photoshopping experience have on this video. One thing that this lady does help us on is how easy it is to add bits of details or 'brush' bits on to or off a photograph. Fascinating.

Her videos should be viewed side by side with Petermac's brilliant observations on the Tennis Balls Photo, here:

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and here

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And here is the Tennis Balls Photo:

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by **Tony Bennett** 05.11.18 20:27

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ABOVE VIDEO RECEIVED FROM PETERMAC

Petermac has sent up these observations on Michelle Monk's analysis:

"It doesn't feel / look right' is not evidence of anything, but may be a pointer to more experienced people to research and try to explain. The original image is so grainy that blowing it up only exacerbates the compression artefacts that we were alerted to during the analysis of the Pool Photo, which was 7 mega pixels. In my opinion this indicates it was NOT taken on the Canon PowerShot, the McCanns' camera, as I mentioned in Chapter 22.

HOWEVER . . .

The sharp vertical cut off of the pink hat on the [our] right side and the bits of pink/red under the hair line on the [our] left are interesting.

by Guest 07.11.18 8:19

I have never thought the picture is photo-shopped. I've seen no evidence that stood up to scrutiny.

The real question is who took it and when (I think we know where - it's been done to death).

I think it was taken early in the holiday when gathering armfuls of tennis balls was a novelty.

by **Tony Bennett** 07.11.18 10:37

BlueBag wrote:I have never thought the picture is photo-shopped. I've seen no evidence that stood up to scrutiny.

The real question is who took it and when (I think we know where - it's been done to death).

I think it was taken early in the holiday when gathering armfuls of tennis balls was a novelty.

@ BlueBag Thank you very much for your comments. I know you require the best of evidence before accepting anything as fact or going with any hypothesis, and that is a helpful thing on this forum and we all appreciate it.

You wrote: "The real question is who took it and when (I think we know where - it's been done to death)".

REPLY: I am not sure I'm aware that we know exactly where it was taken - can you say what your belief is please?

Just to re-cap on some of the main features regarding this photo:

* It's claimed to have been taken by two or three different people

* It's claimed to have been taken on two or three different days

* The physical features on the girl's body (marks, scratches, bruises etc.) look nothing like the Madeleine we see in e.g. the 'Last Photo' by the pool

* Petermac's analysis suggests that it was probably NOT taken on Kate's Canon Sureshot, and

* the account given by Kate McCann in her book of how the photograph came to be taken does not (putting this politely) have the 'ring of truth' about it.

You also wrote: "I think it was taken early in the holiday when gathering armfuls of tennis balls was a novelty".

REPLY: Then we would have to ask why it was apparently NOT taken by Kate McCann, and why we do not have a credible, coherent explanation of who took it and when. And why is it not admitted to be taken 'early in the holiday'.

The discrepancy between the head which is clearly Madeleine and the rest of the girl's body seems to many of us very stark.

Let me ask you a direct question Do you rule out altogether the possibility that Madeleine's head was shopped on to the body of another girl? Or do you think it might be possible for an expert to conclude that it HAD been photoshopped?

Any other observations you have on this curious photo would be welcomed.

ETA: Have you read both of Petermac's two chapters on the Tennis Balls Photo, and if so, do you have any additional observations?

by Guest 07.11.18 14:25

I think it was taken looking down on the tennis courts by the children's playground.

It's from an elevated angle - upper level.

It was argued out ages ago.

I think it was taken early because tennis balls are obviously still a novelty to Madeleine.

by **Jill Havern** 07.11.18 16:25

From PeterMac:

wholly consistent with Madeleine standing close to the chain link fencing and looking up at the photographer
There are only 3 possible 'T' spots, and the one in the photo is clearly the centre one.
Given the space between it and the base line it cannot be one of the side ones.

Madeleine is therefore standing in the Yellow zone

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by NickE 07.11.18 18:51

BlueBag wrote:I have never thought the picture is photo-shopped. I've seen no evidence that stood up to scrutiny.

The real question is who took it and when (I think we know where - it's been done to death).

I think it was taken early in the holiday when gathering armfuls of tennis balls was a novelty.

This is a mess.
They showed a reconstruction in Crimewatch special 2013 when "Madeleine was playing Tennis with her parents" and media claimed the Tennis ball photo was taken at that time.
Not on mini tennis?
I'am pretty sure BBC had talked to TM/Mitchell about the content in Crimewatch Special before it was broadcast, or?
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The only time I can find when Kate and Gerry played together and she was not in creche was Sunday morning.
Geogina Jackson:
"In the morning"
It seems from the Tennis booking sheets was the first lesson in the morning at 9:00 but....
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according to this unmarked creche record(Sunday?) Madeleine was signed in at 9:15.
Who signed her in if Gerry and Kate had a Tennis lesson at 9:00?
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It's wrong somewhere.
I doubt the Tennis ball photo is legit but if it is it could been taken 9:00-9:15 on Sunday but the Tennis coach did not say anything about that Kate left the lesson to drop her off in creche, the coach didn't say anything about seeing Madeleine on the court.

by joyce1938 07.11.18 23:58

I wrote what I know kate said ,she decided one evening early ,took the kids to see daddy playing ,she might have written it in her book ,some time after the event ofcourse.Thia was when they normally were near to bed time ,So I think and have done for a time now .That was when the picture was taken ,it seems to fit better than anything else we have tried to fit into.joyce1938

by Guest 08.11.18 8:20

Jill Havern wrote:From PeterMac:

wholly consistent with Madeleine standing close to the chain link fencing and looking up at the photographer
There are only 3 possible 'T' spots, and the one in the photo is clearly the centre one.
Given the space between it and the base line it cannot be one of the side ones.

Madeleine is therefore standing in the Yellow zone

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I absolutely agree.

As I said, the question is who took it and more importantly when?.

by Guest 08.11.18 11:25

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Joyce1938 wrote:I have been saying for some time ,that mrs decided to take kids down to see daddy play ,I think It may have been in the book she wrote later.I don't think anyone replied to what I said ,Very pleased to see another has noticed it .joyce1938

by Marco 12.11.18 20:26

It's not photoshopped, it's cropped to remove any possibility of timeline analysis. That's why we have seen nothing from any guest in terms of photo or video, when in reality there would be a plentiful supply of images of the overall scene. A major censorship has occurred of these so that no stories can be challenged. I dont know why the PJ allowed this to happen as seizing all cameras would have been perfectly legitimate in the search of an "abductor" who may have been observing the scene if the story is to be believed...

by crispbee2000 08.12.18 15:37

Do we know what the actual image file was that was passed to police and is it available to download? I have experience with Adobe products and PS in particular and would like to see for myself. However, I'm concerned that there's different versions out there (most of which are too low res to investigate) and the only meaningful investigation is one done on a copy of the image file as presented by team McCann to the police. All help appreciated.

by **Tony Bennett** 08.12.18 23:13

crispbee2000 wrote:Do we know what the actual image file was that was passed to police and is it available to download? I have experience with Adobe products and PS in particular and would like to see for myself. However, I'm concerned that there's different versions out there (most of which are too low res to investigate) and the only meaningful investigation is one done on a copy of the image file as presented by team McCann to the police. All help appreciated.

Thank you very much for your interest.

The best work on the Tennis Balls Photo has been carried out by retired Police Superintendent 'PeterMac' and I think the second of his two analyses (links below) has some technical details you might find useful.

I will copy your message to him in case he has any observations


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and here

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by crispbee2000 09.12.18 9:12

Many thanks for your help. Yes I had seen those posts and they are very useful. However, Peter talks about there being "2 versions in circulation". Presumably on the web. This is a long way from finding out what the original image file was that was submitted to police by team McCann and ensuring that any analysis is performed on a copy of that image and not one that has been manipulated by all and sundry before you get to it ;o). I assume that Mitchell submitted the image file to Leicestershire police and probably they would be holding the original image file? Thanks again

by Guest 09.12.18 12:42

crispbee2000 wrote:Many thanks for your help. Yes I had seen those posts and they are very useful. However, Peter talks about there being "2 versions in circulation". Presumably on the web. This is a long way from finding out what the original image file was that was submitted to police by team McCann and ensuring that any analysis is performed on a copy of that image and not one that has been manipulated by all and sundry before you get to it ;o). I assume that Mitchell submitted the image file to Leicestershire police and probably they would be holding the original image file? Thanks again

Where does this information about the McCanns giving an original image file to the police originate?

I quote .... "I assume that Mitchell submitted the image file to Leicestershire police and probably they would be holding the original image file?"

This image has been through more reconstruction than the US 9/11 incident. Here's another one for you to digest..

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Sorry, where's my manners .... welcome

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by crispbee2000 10.12.18 16:30

Thanks for the welcome and link Verdi. I'm happy to be corrected about the provenance of the tennis balls image. I recall from one of the youtube films (not sure which one) that it was stated that Mitchell submitted the image file to the police. But of course that needs verification. If anyone can help at all regarding how the image first came to light and who was involved, that would be very useful. There's talk of the original image being transposed horizontally and I assume that it had to be the uncropped version. The struggle I'm having is that so much info comes from video footage and there's so many hours of it, it is hard to remember when things are stated, find them again so that you can attempt to verify everything that is being stated as fact. Clearly much of what is out there is supposition (deliberate or otherwise). I have no desire to add to the muddle!

by NickE 05.01.19 18:09

Anyone knows the name of Pat Perkins husband?

by crispbee2000 05.01.19 20:17

Is it possible that the email chain sent 7th May by Pat was the first publication of the tennis balls photo? If so, is there any way to get a copy of the email and attachment?

by Guest 05.01.19 21:04

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Madeleine's Family Send Out Email Poster Sky News (article no longer available online)

Updated: 15:10, Wednesday May 09, 2007

The family of missing Madeleine McCann have drawn up a poster to circulate in a chain email to help find the three-year-old.

The 'e-poster' has been composed by Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann.

Ms McCann is the sister of Gerry McCann, Maddie's father, and lives in Scotland.

She told Sky News: "If people can help us get Madeleine back that's great. We need to get her back. We must find her. It's not an option to lose her.

"The whole family need her here. She's an integral member of this family. We all love children. Gerry and Kate (Madeleine's parents) have dedicated their lives to helping people."

The effort to find Madeleine McCann has gone online in further ways.

An appeal has been launched by Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and the international Virtual Global Taskforce.

On their websites, accessed in more than half the countries of the world, they are calling on anyone who has information to call the Portugese police, or Crimestoppers in the UK.

Thousands of messages of support for the family are continuing to be sent to Sky News Online.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman was asked about the case by reporters today. He said: "These are very difficult days for first and foremost the family."

In Portugal, police have recovered another item of child's clothing, but have not commented on whether it is Madeleine's or not.

Two 'Cracker'-style criminal behaviour experts, from the Child Exploitation and online Protection Centre - which tackles international child sex abuse have arrived to help police.

The move comes after details of British paedophiles with links to the Algarve were handed over to Portuguese investigators, local reports said.

The British Ambassador has defended Portugal's police in their efforts to trace the three-year-old.

John Buck said he had received assurances at the highest level that detectives are doing all they can to find Madeleine and that her parents Kate and Gerry are happy with the investigation.

Portuguese football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Ferreira, along with John Terry, have made video appeals for information to find Madeleine, from Rothley, near Leicester.

The youngster disappeared on Thursday night after she was left with her brother and sister, two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, in a holiday apartment.

Her parents had been dining in a nearby restaurant and checking on them regularly.

A vigil has been held in Madeleine's home village as family and friends prayed for the youngster to be found safe and well.

:: There are new numbers to call for people with any information:

If you in the UK, call Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.

If you in Portugal, call the Judicial Police +351 282 405 400.

[Acknowledgement Nigel Moore of mccannfiles.com]

by Guest 05.01.19 21:08

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by crispbee2000 05.01.19 22:13

Thanks Verdi. So, if the first use of the tennis balls photo was for the purposes of identification (i.e. selected for the e-poster) and only later was an attempt made to make it "the last photo", it would seem to make the case for the photo being genuine stronger? Mind you, everything in this case is stranger than strange, as selection of this image for id purposes doesn't seem obvious!

by **PeterMac** 05.01.19 22:48

if the first use of the tennis balls photo was for the purposes of identification (i.e. selected for the e-poster) and only later was an attempt made to make it "the last photo", it would seem to make the case for the photo being genuine stronger?

Not sure about that in the way you put it.
The date on the press release from Sky is 15:10, Wednesday May 09, 2007 .
It goes on to say that it was prepared by Philomena (or her husband and the ex-pupil who charged £ 37,000 for setting up the £20 web site)
So the image has to get from the McCanns' camera (and we remember that ALL the images were handed over and Gerry swore in a signed statement that he had no more in his possession ) to Philomena and Tony's computer - the one with the perverted swamp and quicksand images in the hard drive - be made into a crude poster, saved, downloaded, and then sent all the way back to wherever it was released.
To Sky, in fact, since I am not aware of any hard copies being seen in PdL or anywhere else [need help on this, was anyone else aware of it in 2007 ? !]
all within 4 days.

I think this makes the case against the photo being genuine infinitely stronger, and speaks more to image manipulation by the master himself. Why they bothered is not clear, when they could simply have cropped the Pool Photo, or used one of the Play house images., and made the poster in PdL on the lap top, and sent it out from the local internet cafe even if there was no decent connection in the apartment. Perhaps they already realised they needed the Pool Photo for later.

by **Tony Bennett** 05.01.19 23:01

PeterMac wrote:if the first use of the tennis balls photo was for the purposes of identification (i.e. selected for the e-poster) and only later was an attempt made to make it "the last photo", it would seem to make the case for the photo being genuine stronger?

Not sure about that in the way you put it.
The date on the press release from Sky is 15:10, Wednesday May 09, 2007 .
It goes on to say that it was prepared by Philomena (or her husband and the ex-pupil who charged £ 37,000 for setting up the £20 web site)
So the image has to get from the McCanns' camera (and we remember that ALL the images were handed over and Gerry swore in a signed statement that he had no more in his possession ) to Philomena and Tony's computer - the one with the perverted swamp and quicksand images in the hard drive - be made into a crude poster, saved, downloaded, and then sent all the way back to wherever it was released.
To Sky, in fact, since I am not aware of any hard copies being seen in PdL or anywhere else [need help on this, was anyone else aware of it in 2007 ? !]
all within 4 days.

I think this makes the case against the photo being genuine infinitely stronger, and speaks more to image manipulation by the master himself. Why they bothered is not clear, when they could simply have cropped the Pool Photo, or used one of the Play house images., and made the poster in PdL on the lap top, and sent it out from the local internet cafe even if there was no decent connection in the apartment. Perhaps they already realised they needed the Pool Photo for later.

QUOTE: "I think this makes the case against the [Tennis Balls] photo being genuine infinitely stronger..."

+1

Meticulous attention to detail, so glad we are having your direct input again, Petermac.

The ONLY two photos of Madeleine claimed to have been taken after Sunday are riddled with serious issues.

Neither appears to be good evidence in support of Madeleine being alive after Sunday

by Guest 05.01.19 23:48

Three year old Madeleine was missing, the investigation and the parent's were desperate to find missing Madeleine. In this age of technology making exchange of information so easy, why oh why did Philomena McCann use such a distorted peculiar image of Madeleine for Sky News (that name again) to circulate for a missing persons alert.

Why not this image, indisputably taken at the Ocean Club playground very early in the holiday, probably at least one of the very last photographs of Madeleine ever taken. It's even included in the photographs documented by the PJ investigation, as can be seen from the PJ files released into the public domain..

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Anybody would think they didn't want Madeleine to be recognised.

by **PeterMac** 06.01.19 7:24

It makes it more likely that the tennis balls photo was not in the McCanns camera memory stick, but was in circulation amongst the extended family.
The Mccanns surrendered only 3 photos of Madeleine to the PJ
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NOT the Tennis balls photo
NOT the Pool photo
But these latter are the ONLY photos whose provenance is described by Kate in her autobiography, and suspiciously with far too much detail.
Both however appear to have been at some stage in the possession of Sister Philomena and Quicksand Tony immediately before their respective release into the public domain.

Another coincidence.

by **PeterMac** 06.01.19 7:29

Google Image search gives three versions

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The Flickr one may have some EXIF metadata for the poster as a whole.

by crispbee2000 07.01.19 8:40

Excellent points all. So, the pertinent question for me is - is there a version of the photo as it appeared in the initial release via Sky that can be analysed with better than reasonable chance that it represents what was released 09 May and hasn't been saved, re-saved, subsequently manipulated by others of unknown intent with unpredictable consequences. If the anomalies found by Michelle Monk and others could be verified to exist in the original "release" it would go a long way to proving wrong-doing over the claims of the provenance of the photo. As this was a chain email I'm guessing they didn't send a high res image / large attachment? Michelle seems to be working on a larger image than the ones I can find on the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by **PeterMac** 07.01.19 9:54

Neither of these has EXIF attached that I can discover
The PhilomenaTony poster is cropped still further.
Unclear why

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by crispbee2000 07.01.19 15:54

OK, here's what I'm thinking. If the shot above was taken at face value as an un-modified image there are serious issues with halos and extraneously coloured pixels where they shouldn't be. However, if you over saturate the image you can clearly see larger blocks of pixels clearly indicating that the image has been reduced in size dramatically (much more that 10x I would say). If I take one of my own images at normal digicam size and save it as jpg resizing to about 500x400 pixels I see many of the same types of halo and extraneous pixels and this occurs without any manipulation, other than resizing the image. It's not unreasonable that team McCann would have shrunk the image to send it out via email.

So, unless there's any higher res original image file versions out there to investigate, I don't think that we can conclude anything about this image from a photoshop perspective. Of course all of the other anomalies about dates, weather, skin tan, head body ratios, hair colour etc. are valid and are still to be resolved. Hope this helps.....[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by **PeterMac** 07.01.19 16:49

I think you are right. We were immensely privileged is having access to the "original" of the Pool Photo with the EXIF metadata intact.
Without the original Tennis Balls photo there is little we can do except discuss