MMRG: The 'Last Photo' Key Questions and Research - are we yet at Beyond a Reasonable Doubt?

Questions first posed by by Tony Bennett on 26.02.11 10:10

1. Why was that 'last photo' of Madeleine not available on Thursday 3 May 2007?

2. Why did it take a visit to England by Dr Gerald McCann to produce it?

3. Was it really taken at 1.29pm/2.29pm on Thursday 3 May?

4. Who took it?

5. Was it photoshopped, by either Dr Gerald McCann and Amelie, or Madeleine, being 'photoshopped in' to an existing photograph?

6. What is the evidence that the photo was 'photoshopped'?

For discussion please visit this thread: https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t2143-the-last-photo-the-key-questions

The discussion into the Last Photo has undoubtedly created some of our most important research which has unearthed the McCanns deceit of trying to make people believe Madeleine was alive and well on Thursday 3rd May. Why?

The following thread has generated 37 pages of debate which then resulted in the creation of several 'Last Photo' research chapters in PeterMac's e-book, 'What Really Happened To Madeleine McCann?'. The e-book has been submitted to Operation Grange and the Portuguese Attorney-General with the request to investigate an earlier death.




























For discussion please visit this thread: https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t10497-another-look-at-the-last-photo

------------
Related links from PeterMac's e-book 'What really happened to Madeleine McCann?'

Chapter 12: Floppy sun hats and flapping curtains ?
This chapter emerged from the more formal Last Photo, Pool Photo work, when we started looking at weather charts, wind surfing competitions at Portimao, personal diaries of ex-pats, and the descriptions of temperature and weather in the Tapas group's statements and Rogatories.

It was soon realised that regardless of anything else, the wind and weather are capable of proving - on the balance of probabilities at the very least -
that the Last Pool photo cannot have been taken at lunchtime on 3/5/7
and that the curtains cannot have 'whooshed' at 10 pm on 3/5/7.

Chapter 14: The Last Photo = The Pool Photo


This is a heavily edited version of a paper which originally ran to 9 pages, with 24 pages of references, and four Appendices. Much of this appeared on CMoMM a long time ago. This analysis can be read independently of the 'Floppy Sun Hats and Flapping curtains' chapter, but overlaps with it.

Examination of this photo advanced in three main stages

First was to look at the photo and the statements surrounding it, and to examine who took it, and on which camera, and to ask why it was never, at any stage, released to the PJ.
This quickly led to the realisation that the photo itself was apparently sound. There was a robust argument about whether it had been photoshopped, but the strength of expert evidence is against this.
This in turn led to an examination of other aspects of it, the obvious weather, and the apparent wind speed being amongst these.
That led to yet another question. If the Last Photo was not taken at lunchtime on Thursday 3rd May, then when was it taken? Very quickly the only possible day presented itself, and this conclusion has defied serious destructive analysis.
That is dealt with in the Chapter (Floppy Sun hats and Flapping curtains)
From there the sequence of events, the identity of the person involved in the alteration of the Metadata, of the person who transported the finished image to PdL, and the person who then put this mendacious image into the public domain can easily be identified.
They are of course Capt. Louis Renault’s ‘Usual Suspects.’
But here, IF what we suspect turns out to be correct, then all four might be Guilty of Conspiracy to Pervert the Course of Justice.
Of course if we are wrong, then they are not ! Only they know - know - the truth.

Chapter 15: Almost the last word on the Last Photo !
In the Chapter Floppy sun hats and flapping curtains I showed how the Last Photo, the Pool Photo could not have been taken at lunchtime on 3rd May.
In the Chapter The Last Photo I showed how it was clearly possible for four clearly identifiable people, acting in concert, to take the image, alter the EXIF Metadata, take it back to PdL, and hand it to the person responsible for putting it into the public domain.
Both Chapters concentrated on proving what the photo was NOT.
Here I return to the theme, and try to establish what the photo actually IS.
In other words, when was it taken ?

Chapter 28: The Pool Photo refuses to go away
The Pool Photo is of crucial importance. Of that there can be little doubt.

Appendix to Chapter 28: Two Photos which tell an important story
Balance of probabilities ? or are we yet at  Beyond a reasonable doubt ?

Chapter 12: Floppy sun hats and flapping curtains ?

Preamble

This chapter emerged from the more formal Last Photo, Pool Photo work, when we started looking at weather charts, wind surfing competitions at Portimao, personal diaries of ex-pats, and the descriptions of temperature and weather in the Tapas group's statements and Rogatories.
It was soon realised that regardless of anything else, the wind and weather are capable of proving - on the balance of probabilities at the very least -
that the Last Pool photo cannot have been taken at lunchtime on 3/5/7
and that the curtains cannot have 'whooshed' at 10 pm on 3/5/7

Both are independent of any other considerations, and this Chapter can stand alone for this reason.


“We then sat round the toddler pool for a while, dipping our feet in, and I took what has turned out to be my last photograph to date of Madeleine.”

The time in the EXIF metadata is shown as 13:29, but the McCanns were at great pains to point out that this time was one hour wrong, and it was actually taken at 14:29

Date/Time Original 2007:05:03 13:29:51+01:00

The photo shows Gerry wearing sunglasses, T shirt and shorts, with a slight sheen of perspiration across his forehead, the children in sun hats, which are casting shadows, there are clear shadows cast by the tree, and by the sun beds.

The edges of the shadows are sharp, indicating bright sun.

However, the weather records for Thursday 3rd May 2007 in Praia da Luz tell a totally different story.


At 1pm the temperature was 17º C, (62ºF) This is relatively cold.
At 2pm the temperature had risen to 18ºC (64ºF) Again not hot enough for sweat to break out on the brow of a man wearing nothing more than a thin cotton T shirt and shorts.

Across the top of the figure is a grey bar which indicates the cloud cover.
At 1pm and 2pm it is shown as 50%

By 4:30pm it was 90% so we may deduce that at lunchtime there may have been cloud cover somewhat greater than 50% and increasing as the afternoon progressed.

It also shows TWO separate cloud layers, one at 540m which then rises to 740m, and a higher one at 2700m

The record for the entire holiday week is even more instructive.



Here we see a clear pattern of the temperature falling and the cloud cover increasing between Sunday evening 29 April, and the following Friday morning 4 May

When we consider the Last Photo we must ask the following questions.
What do we SEE
What do we KNOW
and then
What can we DEDUCE ?

We see
Shadows have sharp outlines
Shadows more or less vertical
Bright reflection from human skin
Bright reflection from objects
Sheen of perspiration on Gerry's forehead
Children in very light dress
Children in sun hats
Gerry wearing very dark sunglasses
Gerry wearing T shirt and shorts
Bright and sharp reflection in sunglasses
Father and children with feet in the water

We know
The pool was very cold - all week
Weather for the rest of the week was cold and cloudy

What do we deduce ?
The photo was taken on a pleasantly warm or even a hot day.
It was taken when the sun was more or less overhead. Solar Zenith was at 13:29 for the days in question. Therefore, in layman’s terms the sun was overhead between 12:30 and 2:30 pm
There were no low clouds and there was no high overcast

But surely wind speed and direction depend on other factors, buildings, vegetation . .

You make a very valid point.
Wind speed IS measured about 3m from the ground, and in an open area, for the obvious reasons that you give. The ground has a frictional resistance, there are walls, buildings, street furniture, and then hedges and trees, all of which will act to slow the apparent speed at human level
The wind speed and direction at lunchtime is given as 7.2 m/s, or a stiff breeze, Force 4, and the direction approximately WSW, or bearing 250


In fact this is across a large patch of waste land, tennis courts and then the very low wall by the Tennis courts in the Ocean club, which are protected only by chain link fencing. The vegetation, although there is some, is low.

As we can see there is not much of a barrier to reduce the force of the wind.

And I suppose that even reducing Force 4 would only bring it down to Force 3

Well exactly, and if we look again at Madeleine’s very fine hair falling across her face, and her floppy little sun hat, we are entitled to ask whether they were sitting in any wind at all.


But if I may digress slightly, this raises another very interesting point,

Let us stick with the issue of wind force and direction .. .

Later that evening, around 10pm Kate tells us what happened when she entered the apartment.

Her first statement said the curtains were wide open,
[Quote]and immediately noticed that the door to her children's bedroom was completely open, the window was also open, the shutters raised and the curtains open, while she was certain of having closed them all as she always did.”

But later we have seen repeated interviews, and read in the autobiography, which say they were tight closed.

but I just noticed that the door, the bedroom door where the three children were sleeping, was open much further than we’d left it.
I went to close it to about here, and then as I got to here, it suddenly . . . slammed, . . . . and literally as I went back in, the curtains of the bedroom which were drawn, [demonstrates with both forearms together] that were closed, “wheesh’ like a gust of wind kind of blew them open.

[extract from book] p. 71 “Then I noticed that the door to the children’s bedroom was open quite wide, not how we had left it. At first I assumed that Matt must have moved it. I walked over and gently began to pull it to. Suddenly it slammed shut, as if caught by a draught.”


She says the door slammed even though she was holding it, and when she pushed it open again another gust “whooshed” the curtains into the room.

By 10pm the wind had died down, and was 4 m/s, Force 2, bordering on the low end of Force 3. It has also veered to WNW, or bearing 290.

Assuming the window was open, it is only 1 m x 0.5 m, so half a square meter. The door is 2 m x 0.75 m so one and a half square metres.

So any wind pressure entering the room is effectively dissipated over three times the area,
Now let us look at photos of the area outside the bedroom window.

What we see is a small car park lined with thick and high trees, a substantial wall, and then another wall just outside the window of the apartment

So the argument which says the effective speed and power of the wind is reduced by vegetation, walls, street furniture, cars and other obstacles applied here with even greater force.

This apartment window was by any standards very well sheltered

And from that we then have to imagine what wind power or force would be necessary to tear through all that barrier - and remember the wind is coming in at an angle across that road, across other areas with high buildings and thick vegetation, it is the purple line on this map


And the wind still has to have the force to get in through a small open window, and then slam a door being held by an adult, and on the second occasion to pull full length curtains from where they were jammed between the bed and the wall, or jammed behind the wicker chair, against the wall, so that they can “Whoosh”

And that wind force, would then one assumes also hit the Tapas bar around the same time, and we remember that the bar was encased in about 40 square metres of clear tarpaulin. Yet not a single guest or member of staff reports what would have been a deafening sound as those two gusts hit.

The Weather reports from Faro Airport are similarly silent on the point.

So it has been an interesting excursion, driven by responding to reasoned arguments that the wind conditions might have permitted the Last Photo to have been taken on Thursday 3rd, but leading not only to a serious suspicion, on those grounds alone that it could not have been, but also to some serious doubts about the slamming door and whooshing curtain story.

 

For discussion please visit this thread: https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t13433-chapter-12-floppy-sun-hats-and-flapping-curtains

Chapter 14: The Last Photo = The Pool Photo



1 The McCanns had a Canon PowerShot A620.
 In her book Kate only refers to a camera in the singular. My camera, our camera. She clearly states that ‘our camera’ was taken away by RO’B so that photos could be printed in the form of a poster. Later that night, when everyone had been asked to leave the apartment, the official scenes of crime photos were taken by the PJ. On the dining table the Canon PowerShot can clearly be seen. The photo session and forensic examination by the PJ took place between 0030 and 0400, 4/5/2007.
The EXIF metadata for the “Last Photo” clearly shows that it was taken on the Canon.

2 The Canon was retained by the McCanns, and neither it, nor the memory stick were apparently surrendered for examination. This camera was in Kate’s possession early on 10th May. It is not known whether the PJ were fully aware of its existence.

3 On 20th May Gerry McCann flew to England, and returned home.

4 He returned to Portugal on 22nd May, with Clarence Mitchell.

5 Gerry McCann’s sister, Philomena, also flew out to Portugal on 22nd May.

6 The “Last Photo” was released through the AFP agency on 24th May.

9 The “Last Photo” was taken with the Canon PowerShot A620 camera.

10 It is relatively simple to alter some of the EXIF metadata, including the date and time, using software freely available on the internet.

11 The EXIF metadata have clearly been accessed and amended by the AFP agency to include the description of the photo.

12 Gerry’s brother in law - Philomena’s husband - Tony Rickwood, is a photographer who is highly skilled at altering images. It is inconceivable that he does not also know how to alter the date and time in the EXIF and to erase aspects of it.
 
 13 Tony Rickwood owns several cameras, including a Canon PowerShot A480 - a model previous to the A620.

14 The McCanns lay heavy emphasis on the importance on the “Last Photo”.

15 Through their spokesman Mitchell, they go to great lengths to explain that the EXIF time might be incorrect by exactly an hour. They make no such claims for any other photo. No other photos from the Canon have been put in the public domain. In each story the words “her own camera” are used.

16 The “Last Photo” is tendered as independent evidence that Madeleine was alive and well during the early afternoon of 3rd May

17 The time given in the EXIF data for the photo is exactly Solar zenith (noon) at Faro, Portugal on 3/5/2007

 19 Rickwood is a keen astronomer, and is a member of the British Astronomical Society.
 
 20 There is a strong suspicion that the time and date on the “Last Photo” are, at the very least, unreliable. It is not thought that the image itself has been altered.

21 Almost all other such evidence is specifically stated to be uncorroborated by others in the group, and detailed explanations are given as to why this is so. This leaves the “Last Photo” as the only independent evidence of Madeleine’s being alive and well on 3rd May.

22 The visit by David Payne, and the check by Oldfield do not alter this position. There is considerable doubt as to the veracity of the crèche sheets, which contradict directly Kate’s alternative version in the book.

23 Rachel Oldfield’s statement that she saw Madeleine on the tennis court on 3rd is directly contradicted, in detail and with some force, by O’Brien. In her Rogatory Tanner speaks of Gerry having a lesson and has thus clearly confused this with the Wednesday. O’Brien contradicts this and corrects this with some force and determination, making it clear that Madeleine was NOT there on Thursday 3rd May.

Rachel Oldfield confuses the two days, putting the taking of the “tennis balls” photo on Thursday 3rd.

Kate, and O’Brien are absolutely clear that this was not 3rd.
Kate insists that she herself took the tennis balls photo on Tuesday 1st
Russell O’Brien insists it was taken on Wednesday 2nd
Rachel Oldfield states that it was taken by Jane Tanner on the Thursday 3rd.

When the witnesses talk about Madeleine’s NOT having been present, the style of the language used is very different from the rest of the Rogatory interviews. The witnesses become fluent and coherent, and we see very little of the hesitation, the linguistic fillers of “err”, ummm”; repetitions of part sentences and so on, which characterise the rest of those interviews when other aspects of their recollections are being discussed.
 
 It is accepted that when numerous witnesses are interviewed some discrepancies will be found between and among their recollections. Sophisticated computer systems now exist to highlight these so that they may be analysed. HOLMES II, ANACAPA, and others are routinely employed by CID for major enquiries.

In this case it is clear that the only person who reports having seen Madeleine on the tennis court on 3rd is mistaken. The events surrounding that ‘sighting’ make it clear from other witnesses that it is simply confusion of the day, and may not bear any sinister interpretation.

The visit to the apartment by Payne looks contrived, as it has no apparent motive. The differences between what Payne and what Gerry and then Kate report are glaring, and this reported episode must be treated with extreme caution.

As has been noted many times elsewhere, Oldfield is very quick to retreat from the position of having apparently been the last person to see Madeleine alive. Any detective will confirm that this is a highly dangerous position to be in.

The above sets out the facts, or some of them, so far as they can be ascertained. References have been cut back from the original, but are available if any mistake is identified.

But facts often require interpretation, particularly for people who are not fully acquainted with more of the background to this remarkable case.

What follows is one possible interpretation.


1 The “Last Photo” is tendered as conclusive proof of Madeleine’s having been in a particular place at a particular time. The pre-emptive insistence by the McCanns that the time was wrong by exactly one hour deserves further consideration.

This alleged difference between the recorded time and the actual time was reported by the media as the photo was released. It was not said later after questions had been asked.
This did not happen with any other photograph. We know that in any event the other photos were not dated, but this was never explained, and no attempt was taken to show how they all fitted into the scenario of the whole holiday. They are merely presented.

 It is of course entirely irrelevant whether the “Last Photo” was taken at 13:29 or 14:29 ; 12:29 or 15:29

The exact time and date of the “Play house” and the “Jumping on grass” and the “Tennis balls” photos are equally irrelevant except to show that Madeleine was with her family on holiday at that resort, which is not seriously at issue.


So what is the importance of drawing such attention to the exact time on the “Last Photo” ?
Clearly it is to do with something else, which is to draw attention to the DATE.
Given that most people were previously unaware of the existence of EXIF metadata, this had to be for a purpose.

And that purpose must be to show that Madeleine was alive and well at lunchtime on 3rd May.
But it does so in a typically blunt way, which ultimately serves to do exactly the opposite from what was intended. We recall that Clarence Mitchell accompanied Gerry on his return to PdL on 22nd, and so by 23rd was in control of what was released to the media and the wording of press releases. Does this blunt instrument bear the classic Mitchell hallmark ?

2 The “Last Photo” with Madeleine smiling and happy would have been an ideal choice for the poster put out that first night. The camera is capable of editing images, or it could have been edited on the computer from which it was eventually printed. (We note that the image was subsequently ‘cropped’ before release in another place, and later still the small part of Gerry’s elbow by Madeleine’s right ear and the lower part of Amelie's arm were skilfully photoshopped out and replaced to show the background rock wall).

THUS
http://www.justpamalam.co.uk/gmb//Written_Declaration_brussels08_corr/Slide2.JPG


But it is very easy to crop carefully excluding the bit of Gerry’s elbow - like this


This would have been a perfect, charming and heart-rending image, and it could have been given out on 4th or 5th May, printed and distributed.



and we note the pixel aspect ratio of 1888 x 2350
(See point 6 later, and work out that this was NOT taken on the Canon)

3 But yet another photo was released on 4th May, and used as a front page image by the Daily Mirror on 5th May. It is the full face portrait, which adorns the cover of the book 'madeleine', and has become the iconic image of Madeleine wearing a red dress, and showing clearly the coloboma eye defect on which so much emphasis was placed in the first years.

This one


4 We were told by Kate that on that day (3/5/07)) at 5:30pm Madeleine was “pale and worn out,. . .really tired . . wanted me to pick her up . . . so exhausted.” But on the photo timed at 2:29 Madeleine looks alert, happy and smiling.
What could have reduced an alert, happy and smiling child to pale and worn out, really tired, and exhausted in the space of three hours ? Sailing and tennis might have that capacity, in the hands of untrained and unprofessional child minders, but we recall that Madeleine did NOT play tennis that afternoon, and did NOT go sailing.

5 On the afternoon of 3rd, uniquely, all the other members of the Tapas group suddenly absented themselves from the vicinity of the Ocean Club Tapas area, and distanced themselves from the company of the McCanns. All of them - the entire group with children and grandparent - deciding simultaneously to go to the Paraiso bar, which is located on the beach some half a kilometre away.

Great play is then made of Kate’s jogging on the beach itself, and being seen by the Tapas group. This is emphasised by some of the group and by Kate in her book. It has been observed that running that particular beach is extremely difficult and punishing, the sand being very fine and soft, and offering little resistance to a running shoe. It has also been observed that the way to the beach from the apartment is very angled, and that serious runners prefer straight lines. The decision to display herself on the beach in this way is thus questionable, and may have another motive.

6 So far as can be discovered there is no reference to the Canon PowerShot camera anywhere in the files.
 The only camera referred to in the PJ files is an Olympus C-50, examined by Det. Con. Martin, and it is now believed owned by another totally unconnected family.
 
 The only two clues as to the very existence of the Canon are therefore
 • the photo of the dining table in the apartment taken by the PJ during the early hours of 4th, where the Canon can clearly be identified by its distinctive shape,


Canon PowerShot A620, capable of taking up to 7m Pixels


• and the EXIF metadata on the “ast Photo”.
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot A620
Modify Date 2007:05:24 17:41:22
11 months, 22 days, 23 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds ago
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
Related Image Height 2,304
 Related Image Width 3,072
 NOTE: The Modify Date is clearly the date the French Press agency added their comments.
 The pixel aspect ratio is correct for the Canon Powershot A 620

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona620


We do know however that twice in her book Kate reports that “my camera” had been taken away by Russell Oldfield during the late evening so that the poster could be prepared. That MUST therefore refer to the Canon. And it MUST therefore also be the Canon to which Gerry refers when he says that he has no other photos in his possession.
 Gerry also helpfully adds that it is Kate who takes most of the photos.
 In her book Kate claims ownership of the “tennis balls” photo and the ”Last Photo”.
 Since Gerry is visible in at least one of the others, the implication is clear.
 Kate took the family photos.
 
7 Gerry specifically states in a signed statement to the PJ on 10th May that he had no other photos in his possession. The PJ may have relied on this statement and assumed that he was telling the truth. The sudden appearance of the “Last Photo” after his return from the UK, with Clarence Mitchell, and after the arrival of his sister in Portugal, clearly bearing the EXIF metadata is therefore extremely suspect.

 
Can this list of facts ALL be simply coincidences ?

The camera - with the Last Photo, retained - Canon PowerShot A620
 The date of the trip to the UK
The photographic skills and knowledge of the brother-in-law
The skills and knowledge of Astronomy of the brother-in-law
The date of return to PdL, with Mitchell
The date of the trip by the sister to Portugal
The date of release of the ‘Last Photo’ to the world’s press
The pre-emptive and unnecessary insistence on looking at the time (and date) of the photo
The fact of the total lack of witnesses to show Madeleine alive on 3rd (or indeed after 29th)
The explanations for almost every difficult aspect of the story

 Or does it amount to something else ?

For discussion please visit this thread:  https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t13435-chapter-14-the-last-photo-the-pool-photo#354639

PeterMac's new e-book chapter: 'The Pool Photo refuses to go away'

The Pool Photo is of crucial importance. Of that there can be little doubt.

To put the matter simply –

IF it was taken on Thursday 3^rd May 2007 - it is capable of showing that Madeleine was alive and well at lunchtime that day

IF it was not, - then the implications go far beyond a simple misunderstanding.
The fact that it was presented by Mitchell on behalf of the McCanns as having been taken at a particular time on a particular date, and the fact that Kate unequivocally repeated this in her autobiography has great bearing on almost every aspect of the case. It goes directly to the veracity of the McCanns and the involvement of Mitchell – amongst many others.


For the full article, which is too long to post here, please visit this chapter of Peter's e-book: http://whatreallyhappenedtomadeleinemccann.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-pool-photo-refuses-to-go-away.html

I should mention that Grange had an advanced copy BEFORE this chapter was put into the public domain.
And acknowledged receipt.
AND that GA has one,
and the PJ / Portuguese Attorney-General has one. And acknowledged receipt.



****UPDATE*** Appendix: Two Photos that tell an important story
http://whatreallyhappenedtomadeleinemccann.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/chapter-28-two-photos-which-tell.html

For discussion please visit this thread: https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t15098-chapter-28-the-pool-photo-refuses-to-go-away-appendix-chapter-29-two-photos-that-tell-an-important-story

Appendix to Chapter 28: Two Photos which tell an important story


This photo, dated 3^rd May 2007, downloaded from Flickr


was taken here - Isla do Faro (google maps street view)



 
We note the heavily overcast sky. We also note the almost total lack of shadow.
The conditions and temperature may reasonably be deduced from the clothing and the body language and stance of the girl.

We also see a small patch of blue sky, and are entitled to ask where this was.

The direction of the photo may be easily deduced, by taking the shoulder of the girl, the beach, the walkway, the concrete wall, the lamp post with the distinctive globe shape and the windows of the hotel in the middle distance as markers.

Thus


This then takes us here, and we can reasonably include the clouds


Once again the pattern is clear. Open sky over the sea, heavy cloud over the land.

We could also, perhaps frivolously, fill in the details of their day. They planned a trip to the island, woke up to a cloudy day, and dressed appropriately.
They crossed the causeway, but it was so cold and windy that they did not even get far beyond the car park, before taken the obligatory photo, and immediately adjourning for a hot drink in a local cafeteria.

Later that evening, just before sunset (which was at 2022) they had a romantic stroll along the beach and he took another photo of his girlfriend


 

Some have argued that since it shows patches of blue sky, it is capable of negating all the other evidence of the weather conditions in the South of Portugal for the period under consideration.
The photo dated 3^rd May 2007, was taken from Flickr


An educated guess from a local resident and a search on google maps shows that it is here. Praia Dona Ana, Lagos


and on that same page it is included among the visitors’ photos


We can then calculate the direction in which the photo was taken
First we find the rocks in question through google maps


then apply compass points


giving us this


which when applied to a larger map gives us this


And once again the weather pattern is clear.

We look back at the photo, and roughly place the patches of blue sky, and the observable overcast, and find there is no surprise.
Over the sea there are patches of open sky.
Over the land - total cloud cover


Thus


The distance from Praia Dona Ana to the children’s pool at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz is



At the Ocean Club children's pool we are told the weather was like this


- bright sun, sharp shadows, hot, sweaty, flat calm, in fact the sort of weather which merits shorts and T shirts and sleeveless sun tops, and sun hats, and sitting with one’s feet in a very cold pool . . .

whereas less than three and a half miles away the weather was like this


What may we deduce ?

We observe that apart from the girl who took the photo, the beach is EMPTY
This little beach should look like this


In the area covered by the 3/5/7 photo there are no fewer than 42 people shown


So we apply logic, we note that Thursday 3^rd May was in the fortnight including Portuguese Freedom Day Bank Holiday on 25^th April, Labour day on 1^st May, and Mothers’ Day on 6^th May.  
The season to celebrate and have family outings to the beach
 
The Praia Dona Ana is on the edge of a heavily built up residential area at the edge of Lagos



May we at least ‘purport the theory’ that the reason for this state of affairs was that . . .
The weather was cold and windy, as everyone else says, and as all the official weather reports along the coast say, and as the World Windsurfing Championship reported, and as local residents recorded in their diaries, and as all the photos in the public domain demonstrate ?

The possibility that the Last /Pool Photo was taken at lunchtime on Thursday 3^rd May 2007 becomes ever more vanishingly small.




Refs;

Rock Photo
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kateri_g/488107458/in/photolist-K8FkQ

Girl photo
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8678094@N08/565296553/in/photolist-KsmL8-QUAdb-faa2QF-Km5R9-faa4AM-Kma2k-faa2P8-dEyRp7-faa3QM-Ksv5y-KmhwH-JDMJ1-KmhXi-faa4fH-fapiwu-faa4dZ-KsG9R-fapiTm-Km8Jc-dEyR7G-faa2Rp-dEySAf-Ksoht-faphPE-faa2Mn-38W9b9-Km9Aa-38Vhco-dEyScA-RXhYi-Km99X-38W9bd-2pQCbn-KmbBi-Km1wo-KsnHC-2pQCdM-UkozME-Km9rN-Ksu4U-KmhGP-KssZr-Kso8t-KmheK-KTyUY-Km6TE-AEgWpR-faphby-KmehB-KmbWD