DR MARTIN SCURR: Why Kate may have taken off her wedding rings for THAT Mother's Day photograph
What medical reasons might there be for someone to stop wearing their wedding rings?
It’s one of the questions being asked following the publication of the Mother’s Day photograph where the Princess of Wales appears to be ring-free.
One obvious cause is weight loss – and it’s not uncommon following abdominal surgery, such as the Princess of Wales has just had.
This kind of weight loss, known by medics as catabolism of surgical recovery, can affect the whole body, including the hands – and may mean even tight-fitting rings become too big.
Other reasons include injuries, or rapid onset of gout, causing the knuckles to swell. Another possibility is medication such as oral steroids, which can cause swelling (though in that case, it would be likely to affect the patient’s face, too).
But looking at the Princess of Wales, none of the above appears to apply.
Kensington Palace released the first picture of the Princess of Wales since surgery but the public were quick to notice the photoshop fail and soon after agencies ordered a ‘kill notice’
She usually wears a her wedding ring and an engagement ring, which previously belonged to Princess Diana
So did Kate use a ‘clone tool’ to alter the image?
By Lee Walton, Imaging Technician, DMG Newspapers
This picture hasn’t been altered to fool anyone. Instead, it bears all the hallmarks of having been ‘tidied up’ using something called a ‘clone tool’ on the software Adobe Photoshop.
The reason we can see it so clearly, I’m afraid, is because it’s been done so amateurishly.
What a cloning tool or clone stamp allows you to do is copy any part of an image and then reproduce it somewhere else, effectively pasting over and removing an unwanted detail with a couple of clicks of the mouse.
It’s especially blatant on Charlotte’s knee, where someone has tried to correct something – perhaps her tights were a bit baggy or there was a speck of dirt – but has left it blurred, with no hard edge.
The anomaly on Louis’ jumper is another classic example, and a good illustration of how easy it is to get it wrong when you’re dealing with a repeating pattern.
The motif on his right arm is disrupted, with two vertical lines where there should be one, because it’s been pasted on without enough care.
There are several kinds of ‘brushes’ you can use with this tool, either with hard or soft edges, and you can tell, on the hair especially but on her hands too, that the Princess of Wales has mostly opted for the soft brush.
Professional photographers will often use it for taming flyaway or wispy hair, but they’ll be careful not to alter hairstyles too much.
We know from the picture’s metadata – the code embedded in a photograph that tells you how the image was created and edited – that it was taken on a Canon camera.
William and Kate were spotted leaving Windsor for Westminster Abbey this afternoon
A smiling Prince William walks into the Commonwealth Service this afternoon
A smiling Prince William walks into the Commonwealth Service this afternoon
It will have been a simple job to send the picture from the camera to the princess’s Mac or PC. We also know she used Adobe Photoshop twice.
Whatever the online conspiracy theorists would have you believe, however, I can categorically say no one’s head or hands have been replaced!
I don’t blame the princess for not being an expert on Photoshop, but I do think Kensington Palace should have let someone who is look at it first.
Experts say plants are now in leaf
By Colin Fernandez, Environment Editor
Gardening experts said it was possible the photograph edited by the Princess of Wales was genuinely taken last week – despite a plant in the background having lots of leaves.
An online conspiracy theory had suggested it is too early in the year for the plant to be so green.
Guy Barter, chief adviser at the Royal Horticultural Society said the image quality was not sufficient to identify the plant.
But he suggested those who said the plant could not be so leafy may not be aware that the UK has had a remarkably mild winter – and many plants would be in leaf ahead of times in the US, where many of the critics of the image live.
He told the Mail: ‘I am unfamiliar with bud-burst times in the US but I expect they are delayed compared to ours, especially in northern states, which may explain why Americans are perplexed.’
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