The much-snapped Duchess of Cambridge has turned the lens to play photographer, releasing a selection of photographs taken during her recent tour of Pacific nations with husband Prince William.
Seven landscape images taken by 30-year-old Catherine in Borneo and Malaysia in September have been made available by the palace and have received mixed reviews.
The collection includes a cloud-filtered outlook across a rainforest, light-streaming through a jungle, a silhouetted orangutan, and an aerial view of a palm oil plantation.
'It's clearly not the work of someone who knows exactly what they are doing,' said the Daily Star newspaper's acclaimed photographer Jeany Savage, of the photos which were taken with a STG285 digital camera.
'She has gone around with a point-and-click camera taking pictures of what she likes the look of.'
However, Catherine did attract some praise for her photography, a traditional royal hobby.
Royal photographer for The Sun newspaper, Arthur Edwards, said the shots are 'well-cropped and well-exposed'.
Catherine studied photography as part of her art history university degree.
'The Duchess is a keen photographer, more so than the Duke,' a royal aide told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
'It is one of her hobbies. She takes her camera on royal tours but it's only when the couple have some private time, away from the media spotlight, that the Duchess has the chance to get her camera out.'
William and Catherine spent eight days travelling Singapore, Malaysia and the Solomon Islands officially representing the Queen in her diamond jubilee year.
The trip was overshadowed by the publication of topless photos of the Duchess, taken by paparazzi while she and William holidayed in France.
