(dedicated to his Lordship and his frequently disloyal servant :-))

The Cravat Regiment is the honor guard in Zagreb that celebrates the long military tradition of Croatia as well as the introduction of the cravat/necktie that was brought to the world by the Croatian soldiers in the 17th century.

Their performance is a unique combination of spectacular march of four horsemen and soldiers through the city center of Zagreb, followed by a drumming squad and the ceremony of changing the guard.

After the end of the war with the Turks, Croatian soldiers came to fight in Europe for the first time in the Thirty Years' War (1618 – 1648). The Croats brought with them their own way of fighting a war which was developed during the long-term war against the Turks. The so-called "small war" consisted of ambushes, raids, daring penetrations and rapid withdrawals, attacks made into enemy territory, devastation and looting.

Croatian horsemen soon became known for their boldness, speed and courage, and they were vastly appreciated and feared for their talented military skills and laudable heroism. This kind of light cavalry regiments armed with short rifles were recognized as ''Croats'' or ''Croatian arkebuzirs''.

One piece of clothing of Croatian horsemen particularly attracted the attention of Europe -red scarves that Croatian soldiers tied in a knot around their necks as part of their uniform. Officers carried handkerchiefs made of silk while those for ordinary soldiers were made of wool. Red scarves served mainly for protection against dust and sweat and they may have been used for dressing wounds, as well.

The French noted this Croatian custom and adopted it as their own fashion detail - wearing neckties 'à la croate', from which the French noun 'la cravate' is derived. This was the beginning of the tie (cravat), today's most recognizable men's clothing accessory. (www.lovezagreb.hr)

changing the guard at the war memorial Greek Parliament, Athens

Textures courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations.

Taken in Dalkeith Estate.

Thank you everyone for your comments faves and invites.

Shot on Olympus E-PL3 and TTArtisan 50mm f2. Coast guard helicopter and RNLI life boat off the coast of Lynton, Devon

Processed in Darktable and GIMP.

Ricoh GRD IV

(bleach bypass cold)

SOOC (edit: very light desaturation. now i remember). :)

this is why i love the camera.

i mean ... even on the screen, it appears to good to be true: no post processing whatsoever. this is what i was seeing on the LCD.

Chamborigaud

In spite of the size difference, the Hyrax is the African elephant’s closest living relative

Sentry duty at the Queen's House, Tower of London.

Jesolo 2019 Guardia di Finanza in pattugliamento

Italian finance police

would you taken on Timmy at the door?

The Cranes of gothenburg , now stands like old guards from the past.

www.instagram.com/fredrik_lindedal/?hl=sv

remaining guard tower at the Yuma territorial prison built in 1875.

A Buffalo was kind enough to pose in front of the Grand Tetons

guard at the mall

A deer carcass was given to our wolf pack at Brookfield Zoo. Very interesting watching them feed in their pecking order.

Alphas first, then the four yearlings.

Looking at the photo, the carcass is on the ground to the left of the young wolf.

Early morning in the Sarntaler Alps near Mount Jakobspitze. Some "Steinmanderl" keep guard - or maybe they just watch the sunrise... who knows ;)

I had taken this in Bhubaneshwar, India.

I'm sure many of you have heard a big storm hit the Northeast United States again. Here's some of Chinatown in the snow! Under the Manhattan Bridge

Or just hanging out and having a cup of coffee :-) I don't think there are many threats in Lynn's Lego City so the knights at the castle are quite relaxed :-)

Probably the biggest thing they have to worry about is a Texas sized spider or scorpion wandering in but I think they could take care of that problem easily :-)

shot with an olympus om-d e-m10 mark iii and a canon fd 28mm f/2.8 lens

I was not sure whether this sheep would attack me or not. Lets just hope it is watching the volcano for the island people.

Knights guarding the window at Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, UK

Old boy sitting outside a booth at Eastern Market

ฅ(=ʘⰙʘ=)

HWW!

I'll be away for a few days, but back soon!

Thanks to all my flickr friends for taking the time to visit, comment and fave - I appreciate it!

Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London. It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat.

Horse Guards Parade was formerly the site of the Palace of Whitehall's tiltyard, where tournaments (including jousting) were held in the time of Henry VIII. It was also the scene of annual celebrations of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth I. The area has been used for a variety of reviews, parades and other ceremonies since the 17th century.

The adjacent Horse Guards building was once the Headquarters of the British Army. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington was based in Horse Guards when he was Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. The current General officer commanding London District still occupies the same office and uses the same desk. Wellington also had living quarters within the building, which today are used as offices.

This meerkat is very curious about a passing helicopter.

Redbubble

Society 6

Zazzle

ipernity

Getty

500px

© laura kicey

And he asked me to photograph him, with security guards it's usually the other way around in photography... Asad was on duty along Stephen Avenue on Sunday, making sure that people weren't climbing on the big lighting towers workers were busy putting up... He and his partner were actually quite curious why I was photographing a garbage can close up, why to photograph circles of course since that is the President's Challenge at our local camera club, kind of funny actually when most of my photography downtown is of people and yesterday I was almost going out of my way to not photograph people...

A soldier of the Life Guards on guard at Horse Guards Parade, London UK.

For a high resolution full screen view of my photos, please visit: www.pictographica.net

ODC ... forgotten ...

totally forgot I had this shot ! ;)

LIMG_3339_crb

Holland

Guards