Posted by MaryB (Staffordshire, United Kingdom) on 23 October 2007 in People & Portraits and Portfolio.
This is one of the Swiss Guard at the Vatican City in Rome. The Papal Swiss guard, founded in 1506, are the only Swiss Guard that exist today.
This was the only time we saw the Swiss Guard, and then from a distance, so I quickly took a couple of photos. I've had to crop this as there was some cleaning work going on and there was a lot of equipment around and they were standing behind it! I also had to stand on tip toe to get this. so the quality isn't up to scratch, but I really like this one, hope you do too :)
I will get to all you blogs, later in the day, as I'm working with my husband for the next two weeks! Thanks to everyone for your comments on yesterdays post, I really appreciate them :)
Any tips or constructive criticism are welcome :)
I really appreciate all your comments, thank you so much. I'm only sorry I've not got time to respond. I do read all the comments and will try to answer any questions you have about my posts :)
ON OUR RECENT TRIP, TO NORWAY AND THE ARCTIC, WE VISITED 7 PLACES AND TRAVELED A TOTAL DISTANCE OF 4233 NAUTICAL MILES 1 nautical mile = 1.15 land miles or 1.852 kilometers.
Great shot of the guard! He has a very contemplative look.
23 Oct 2007 2:26am
Hey what an awesome capture Mary and a great narrative on the history of the Swiss Guard!!1 Thanks so much for sharing.
23 Oct 2007 2:27am
Great shot, imagine wearing this uniform every day...
23 Oct 2007 2:46am
Great shot, and thanks for the info !!
23 Oct 2007 3:01am
thank you for sharing dear mary.pss,i think he was secretly posing for you!lol!Great shot!:)
23 Oct 2007 3:02am
Oh Wow, wonderful costume, pose and great photograph ;)
23 Oct 2007 5:40am
Really beautiful capture! I like the softness of this image--it works perfectly.
23 Oct 2007 12:37pm
Nice capture, and the cropping gave it something special!
23 Oct 2007 1:21pm
very nice cropping work here Mary B ..... colors are nice too :o)
23 Oct 2007 2:59pm
Very nice capture...wonderful colors in the costume!
23 Oct 2007 3:45pm
He has such a regal costume and demeanour! Wonderful capture and cropping, dear Mary. Gorgeous!!
23 Oct 2007 4:00pm
Wow!! Wonderful candid, Mary!! And what a costume they wear, eh?!
23 Oct 2007 4:38pm
I have always wondered -- is the Swiss Guard really Swiss, or is there some other reason for their having that name? Cool uniforms, regardless. Nicel one MaryB.
23 Oct 2007 9:11pm
@Viewfinder: The guards must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the Swiss military and can obtain certificates of good conduct. New recruits must have a professional diploma or high school degree and must be between 19 and 30 years of age and at least 5'9" tall (from Wikipedia lots of info there)
I wanted to do a write up but I was lacking in time! Thank you VF, for your continued support :)
Nice colours and pose. As you say, it's a little lacking in quality, but it makes up for it in charm.
23 Oct 2007 9:56pm
cropping and all, you got a great image of a man who seems to take his job so very seriously.
23 Oct 2007 11:18pm
Well spotted!
24 Oct 2007 2:35pm
A gorgeous shot, fantastic! Like a medieval portrait, very original way of placing the man left, look at something at the left side, and behind him the suggestion of the architecture of the space he has to guard. Very well done, and also the colors and the lighting, I enjoy this! It must be over now with striving for crispness at all times, in this case it would harm the impression.
27 Oct 2007 3:18am
Nice composition. Why not crank up your ISO when inside not using flash?
17 Nov 2007 2:34pm
PREVIEW ONLY
Add your comment ...
Panasonic DMC-FZ71/30 secondF/3.3ISO 100311 mm
Mary's Photoblog
#gallery 50a155fd3ff5c6fb3ffde9cf890a3cfe
#gallery 32480f6f3cb543312ad2416a369eaee5
#gallery 5500161b86d77a91cb1059c12a855bb6
Mary's Photoblog