Muslim Women

Most photographers would admit that Muslim women make good photographic subjects. It's kind of an irony that they do because in strict Islamic tradition images of people--men or women--are prohibited.

The flowing headscarves are compelling in a frame, and when you have two or more Muslim women, they are sure to be dressed alike so you get some interesting repetition.

I felt like this post was appropriate today when President Obama is reaching out to the Muslim world. His visit and speech in Cairo evokes peace, but rumbles with discord. The mixed bag of feelings of a U.S. president as a centerpiece of the Muslim world, I think, is a good thing. Once you have an assortment of feelings on the table, you can straighten them out, tossing out the irrational ones.

Big Bear Zoo

What's a small town like Big Bear, CA doing with a zoo? Well, it's kind of a rescue center for Alpine animals. Animals like owls, beavers, bobcats, bears, lions, raccoons, foxes and eagles reside at the zoo.

The grizzlies at the zoo, for example, went through one-too-many garbage cans at campgrounds and other recreational areas at Yellowstone National Park. After "three strikes" by the bears, the bear police comes to pick them up, and some of them ended up at the Big Bear Zoo.

In the image above, an owl gazes in a dark room, which is one of the zoo's attractions.

Other than the fences through which it's difficult to photograph, the place is a ten!

BTW: The image was taken at 1000 ISO in a near dark room. I used a Canon 5D with a Tamron f/2.8 70-200 mm lens.