PAOLO BARBARINI
Bears of Kamchatka

Brown bear of Kamchatka (Ursus Arctos Beringianus) is a very large bear, the largest in Eurasia, with a weight up to 650 kg (1433 lbs). The serie was shot in the South Kamchatka Federal Sanctuary, that covers 322,000 ha of protected land, virtually uninhabited, where volcanos, tundra and bears rule. The only simple way to reach the most interesting parts of the sanctuary (in this case Kuril lake and Kambalnaya River) is the helicopter. These places from july to september are fully invaded by bears, that spend 3 months fishing and eating to put on weight to survive the long winter. These pictures give a view of most interesting activities of the bears: fishing and fighting.
I took the pictures during a 10 full-days session, spent close to the bears. I used a Nikon D810, 70-200mm f/2.8, Teleconverter 1.4x, 200-500mm f/5.6

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