thephotosocietyさんのインスタグラム写真 - (thephotosocietyInstagram)「Photograph of @andyparkinsonphoto/ Me and a bear called Swag – OK, so first things first, before the bear police start chewing my ears off saying ‘you’re too close’ etc etc I think that I’d better clear something up. It goes without saying to anyone with a brain bigger than a peanut that I am in no way condoning or encouraging people getting close to bears, rather this is simply a split second moment in time when a cheeky bear called Swag, named for a reason, decided to come a little too close to where I was sitting in Russia’s remote Kamchatka peninsula. I’d like to say that I had an option as to where I sat but as the sandbank was about 10 feet by 30 feet that would be a mis-statement but again, please understand that being close to animals is part of what I’m privileged to do and that standing to my left was a Park Ranger, minus a picnic basket 😃, who has some 15 years’ experience of working with these exact bears. Not only that but these bears are familiar with people, are gorging on salmon and it was this bear that approached me, not the other way round. In fact so engrossed was I in photographing this approaching bear that it was only when I could only see tiny parts of the bear through my lens that I thought, hmm, perhaps he is getting a little close! Looking up from my camera this phone image (Lynda Morten) captures the exact moment that I recoiled slightly and for those in any doubt I was also muttering some quiet obscenities under my breath, along the lines of oh sh.t!! Of course there will always be those that love to find a reason to criticise and whilst I would never advocate anyone getting anything like as close as I am in this moment I post this to illustrate that bears, so often maligned, are not monsters. Formidable predators they undoubtedly are, loving and protective mothers certainly, curious, gentle and inquisitive I cherish every moment that I’ve been privileged to spend with them. I will also continue to advocate accurately for them, for their right to live free and wild, their wilderness homes rightfully protected. And if you’d like to join me in this location this coming July then please email me at tours@andrewparkinson.com」4月4日 2時03分