This beast BEAR-ly fits in the picture - because it was taken by a photographer who risks his life by getting up close and personal with wild bears. The spectacular shots show inquisitive Kamchatka brown bears roaming lakes just feet away from photographers calmly snapping away. And one decided to take an even closer look at keen photographer Igor Gushchin's camera by sticking his nose right down the lens. Igor, 52, took the extraordinary snaps on an expedition to study the behaviour of the bears at the time red salmon go for spawn at Kronotsky Nature Reserve in Russia. He said: "All of us there are pretty experienced wildlife photographers - we have learned the behaviour of bears and are strictly guided by safety rules. "But it's impossible to eliminate the risk of being so close to wild bears, and I wouldn't recommend anyone try and repeat this experience themselves. "I was expecting to get some shots of the bears fishing into the lakes, but I never thought one would get so close to me as it did. "The contact between humans and bears is so unusual, it's extremely rare to see. "But it was such an incredible moment - I will never forget it." Igor, from Moscow, Russia, has been photographing wild animals since 2005, but he almost never got these pictures as in the past the bears here almost became extinct. He added: "About 10 years ago the bears were really rare - almost extinct with the 'help' of poachers. "But thanks to the selflessness of the nature defenders and workers of Kronotsky Nature Reserve the brown bears population was not only preserved but got substantially bigger. "On the territory of the reserve there is no poaching at all now and the bears are free."