The Icebreakers
Jumping in the car at 05:30 I immediately noticed my vehicle's external thermometer reading -6C. That's about as cold as it has been this winter. I was setting off to meet the men's cold water therapy group 'The Icebreakers'. I've photographed a few cold water enthusiasts over the last few years, but the morning of this shoot had that dry bitterly cold and biting feeling to it. As soon as I started photographing I lost all sensation in my fingers, despite wearing gloves and multiple layers of winter clothing. These chaps gleefully stripped off to their trunks, did some breathing exercises and went for a meditative dip in the weir. Utterly bananas, but admirable. With the strong hoar frost, I couldn't help but notice the visual similarities with the famous macaque monkeys who look so serene submerged up to their cheeks in the hot springs in the mountainous North of Japan.
