I love the cold, I'm very lucky to have a house in the North of Sweden, I am also extremely privileged to have worked in the Antarctic for the British Antarctic Survey. After spending 3 summers and 2 winters down on the ice, I learned a lot about staying warm when the temperatures drop.

I obviously don't have access to all the great kit I used in the South but it's actually fairly easy to stay warm and safe if you follow a few basics.

The single most important thing is to maintain core temperature, your body doesn't function properly if you aren't warm, studies have shown that as you get colder your judgement becomes impaired, you become less aware of how cold you are and you can get in to trouble very easily. Stay warm.

I'm not talking about it being a bit chilly out, I'm talking about proper cold, today it is -35c here and whilst it's often colder, I class these temperatures as having the potential to be dangerous if you aren't prepared. If there's no reason to be standing waist deep in snow at -35 then stay in with your feet up in front of the fire!

This morning the light was beautiful in the forest behind my house so I decided to take a trip out. I always dress properly so climbed in to thermal base layer, merino wool long-sleeved top, fleece and moleskin trousers. Thick walking socks over thinner socks before stepping in to my outdoor gear, waterproof and windproof salopettes, fleece neckie, down jacket and wooly hat. That may sound excessive but it's necessary and I very rarely feel anything other than toasty warm.

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3!

If I'm traipsing through deep snow as I was this morning, I wear big insulated wellingtons, very popular here in Sweden they are fleece lined and good for -40, they always keep my feet feeling good, something that's incredibly important. I also have a number of different gloves, for walking about I have great big fur lined gloves that are incredibly warm, I often wear thinner gloves inside just in case I need to remove my hands quickly. Once I know where I want to shoot, I change to slightly less heavy duty gloves that are still warm but allow me to control my camera. I always have the big gloves at hand just in case. Keep exposed skin to a minimum.

So, that's how I stay warm, next on to actually using a camera in these conditions.

Cameras in general are far better at dealing with cold than we are, they suffer more with the affects of rapidly changing temperatures where condensation can be an issue. Always acclimatise your camera before a shoot. I leave my camera outside for a good few hours before heading out, keeping it in it's bag allows it to slowly adjust to the ambient temperature and it's then much happier with being used. When I'm done I pack it back in to my camera bag and allow it warm up over an appropriate period, if it's -35 out and +18 in my house then I'll give the camera overnight to make that 53 degree change! 

A lot is said about batteries in the cold but to be honest I have very few issues with battery power. I took one of my Nikon D800's out this morning for 2 hours, shot a good couple of hundred frames at -35 and the battery power hardly dropped at all, that's pretty good. I always keep a spare battery in a pocket close to my body so it retains some heat but as I said, I have often had enough long before my battery has.

Once you're all kitted out, camera is ready for use and for me, on a tripod, then there are a few points worth considering. First is that the thing is now bloody cold, breath on it and you will freeze it up, rest your nose against the rear screen as you use the viewfinder and you're likely to get a very cold nose. This morning I used live view on the tripod and a wireless remote to fire the shutter, all good. 

If you've allowed your kit to acclimatise properly then you shouldn't have too many issues, I regularly check the lens just to see if any moisture has accumulated and frozen, be careful not to breathe on it whilst you're checking!

If you're going to check your lens, try not to look an idiot whilst doing it.

And that's about it, be aware of your own limitations, if you feel cold then don't ignore it, after all we're taking photographs not brokering world peace, you can always head back out again when you've warmed up! Finally and most importantly, this all works for me, do your own research and get the right equipment for you, we are all different, heading out in to the cold based solely on the advice of some bloke from the internet would be daft, do what is right for you!