Arctic is not just a "big white desert'' where the sun never shines.

While its still not the warmest place in the world, it is home to an abundance of wildlife, he says.

For a brief period in spring, when the sky clears and the ice breaks, "It's like a watering hole in Africa'', said Mr. Nicklin. "There's an awful lot of movement.'' Birds chirp, polar bears go hunting and whales roam the waters waiting to get through the melting ice barriers into inland waters.

Mr. Nicklin produced a series of widely acclaimed photographs depicting this lively period for the July, 1991, National Geographic.

The spread included the first-ever underwater photograph of a rare bowhead whale as well as snaps of the infamous tusked narwhal whales.

Residents will be treated to the best of his Arctic collection -- including his whale photographs -- at a slide show on Thursday night at City Hall.

The show, sponsored by the Bank of Bermuda and the Bermuda Zoological Society, starts at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are $6 and the proceeds go to the Zoological Society.

Mr. Nicklin last visited Bermuda in 1991 when he presented slides on Atlantic whales to a packed audience.

His most recent feature for National Geographic was in September and on dolphins in crises around the world.

Mr. Nicklin, who has been a photographer for 16 years, says there is an endless list of wildlife waiting to be photographed.

He is unable to discuss his next projects for the magazine due to the competitive nature of his work. But he disclosed one would again take him to the chilly Arctic and the other to Costa Rica.

SPRINGTIME IN THE ARCTIC -- This photograph is one of many to be shown on Thursday night at City Hall by acclaimed National Geographic photographer Mr.

Flip Nicklin.