On Wednesday, the 36-year-old chartered accountant will be off to the Arctic to open a new album. And, as on most occasions, to click on a message.

"My main focus will be on polar bears. The reason why I'm making this trip is similar to those that had me climb Kilimanjaro," he told TOI. "Global warming and the accompanying climate changes have had glaciers retreat in most parts of the world. I saw far less than what Hemingway would have seen when he wrote 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' and, by the time my three-year-old son grows up, there will be very little snow left on Africa's highest peak. In polar regions, depletion of ice cover means lesser space for polar bears. As the frozen land disintegrates, they will have to swim unimaginable distances through cold oceanic water to go from one place to another and experts feel the polar bears may disappear in as little as 40 years time. The earlier one goes and documents these lovely creatures in their threatened world, the more conscious people will become. That's what I am trying as a wildlife photographer."

He will be accompanied by his wife. "Doel's a great help on such trips," he says, and adds that she was with him on the Kilimanjaro climb as well as the one to the North Base Camp of Everest at 19,000 feet to photograph high-altitude wildlife. "So, while it's our first expedition to the Arctic, we've been to places with what you might describe as Arctic climate," quips Mukherjee.

Of course, he'll 'shoot' the walruses, seals, Arctic birds and whales "if we are lucky to spot some", all in that stunningly lonely and untamed locale. "The magazines want the whole story," he smiles.

"We will be flying to Oslo, then further north to the Svalbard (archipelago) and landing at Longyearbyen, the northernmost commercial airport in the world. It's on 78 degrees latitude while the Arctic Circle is at 66," he says, adding: "We will be in the Arctic Sea for 11 nights with 10 other passengers on an 'ice-strengthened' ship called 'Stockholm'. I've chosen a small ship because the deck, from where most of the photographs will be clicked, is relatively low and will help me get closer to eye-level. We will also land on an island or two in a rubber dingy to get close without being intrusive," added Mukherjee, who says he is braving a colder climate to get the right light conditions in a place where half the year is in daylight and the other in darkness.

"Most people go on polar expeditions in July-August when temperatures are kinder. But the sun is overhead and harsh and it's not good for photography. In September, the sun is there for almost 20 hours but it's lower in the sky and the light softer," he explained, adding that with his cameras and lenses, he will be carrying an "array of filters to balance the exposure".

And his passion, he may well have added.