Follow me, a photo from Yukon, Northern

Photographer's Note

Alaska Highway, nicknamed the Alcan Highway, is still an adventure road, but the degree of difficulty has eased sharply in recent years as more and more sections have been straightened and paved.

Today, almost all of the two-lane highway is surfaced with asphalt. But it’s no freeway. There still are stretches where the highway is narrow and curvy, where it lacks centre lines and ample shoulders. Also, watch out for sudden loose-gravel breaks where the pavement has failed or is under repair. Sometimes the gravel gaps are marked with little, red flags; sometimes they aren’t. And that asphalt paving can ripple like a roller coaster track in places where “frost heaves” are caused by seasonal freezing and thawing of the ground. Maintainence crews do their best to patch the annual outbreak of frost heaves, but it’s a never-ending, high-cost job. Long dry spells can make the gravel portions of the road dusty, and if it's extremely dry, you may have washboard and roughness problems. Drive with your headlights on at all times as it is easier for oncoming vehicles to see you.

For those travellers with vehicles in good condition and who drive sensibly, the Alaska Highway is a pleasure, not an ordeal. For sure, the modern Alaska Highway is a far cry from the pioneer road that was cut through the bush during World War II by Army Corps of Engineers units. That was a muddy, twisting, single-lane trail fit only for trucks and bulldozers. Today's highway is mostly smooth going all the way. In Canada, it's paved or packed gravel with a tar base, which makes for a smooth ride.

Just a small note:
Sykonico mentioned: "The good thing on that kind of road is that there are very little chances to be run over while taking your picture" ... well, that is very much true, however, there is quite a big chance that you might surprise a bear, or bear might surprise you.. so always look around you :)

Gand, sykonico, quegardens, Lio, hispic, capthaddock, Marlis, Tique, MLINES has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Tatankasolsona (0) 2004-11-09 3:57

Very nice colors, composition and framing with trees and sky. I like it a lot. Take care. (please if you used some techniques give also some details, they could help). ;)

Amandine (1072) 2004-11-09 4:11

Great shot! I love the contrast between the brigth colored trees and the dark blue sky. That's very nice

Gand (6) 2004-11-09 4:48

Very good balance between colors and perspective. Good shaprnes, and lights. I like shadows on one, and full brigtnes on the other side of the road. Dark cloud give a heavy atmosphere on picture, but the bright sky under it give a courage to keep on this eay. :)
I like it.

[2]

cyril (2748) 2004-11-09 4:53

Really nice composition and contrasting colours.
The light is just perfect and the dark sky against the light trees is wonderful.
Good work
Cyril

sykonico (781) 2004-11-09 6:36

The good thing on that kind of road is that there are very little chances to be run over while taking your picture :))

Good job! I really like your composition, everything is leading the eyes right on that big storm cloud.
Too bad the trees on the lower left are a bit too dark, but when you have a scene like that with huge difference of contrast, it's not easy.

quegardens (1469) 2004-11-09 7:45

A beautiful tunnel vision of striking contrasts in this capture Lucie.The brightness of the yellow leaves stands out so well against the menacing mass of dark clouds.I like how you cropped the image to insure that the road starts in each corner,providing good symmetry.

jwmunro (286) 2004-11-09 9:44

Very nice image - "Keep it simple." The fall colors, the vanishing line of the road, and the dark clouds with just a splash of sky - wonderful!

Hanssie (9921) 2004-11-09 16:09

Superb shot with all the yellow against the black sky, Lucie, wonderful !

naxius (16685) 2004-11-10 4:17

Hello Lucie,
Nice composition with strong colors and contrast. The road is probably too centered but it works good.
The clouds are perfect.

Alexandre

alimo3 (6854) 2004-11-13 8:11

Hi lucie,
this is agreat shot
i love the atmosphere with this dark sky and those dreat warm colors.
well done.

Tom

venne (2759) 2004-11-13 10:53

A little bit of blue sky in the horizon make this picture interesting. Good composition.
In France we have now white lines on the roads.
Congratulations.
Jean Louis.

yesterday (9833) 2004-11-16 5:10 [Comment]

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dominique (11414) 2004-12-14 17:24

Extra la photo , tout est parfait , j'aime la vue et les couleurs , le ciel est magnifique ce qui permet ce beau contraste . Tres beau travail .

Homerhomer (4069) 2004-12-15 9:22

Great image, colurs are top notch, light is fantastic, sky very strong, compositon quite good, I think that being able to include person walkig straight foreward would put this image way over the top.
Peter

GypsyRebel (86) 2004-12-17 21:43 [Comment]

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danielswalsh (13591) 2005-02-14 17:52

Great shot Lucie,

Very moody feel in the distance, with great pastel color effects on the foliage to the sides of the road. You also managed to capture the texture of the road quite well (centre bottom), nice done...

I like it!
- Dan

Bukalemun (208) 2005-02-23 18:10

Beutiful colours and very effective composition. I think it will work very well as a B&W. Well done.

DrorAngkor (164) 2005-02-26 0:38

Striking Lighting conditions ...

Very good results! Excellent composition and colors , some more focus or sharpening would have been a plus in my opinion but fantastic image!

Well Done Lucie !

danyy (0) 2005-05-30 16:00

Bonjour Lucie,
Merveilleuse atmosphère mitigée entre beau temps et tornade.
Excellents contrastes.
Daniel.

quantabeh (5205) 2005-07-06 15:00

I see you have taken the most advantage out of this special lighting situation
nice one! it is really eye-catching.
Behrang

scorfel (4288) 2005-07-13 10:30

Très belle galerie que tu as la!
J'aime beaucoup cette photo, la lumière rasante et les nuages sombres donnent un magnifique contraste.
Bravo.

Alex

capthaddock (28790) 2005-07-14 9:22

Hi Lucie - superb composition with fantastic geometry, I love the autumn colours, but my favourite part is how the bright yellows contrast against the dark clouds. Now I want to upload something from Alaska for next week.

Marlis (2298) 2005-09-07 8:17

great shot!
I like the way you put the yellow center line in the middle of the pic- talk about a leading line!
it feels like the road is going on forever- in a way it is- still one of the more spectacular drives. The golden yellow of the trees on either side repeat the yellow motiv, well chosen spot.
The spot of bright sky gives a bit of an uplift to the dark clouds.

kai (422) 2005-09-07 8:59

very very beautiful :)

Loic_bzh (7646) 2006-03-02 12:24

Wow... Nice color and wonderful light.

arunabha (184) 2006-03-02 13:04 [Comment]

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skomy (124) 2006-03-02 14:31

hi Lucie,

Very nice shot there, its colors and sharpness...
Well, i would follow u if the road really looks like this!
wow!
welldone
Sherif

luisafonso (862) 2006-05-03 6:01

Boy, I just finished browsing your entire portfolio here at TE. I am breathless. It’s hard to pick a photo to mark this moment so I went for the title. You have an amazing sensibility to capture nature in its entire splendor, taking close attention to the light, lending a special mood to every shot you have the grace to share with us.
In this particular shot I love the warm light on the top of the trees contrasting to that gray menacing sky. The composition is very good. I love these road scenes when they begin with a large open mouth and after disappearing far away through the middle of the photo. It offers an extra graphical mood with that yellow separating line in the center.
One the end, one thing is for sure, I’ll follow you and your work here on TE (adding your nick along with my favorite list).
Thank you.

MLINES (12516) 2006-05-23 22:22

Hi Lucie, Good photo of an area not seen previously. The long straight road with threatening clouds in the distance makes a good composition. Good to see on TE. Wee portrayed. Murray.

dilane (853) 2007-09-21 2:49

Bonjour Lucie,
je viens de revisiter (trop rapidement à mon goût, mais je n'ai guère de temps) ta galerie. Elle est vraiment magnifique -aussi je vais m'obliger à la parcourir depuis le début et j'irai mettre un petit mot à celles qui me touchent le plus, et tu comprendras bien que celles sur lesquelles je ne mettrai rien ne voudra pas dire que je n'aime pas... ok ?
alors voici la première, elle remonte à 2004...(moi je ne suis inscrit que depuis 2006...et en plus au début, je n'allais pas tous les jours voir TE...) -
j'aime ici cette magnifique lumière, ces gros nuages noirs qui planent, la couleur de ces arbres, tout quoi, et la cerise sur le gateau...cette ligne qui se devait d'être de couleur jaune.
bravo, pour une première c'était une belle entrée à TE -
amicalement
daniel

smythdylan (74) 2009-05-01 7:14

Superb shot, wonderfully exposed and an excellent POV.