Roof of North America, a photo from Alaska, West

Photographer's Note

Mt McKinley or Denali shot from the Anchorage-Fairbanks highway in the early morning, focal length 135mm. This is near the highest part of the road, just above the tree line but would not be considered a high pass in lower lattitudes, less than 1000m high but in mid April the temperature was -4ºF, or -20º degrees C!!!

About Denali or McKinley from peakware.com:
Elevation (feet): 20320
Elevation (meters): 6194
Range: Alaska/Yukon Ranges
State: Alaska
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Latitude: 63.0694
Longitude: -151.004
Difficulty: Major Mountain Expedition
Best months for climbing: April, May, June
Year first climbed: 1913
Mount McKinley is the highest peak in North America. It is a huge snowy mass, flanked by five giant glaciers and countless icefalls. It dominates the horizon from as far south as Cook Inlet, 200 miles away, and as far north as Fairbanks, 150 miles away. Its steep unbroken south slope rises 17,000 feet in twelve miles. Five major ridges extend from the summit, and many spurs and buttresses extend from these. The mountain is increasingly known by its native name, Denali, which means The Great One in the Athabaskan language. Denali is not an especially difficult climb technically, but the weather is more severe here than anywhere else in the world, and many lives have been lost attempting the ascent. The number of attempts on the summit have increased dramatically in recent years, and a greater percentage of these are ending in failure.

ChrisJ, miguel, vlad_ghiea, bibiweb, danielswalsh, axiotea, gilou530, ktanska, carper, Tue, peter1892, MarekP, singuanti, jafadabret, sleon, Paolo, ahmetgedikli, john_c, quantabeh, rajhema has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

miguel (899) 2006-04-24 23:28

An impressive view of the Mac Kinley. The weather was fine and the light soft. Excellent DOF.
I have made a little WS, let me know ;)

[workshop] [compare] +

vlad_ghiea (1086) 2006-04-24 23:52

Very impressive picture! The forms of the white mountain are fabulous, and I like the fact that you used two plans: horizontal (forest) and vertical (Mac Kinley M.). The blue of the sky it's also very nice...

danielswalsh (13597) 2006-04-25 1:26

Hi Tan...

Feels like ages since I last saw your shots.

Makes it's the anticipation of my upcoming trip home to Canada, that drew me to this shot of snow covered mountains...

Amazing clarity, colors, and levels- and I like how you can judge the terrain by the trees which get smaller and smaller and smaller into the image, really conveying the side and grandeur of this famous range.

Nice shot Tan!
- Dan

axiotea (21651) 2006-04-25 1:33

Hi Tan, beautiful view of the McKinley, great colors, POV and composition...TFS..
All the best,
Marilyn

bibiweb (8) 2006-04-25 3:23

Hi Tan,
Well, I see you've been on the road again for the Easter holidays! This is a wonderful view of the sunrise on Moutn McKinley. I love your compo with these different layers: the trees, the mountains, the sky.
Have a nice day.
Brigitte

Angshu (56760) 2006-04-25 3:33

Great image Tan...the mountains present an astounding colour effect due to the morning sun. The darkish pine trees in the FG adds to the contrast. Lovely!
Regards
Angshu

Gerrit (62042) 2006-04-25 3:56

Hi Tan, that's not snowcapped anymore, that's snowcovered.
Fine picture with the reddish glow on the mountains.
hanks and regards, gerrit

ChrisJ (171252) 2006-04-25 4:01

Hi Tan

Fantastic alpine scenery, with good color, sharpness, & pov. I like the repetition of the pine trees, & subtle color contrast of yellow vs blue. Tfs!

gilou530 (34) 2006-04-25 5:17

salut tan
un endroit rare a voir quand le fin fond de l'alaska, une lumière du soir géniale qui éclaire le mont, beau panorama
amitiés
gilbert

ktanska (44484) 2006-04-25 6:01

Hi Tan,
It looks like a blanket thrown over clouds!
Good low light, and weather is so clear, it's hardly possible on more populated areas of the world. Might also work as a wide panorama without foreground.
Kari

rbcy1974 (20758) 2006-04-25 7:23

HellO Tan,
Nicely captured particulalry with the successive horizontal lines formed by the vegetation.
Well done
Regards
Daniel

carper (96) 2006-04-25 11:28

well the shot is good Tan,
I think personal you realy can improve this much more, with a farther crop, with a frame. Yes me again, I know for sure that this can be done better and I think you realy know very well what I mean, farther about your photo, no complaints.
gr. jaap

rhizomes (15343) 2006-04-25 12:10

Hi Tan,
Very nice landscape and great picture !
I like these moutains and the trees near us...
Great !
Christophe

delkoo (68) 2006-04-25 12:45

hi tan
the soft light make mood of another planet, very nice shot.

regards
didier

Tue (91604) 2006-04-25 14:28

Hej Tan,
What an amazing view on these mountains. The lighting is wonderful and adds great colours to the photo. The trees in front are good for the contrast. Very well done!
Hilsen,
Lars

anesugur (18789) 2006-04-25 16:19

Merhaba Tan,
Dağların görünümü muhteşem.
Çok iyi bir ışık yakalamışsın.
Eline sağlık. Uğur

peter1892 (1681) 2006-04-25 17:52

Hi Tan - good viewpoint, colours & light. The trees are good for adding extra colour & contrast to the scene.

MarekP (4750) 2006-04-25 18:59

Hi Tan,
So this is that Mt McKinley, its elevation I had to learn by heart in school many years ago ;-) I have to say it looks much better in your photo than as a number in a schoolbook. An impressive mountain indeed!

Thanks,
Marek

singuanti (15250) 2006-04-25 21:50

Hi Tan. Wow what a crystal clear view you had. I hear most people who go there can't even see it because of constant cloud cover. So it was slightly chilly outside but it was worth it! Fantastic shot Tan!

jafadabret (56501) 2006-04-26 1:24

Tan, je connaissais le Mac Kinley comme le sommet le plus haut de l'Amérique du Nord mais ta photo me le montre en réalité. Le manque de végétation en fait un paysage presque lunaire mais d'une grande beauté. La lumière le détache du premier plan qui donne la profondeur de champ. Bien réalisé !
Jacques

sleon (9402) 2006-04-26 3:57

Hi Tan
This complements well the various views we've been enjoying recently from the roof of S America, also from an educational point of view. The clarity here is excellent - helped by the polariser - and I like the different layers of trees and snow. Looks like a vast and deserted environment.
Regards, Susanna

cherryripe (21033) 2006-04-26 7:13

Hi Tan
The scenery is stunning and bathed in such a pretty light. The WS is excellent and really improves it. You're crazy wanting snow and cold just as it's spring ;-) but maybe you needed cooling down after your Middle Eastern trip.
Regards Nikki

Paolo (41258) 2006-04-26 11:19

Hi Tan, is the first time that i see the McKinley from that POV. i never thinked that it was so massive and gigantic, with a flat area around!
excellent shot, with that sunset light.
thanks, ciao

anavazao (5592) 2006-04-26 15:21

wow,
Excellent shot with excellent colors,sharpness,focus,POV and frame.....
Thanks Ana:)

ahmetgedikli (25609) 2006-04-26 15:54

Merhaba Tan,
Ağaçların ve tepelerin sıralanışı ile birlikte nefis bir manzara ortaya çıkmış. Eline sağlık. Selamlar...

tcht (7565) 2006-04-26 17:12

Hi Tan,
The texture of the mountain's very surreal, especially when there aren't any trees on the mountain! And the light's just pure coolness...lights radiating off the snow... Nice repetitive patterns of trees. Good job!
Rgrds,
CheukHin

devimeuxbe (58557) 2006-04-26 17:14

Hi Tan
Beautifull landscape. Nice contrast between the mountain and the forest.
Bertand

lukie (0) 2006-04-27 10:20

Hello Tan,

these white mountains are very sharp in your picture. And not over-exposed, what's important.

regards,

Luc.

john_c (24666) 2006-04-27 10:43

Hi Tan,
Crisp, clear and evidenty cold. The detail visible here is amazing. I like the contrast between the foreground and background, with the deep blue sky to enhance. Superb work, Tan.
JOhn

Ann75 (0) 2006-04-27 16:01

Hello Tan,

Wow what a view! This snowy mountain towering over the landscape against a beautiful blue sky is stunning. I love the details on the mountain and the snowy landscape in the foreground. Fantastic composition and so well captured!

Greetings,
Ann

quantabeh (5205) 2006-04-28 8:28

wow... this is one of the clearest shots of mount Denali I have ever seen. very majestic and beautiful, this is a well composed shot.
cheers
Behrang

rabdelnoor (3423) 2006-04-29 9:33

Wow Tan,
What a landscape shot. Grea POV, leading the pine trees valley to this very impressive moutains completed covered by snow. The light is just superb. You managed very well avoiding overexposure on this white world. Great one.
Take care
Ricardo

rajhema (1873) 2006-07-07 14:24

You are lucky to get this mountain clearly Tan. I failed to capture. I waited and waited while driving up and down and could never get it. it was all covered with clouds. Great capture. One should be there to appreciate this magnificent mountain.
Rajesh

sanalytis (1634) 2007-01-03 21:20

Hi Tan,

What a beautiful shot of Denali. Greeat composition and a nice sky as well. Spectacular!

Spiros