Smugglers' Notch, October (2022) Photograph by Francois de Melogue

Smugglers' Notch, October
Francois de Melogue
2022 | Archival pigment print on archival satin photo paper | 17x25

From altitude, Route 108 is less a road than a scar. A narrow thread of asphalt pressed into the crease between Mount Mansfield and the Sterling Range, flanked on both sides by massive, frost-fractured boulders. A single car traces the frame below, small against the scale of the gap, following a curve so tight the vehicle barely holds its lane. The foliage presses close on every side: maple, birch, and beech in full combustion, orange burning into red, yellow fading to gold, the whole canopy dense and unbroken except where the pavement cuts through.

This road closes in November. The hairpin turns, negotiable in October with care and patience, become impossible once snow arrives, sealed under ice until spring. It was closed for other reasons once before: during the War of 1812 and again during Prohibition, it moved goods no government was meant to see. Livestock. Whiskey. The winding path kept its secrets well. From the air, you understand why. The notch is narrow, steep-sided, folded into itself. It swallows what passes through it.

Quality is about longevity. I use a high-resolution Canon R5 Mark II to capture every detail of the Vermont landscape. Each piece is printed in-studio using professional-grade Canon Pro-1100 and Epson P9000 systems with archival pigment inks on archival satin photo paper to create a print that will last for generations.
Print only, with a 1/4 inch wide white bordering for convenient matting and (or) framing
Unmatted (unmounted) / unframed.

Materials used:

Shot on a DJI Mavic 3. Printed on a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 using museum-grade archival pigment inks on archival satin photo paper.

Details:

• Photograph on Paper
• From a limited edition of 25
• Size: 43.18 x 63.5cm (unframed)
• Signed and numbered certificate of authenticity
• Style: Unspecified
• Subject: Landscapes, sea and sky

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