Amidst fumes and flames ( in Explore )

Each year in April a charcoal burner gets invited into my hometown by local authorities. This is keeping in line with a long standing tradition of burning of wood and subsequently making charcoal in a nearby safe part of the forest.

A few years back I went to see the customary procedure in the wee hours of the morning. The charcoal burner has to get up every couple of hours to watch the process of burning. He usually sleeps in a self-built wooden shack close to mother nature´s ground. Unbekownst to me, but guessing, the fiery German Schnaps, he surely liked, made it difficult for him to wake up on time.

The moment I arrived the huge heap of wood was burning at full blast. No charcoal can be made in this manner. Important is an even carbonization at a low temperature, a die away and charring. All fluid and gaseous combustion products need detracting. So I dashed to his shack and immediately woke him up. A minute later I photographed him hastily working, whilst listening to his mumbling.

Done