SnappyHappy Loc: Chapin, SC “The Capitol of Lake Murray”

Tagged up with a friend to shoot a few locations near Chickamauga, GA in the hopes of catching some “sweet light” and fall color. Up at 4:30...on our way by 5:30...conditions were less than ideal but we had a lot of fun just getting out and made all the lemonade we could. One location I didn’t know existed before Thursday was the Chickamauga Coke Ovens. Around 1900 coal was mined near Lookout Mountain, shipped by train to the coke ovens to be processed into coke then shipped to various Chattanooga steel mills. The ovens are a row of brick kilns, domed or inverted beehive shaped spaces with a vent in the center roof, about five feet high and ten feet in diameter with a doorway opening large enough to shovel coal in and coke out. They must have stacked loose brick in the doorways to enclose the oven while they were burning the coal down. A mound of earth connects the brick ovens and further insulates the entire row. The coke ovens operated until 1951 when the coal mine vein ran out. I used a fisheye lens inside the ovens which yielded about the only composition I could imagine but I wasn’t prepared to control the ambient light from the doorway or vent. I’ve written a paragraph to explain my photograph because I’m not at all satisfied with this presentation. I only include it so you can zoom in to see the “melted bricks”. Hope you enjoy.

Coke Oven interior

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Rock Springs store

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Ghost of Chickamauga

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Ourspolair

Nice renderings - love the ghost soldier. Please stay well and keep on sharing.

canondave1 Loc: Houston, TX

Very nice images! Thank you for sharing them.

SnappyHappy Loc: Chapin, SC “The Capitol of Lake Murray”

Thanks for having a look Ourspolair

SnappyHappy Loc: Chapin, SC “The Capitol of Lake Murray”

Thanks canondave1

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Very interesting photographs, SH.

I also like the Dorothea Lange quote.
--Bob

SnappyHappy Loc: Chapin, SC “The Capitol of Lake Murray”

Thanks Bob...appreciate your stopping by.

jederick Loc: Northern Utah

Thanks for the interesting info and photos SH...I've tried to photograph the inside of coke ovens like yours and your photo is a lot nicer!!

SnappyHappy Loc: Chapin, SC “The Capitol of Lake Murray”

Thanks for having a look and your kind words jederick.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

I love the old house. I bet it has been witness to the passing of a lot of life....

SnappyHappy Loc: Chapin, SC “The Capitol of Lake Murray”

Thanks for the like joecichjr