The Hell Fire Club – Dublin Mountains, Ireland

[column width=”55%” padding=”3%”]

[/column] [column width=”42%”]

I took a visit to the Hell Fire Club on Saturday afternoon. This building – a hunting lodge built around 1725 by William Conolly – was originally called Mount Pelier and since its construction the hill has also gone by the same name. Originally there was a cairn with a prehistoric passage grave on the summit. Stones from the cairn were taken and used in the construction of Mount Pelier lodge. Shortly after completion, a storm blew the roof off. Local superstition attributed this incident to the work of the Devil, a punishment for interfering with the cairn. Since this time, Montpelier Hill has become associated with numerous paranormal events. This reputation was further enhanced when members of the Irish Hell Fire Club, which was active in the years 1735 to 1741, began using Mount Pelier lodge as a meeting place. Numerous lurid stories of wild behaviour and debauchery as well as occult practices and demonic manifestations have become part of the local folklore (source wiki).

The day did not play nice at all and within 15 minutes of making it up to the summit it started to rain. However it did create a fairly dramatic sky and one I thought would work well for a Black & White image. I was also convinced after my last attempt that the composition and conditions were right for HDR. This image is comprised of 5 exposures from -2EV to +2EV. I mounted the camera on a tripod very low to the ground and used the branch to act as a leading line. This very low angle helps to increase the sense of drama that is already present in this  ruin, the sky helps to take it up another notch.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Exposure: 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 0.5s, 1.0s
Aperture: f/18
Focal Length: 21mm
ISO Speed: 50
[mappress mapid=”3″]

[/column] [end_columns]