Middle Earth

In 2000, while living in New Zealand, I had the opportunity to be involved in the making of one of the world's most renowned films, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Being younger at the time, and with a rather embarrassing level of ignorance about J. R. R. Tolkien, I decided that working in a sugar refinery was probably the better option.

Thirty years later, I still wonder whether my British accent might have gifted me the role of Boromir although, knowing my luck, I would probably have ended up playing an Orc.

Since then, I have discovered far more about Tolkien: his life, his interests, and, perhaps most importantly, the landscapes, histories and cultures that helped shape the world of Middle-earth.

This discovery eventually led me to begin documenting many of the regions connected to Tolkien's life and imagination. Over a period of ten years, I travelled through places including Switzerland, Wales and Italy, photographing them from my own perspective and exploring the visual qualities that, to me, reveal why these landscapes could have been so inspirational in the creation of Middle-earth.

The work is not intended to simply illustrate Tolkien's stories. Rather, it is an exploration of place - looking at the mountains, valleys, forests, architecture, traditions, language and atmosphere that exist beyond the pages of the books and films, and considering how the real world can find its way into an imagined one.

The resulting body of work has grown considerably over the decade, although I have yet to decide exactly what its final form should be. A book or exhibition would certainly be possibilities, allowing the work to be seen as a complete journey rather than as individual photographs.

The fine-art prints are, however, already finding their own audience, with a number of images having been purchased by Lord of the Rings fans and collectors.

Perhaps, after all these years, I have finally found my way back to Middle-earth - just without the beard, sword or the opportunity to discover whether I really could have played Boromir.