Tolkien is of course a world renowned writer. His stories of myth and legends have caused millions to stop and take time out of their normal environment to spend their time in his minds eye of travel, folk law, wizards, dragons and of course the one ring that rules them all.

I for one am inspired, not just by his books and of course the feature films released, but also by his personal journey that inspired such stories as ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

Before I had even really paid attention to what Tolkien had created I was living in New Zealand. Whilst looking for work there, I was offered a role as an extra in a production being filmed. I had a brief into it, but paid no attention and ended up finding a paid job working for Chelsea Sugar in Auckland instead.

This is one of my biggest regrets. With having a good old British accent like mine, I may have even been picked to play Aragon himself! The likely reality however, lets face it, I would have been cast as an Auk. Looking back I don’t really care what I may or may not have been cast as. It was an opportunity missed.

Twenty five years later I have found myself well embarked on another Tolkien Journey. I have been lucky enough to live in one of the landscapes that became the basis of one part of the book, ‘The Shire’. I have been able to research Tolkien’s journey from his childhood, which led him to the region of the Brecon Beacons in Wales. I spend many a morning and evening gazing across the landscape with my camera, trying to build a better picture of how Frodo would have spent his time along with the other Hobbits, and of course Gandalf.

That was just the start, and now ten years on I have been visiting other locations with the aim of trying to understand what really made his mind tick in creating what we all now know as ‘Middle Earth.’

It has taken me to some truly wonderful places across Europe where mountain ranges look like they touch the sky, and their moods can change very quickly. Where waterfalls cascade, and deep forests grace the landscape. Where culture and language led Tolkien to build his own language, all of which played a big part in the creation being born in Tolkien’s mind.

In these collections you can find locations around the regions of Tolkien’s travels, which could just have been what ignited his passion for what would later become, ‘The Lord Of The Rings.’