I made this photograph at the Hobbiton Movie Set in the rural Waikato region. What began as a temporary film set for The Lord of the Rings was rebuilt permanently after the global success of the films and later expanded for The Hobbit.
The mill and waterwheel were constructed to give depth and movement to the fictional village of the Shire. Today, they stand not as relics of cinema, but as part of New Zealand’s cultural and economic landscape. The films profoundly shaped international perceptions of the country, linking its rolling farmland and dramatic scenery to Middle-earth in the global imagination.
Hobbiton is undeniably curated — every blade of grass feels intentional — yet it sits within authentic pastoral countryside. It is a place where fiction and landscape intersect, and where storytelling has left a permanent mark on the land.
