Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.

Oh how I wish I could live in a Hobbit hole!

I have about 10 acres on the land where I live, and I’m thinking about building a series of Hobbit holes for my friends. They can be all interconnected with secret tunnels and stuff. I know it sounds geeky, but I would totally move out there with them… eat two breakfasts a day… shave one another’s feet… this sort of thing.

Hobbiton, New Zealand

Morning Hobbit Holes

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-10-17 17:42:39
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length10.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I spent many hours inside of Bilbo’s Hobbit Hole! The first day I stayed in here for quite a while to duck out of the rain. It was when I was there for the Air New Zealand shoot and a strange storm came through. The hobbit holes were the safest and driest place to be! I was actually in here with the whole crew and many flight attendants for the duration.

Hobbiton, New Zealand

Inside The Hobbit Hole of Bilbo Baggins

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-10-19 02:11:24
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/30
• Aperture10
• ISO100
• Focal Length11.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Another little bit of the idyllic place that is Hobbiton…

Return to Hobbiton

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-05-25 06:02:41
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/640
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length13.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Hobbiton was such a fun place to explore. Looking back through these it reminds me I need to get to watching the new LOTR show when I get back to NZ!

The Wheel House

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-05-25 06:01:17
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/320
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length12.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

When we were over at Hobbiton for filming I was fortunate to have access outside the normal opening hours which gave me the option of sunset and sunrise shoots. I was incredibly fortunate to then find that there was little breeze and some lovely pink clouds thanks to the low sun which resulted in this peaceful scene.

Reflections at Hobbiton

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-10-17 17:42:39
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length10.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Most people know New Zealand from the Lord of the Rings movies. That’s how I first started thinking about moving here. What some may not know is that there is actually a Hobbiton with about 40 little hobbit holes on the North Island. Well… most doors are fake except for Bilbo’s home.

Hobbiton

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-10-17 17:39:56
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/100
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length13.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

How beautiful is Hobbiton? It feels like a movie set, and it actually is! Of course, it’s in New Zealand, and everything feels like a movie set anyway, so that adds to the luster. If I’m not mistaken, this area was in the first movie when Gandalf is riding into Hobbiton to make Frodo his tiny bitch and go do all the hard work while he just smokes a pipe and philosophizes.

Meandering through Hobbiton

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-05-25 06:19:55
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture8
• ISO125
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

The Hobbiton tour is definitely worth a visit if you’re up on the North Island of New Zealand. After you go on it, I find it impossible that you would not actually want to live in a hobbit hole. I also suggested to the management team there that they open up a few of the hobbit holes for people to sleep in at night. I’m sure that they could charge whatever they wanted. I’m a diehard LOTR fan, but there are people that are even way more hardcore than me!

Exploring Hobbiton

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-10-19 02:29:30
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1250
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length10.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-2

It’s been a few years since I have been to Matamata on the North Island and seeing these photos make me want to return. The farmers that originally owned (and still manage) the Hobbiton Movie Set have always been very generous and kind to me, so I try to repay them with as many photos as possible. In a way, this is an easy task, since it’s impossible to take a bad photo there.

The Party Tree in Hobbiton

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-05-25 09:12:46
• CameraFC330
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
• Exposure Bias+0.656

This was taken when Bel was filming a new video tutorial while we were in Hobbiton. You can get that Organize Your Photos tutorial right here! I took this photo about halfway through shooting when we took a break inside the Green Dragon. It’s the famous pub from the movie… that was kind of where we parked up and stored all our gear!

Bel Between Shoots

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-10-18 15:00:14
• CameraNEX-6
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/25
• Aperture5
• ISO400
• Focal Length55.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1