The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King World Premiere - 15 years on

Has it really been fifteen years?

As I mentioned this time last year (and the year before!), not long after I moved to Wellington in the late nineties, Peter Jackson started filming the Lord Of The Rings right in our neighbourhood of Seatoun, where I was living at the time. By the end of principal photography, I had been an Elf, an Orc, a Gondorian and a Rohan - most of them dead, some of them killed by the person I'd been playing the day before - on sets all over the Wellington region.

By the time the films came out, I was also a photographer - and by the premiere of the third film, there were a few more of us there…

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers Wellington Premiere - 15 years on

Has it really been fifteen years?

As I mentioned this time last year, not long after I moved to Wellington in the late nineties, Peter Jackson started filming the Lord Of The Rings right in our neighbourhood of Seatoun, where I was living at the time. By the end of principal photography, I had been an Elf, an Orc, a Gondorian and a Rohan - most of them dead, if I'm honest - on sets all over the Wellington region.

By the time the first film came out, I was also a photographer, with red carpet access for the Australasian premiere at the Embassy Theatre; and a year later, I was back - this time, with considerably more people lining the media pen, and Courtenay Place...

First XV: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King premiere (2003)

I wrote a few months ago about the first Lord Of The Rings premiere at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, and I'm sure I'll be looking at the Two Towers one again in December; but this image, as much for what it represents to me as anything else, has made it into my First XV list - celebrating fifteen years of my career, photographing the arts.

I'd photographed the previous two premieres by the time of the third one, and seen the crowds on the street (and in the media pen) grow exponentially each time; but I think, perhaps because I was still fairly new to the industry, I was still a bit shy, a bit hesitant about being elbow-to-elbow with the world's press in a tiny fenced area.

Don't get me wrong, I planned ahead and got there early, to make sure I got a good spot! But this time was different...

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring Wellington Premiere - 15 years on

Has it really been fifteen years?

When I moved to Wellington in the late nineties, a lot was happening. When the announcement came that Peter Jackson would be filming the Lord Of The Rings all over New Zealand, he started right in our neighbourhood of Seatoun, where I was living at the time.

By the end of filming, some 300 days later, I would have been an Elf, an Orc, a Gondorian and a Rohan - most of them dead, if I'm honest. By the time the first film came out, I was also a photographer...

Lost & Found #7: Mt Victoria Forest, Wellington New Zealand 2005

More gear testing! A little different this time, today's Lost & Found was actually taken with my first Fuji camera - the pocketable little F11, that came out in 2005. This forest is near where some of Lord Of The Rings was filmed, on Mt Victoria - fans of the film will no doubt recognise the landscape where the Hobbits had their first encounter with a Black Rider...

PhotographyRobert CattoOctober 16, 2014Fuji F11, Lord Of The Rings, Lost And Found, Mt Victoria, North Island, Photography, Wellington, New ZealandComment

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey world premiere in Wellington (and a couple of other images too...)

PhotographyRobert CattoDecember 4, 2012Canon 1D MkIII, Cinema, Embassy Theatre, Hobbit, Lord Of The Rings, Photography, World Premiere, Fuji X-Pro 1, Alien Skin Exposure, Wellington, New Zealand, Fuji X100, Canon 1D Mark IVComment

Robert CattoOctober 25, 2010Rally, Hobbit, Photography, Cinema, The Hobbit, Richard Taylor, Lord Of The Rings, Wellington, New Zealand, Weta Workshop, FilmComment