Kia ora, Stemmt! I recently learned this New Zealand greeting and I’m pronouncing it like a pretentious asshole. My blog, my greetings! I’m at the Auckland airport with Miss Victory Violet about to make our way to Christchurch for another round of dark pinup photography shoots. So far, this trip has been incredible. There have been countless Steemit posts where I’ve complained about the crypto-market, because that really is why I’m here. It was a work necessity. I also acknowledged that this all may have happened for a reason. If STEEM was still $8, I can guarantee I wouldn’t have come to New Zealand.
Now that I’ve been here for a few days, I’m becoming aware of just how tragic that would be. This has been on of the most memorable trips of my life. I arrived in Auckland on my birthday [New Zealand time]. Ella took me around Howick, her current residential town. I had once day to recover and on my US birthday, we went to Hobbiton, the film set of The Shire in Lord of the Rings. I am a huge, unapologetic Lord of the Rings nerd, as is 
Seeing The Shire has been a bucket list check off since the films came out. I always wanted to see New Zealand, but the fantasy and lore of Lord of the Rings made it a must before I die. I wasn’t at all disappointed. The entire set was alive, in a way that wouldn’t happen in a US theme park or attraction. There was legitimate cliffs you could fall off of. The vegetable gardens were growing real vegetables. It was so authentic, every area was believably lived in by hobbits. I just wanted to see it all, but left with an even deeper appreciation of the the films.
Ella has been a better host than I deserve. Months ago, I told her I wanted to visit The Shire. As booking for New Zealand came in, it seemed like an obvious choice to scrap the Saturday drive to Hobbiton in leu of taking additionally bookings. To her credit, she refused. She said “You told me this was something you wanted to do.”. Another example of how the stress of finances has clouded my decision making. I would have forever regretted not making it to see this magical place. I have hundreds of other photos from The Shire to share, all in future Steemit posts I’m sure.
I’m boarding for Christchurch soon, so I’ll need to wrap this up. Ella and I just wrapped a series of dark pinup shoots at Shanghai Lil’s in Auckland yesterday. The space was breathtaking, and during shooting, the bar tender told me it’s the original set from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon! The ladies we shot were outstanding to work with and I have a number of photos to share from those shoots soon. I’ll be posting as often as I can while traveling throughout New Zealand and Australia. For more photography, art, illustration and travel, follow me here 