My Return to Middle Earth, Part 1: The Cinematography of The Fellowship of the Ring

I have returned to Middle Earth! And to start the deluge of posts dedicated to this beloved film series (currently sitting at six films), I thought I'd share some of the striking visuals from the first film in The Lord of the Rings series, The Fellowship of the Ring.

Director Peter Jackson had to impress with the first film in the trilogy to have folks buy in to the dense concept. Unlike the other two entries in this trilogy and the follow-up prequel series The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring is the most 'real' of the saga. Though there is CGI, there seemed to be a larger emphasis on location shooting and model work.

Fitting with a film series that, if you include the extended cuts, runs for 681 minutes, The Fellowship of the Ring takes its time setting up the mythos and, unlike other films in the series, it dedicates long takes and picturesque visuals to set a large, legendary mood. Below are those, and many other, moments depicting the visual spectacle that is Fellowship of the Ring.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Director: Peter Jackson
Cinematographer: Andrew Lesnie

*click on the images for a larger view; images courtesy of screencapped.net

^It should be noted that Andrew Lesnie won the 2001 Academy Award for Cinematography for this film.