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This Instagrammer has travelled all over New Zealand dressed as Gandalf

Published 22:30 19 Feb 2017 GMT

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Pose, you fools!

We all love heading off to new locales and taking tasty landscape pics with just the right filter, but when it comes to ingenious ways of sprucing up your holiday pics, this guy deserves all the praise heading his way. 21-year-old Akhil Suhas travelled over 15,000 kms all around New Zealand, from the barren deserts to the highest mountains, all the way dressed as Gandalf from The Lord Of The Rings. Talking to The Guardian, Suhas said “I wanted a recurring subject in my photos. When you have so many photographers visiting the country, I figured that I needed to do something to set me apart. Then, I was watching the Lord of the Rings for the 5th time and then the idea struck.” When he reached parts of his trip when he was travelling alone, he would ask strangers to take the photographs of him, and Suhas said at no point during his trip did anyone turn down the opportunity.

#GandalfTheGuide reckons that middle earth (aka new zealand) has the most diverse set of landscapes given the size of the country - I agree. Here we are exploring the Te Paki Sand Dunes, which looks like you're in the middle of a desert ?

A post shared by photographer ╳ new zealand (@akhilsuhas) on Aug 18, 2016 at 12:21am PDT

safe to say, you won't find this spot in a @lonelyplanet guide! that's the advantage of travelling with #GandalfTheGuide (thank you @leilajnicholson)

A post shared by photographer ╳ new zealand (@akhilsuhas) on Jan 28, 2017 at 7:41pm PST

looks like #GandalfTheGuide is blending in with the surroundings. I went on a lovely mission to the Rob Roy Glacier with some fellow instagrammers @ellenprojects, @adaptography, @time_to_film, and @dubdof. I love the community aspect of instagram cos you get to meet and hangout with other photographers! In other news, I hope everyone is safe from the recent earthquake here in nz - while camping, I thought the wind was shaking my car - but, when I read the news this morning - turns out it was actually an earthquake! @lakewanakanz @purenewzealand

A post shared by photographer ╳ new zealand (@akhilsuhas) on Nov 13, 2016 at 8:38pm PST

Isengard ft. #GandalfTheGuide and a bemused Beagle ?

A post shared by photographer ╳ new zealand (@akhilsuhas) on Nov 30, 2016 at 8:16pm PST

witnessing the turquoise water at hokitika gorge with #GandalfTheGuide has definitely been a highlight of our journey through middle-earth. a little while ago, @purenewzealand featured some snippets of my journey with gandalf on their facebook page, to celebrate the 15 year anniversary of ?? being home to middle-earth. I tried linking it in my bio, but it wouldn't work - so head over to their facebook to see the photos (including some exclusive shots that I haven't posted here)

A post shared by photographer ╳ new zealand (@akhilsuhas) on Dec 14, 2016 at 8:05pm PST

surely one of the most epic spots in middle-earth: milford sound. #GandalfTheGuide and I, would like to wish you all merry christmas and a happy new year ??

A post shared by photographer ╳ new zealand (@akhilsuhas) on Dec 23, 2016 at 7:49pm PST

Check out more of Akhil Suhas' magnificent photography here.

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