server {
    ...
    location /images/ {
        # Set the root directory to search for the file
        root /data/www;

        # Disable logging of errors related to file existence
        open_file_cache_errors off;

        # Make an internal redirect if the file is not found
        error_page 404 = /fetch$uri;
    }

    location /fetch/ {
        proxy_pass http://backend/;
    }
}