Ilse of Mull (and beyond!)
What do you get when you pack a car with camera gear, three great mates, and Dougal the dug 🐶? A 10/10 Scottish road trip! 🚗💨
We recently took a 5-day trip to the breathtaking Isle of Mull—the ultimate excuse for good laughs, relaxed island vibes, and endless photography opportunities. The accommodation was booked, and the CalMac ferry from Oban to Craignure was locked in... with just one small detail overlooked: we couldn’t get a return ferry booked! 😅 Our return journey would take us North from Tobermory to Kilchoan where we decided to extend the trip slightly by heading up to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse to explore the views and then south via Glennfinnan Viaduct, stopped at the Clachaig in Glencoe for dinner before arriving home about midnight - we definitely made the most of our homeward journey. ⛴️ 🚗 🏔️🏡
🖼️ Frame #1: The Panoramic Ferry Crossing
Mother Nature truly delivered for our ferry crossing! ☀️ The light over the water was fantastic, giving me the perfect conditions to capture Lismore Lighthouse 🏰.
It turned out to be one of my all-time favorite photographs to date! The composition was practically begging for a panoramic crop.
That set off a bit of a running theme for the start of the trip. Driving from the Craignure ferry terminal toward our base, we stopped at the famous Three Lochs Viewpoint. Naturally, we had to pull over—and perhaps predictably, another frame that was absolutely made for a pano crop! 🏞️✨
🌊 Island Hopping: Iona & Calgary Bay
We had a packed photo-itinerary for our four days on the island:
🏝️ Iona: The day we island-hopped over to Iona was dry, but the light was fairly flat. Still, this charming wee island never disappoints—plenty of subtle textures and landscape compositions to work with!
🏖️ Calgary Bay: Absolutely stunning! We hiked up to the cliff tops to take in the sweeping, dramatic views of the beach and open sea below 🌊.
🎞️ Going Old School: Moody Film & "Dereliction" 🏚️
For Calgary Bay, I decided to shoot predominantly analogue film 🎞️. Near the top of one of the hills, we stumbled across some rusted, abandoned farming equipment and a totally random caravan 🚐—making for some wonderfully moody film shots.
This accidentally sparked an entire “dereliction” photo theme for the rest of the trip! 🔍
My friend had recently uncovered the story behind Pennyghael House 🏡, which was once owned by none other than the legendary rock band Genesis 🎸. Being avid music lovers, visiting this piece of rock-and-roll history was an absolute non-negotiable! 🤘
🕯️ The Unplanned Assignment: Studio Product Photography! 💡
One of the coolest photography experiences of the trip happened entirely by chance just across the bay from our accommodation!
We visited Isle of Mull Candles 🕯️ just to browse and check out the shop. I got to chatting with the owner, one thing led to another, and before I knew it... I was setting up studio lights! 💡📸
We ended up styling and shooting their entire upcoming line of diffusers, candles, and wax melts ✨. Having never tried commercial product photography before, I had an absolute blast learning the ropes on the fly - still tonnes to improve on but I am fairly happy with my first attempt at this style of photography!
📝 Final Verdict
All in all, an unforgettable adventure with fantastic friends and my main man, Dougal the dug 🐶.
Photographically, it had everything:
✅ Epic coastal landscapes, Lighthouses & panoramic vistas
✅ Atmospheric film & derelict architecture
✅ An unexpected dive into commercial product photography
✅ New skills, great local connections, and tons of laughs!
Overall Score: 10/10 trip! 🏆💯 (Even if we did have to cross our fingers on the way back to the ferry terminal!)
