BEHIND THE LENS WITH CONNOR MOLLISON

Continuing our new series documenting some of the amazing photographers we collaborate with on Hidden Scotland. Today, meet Connor Mollison

GLENFINNAN VIADUCT

In 2016, my dad and I rented a campervan and went on our first proper Scottish road trip. Essentially, the North Coast 500 before I knew what that was. I had just got the drone prior to this trip and was excited to use it. Coming back down the west coast, we parked by the Glenfinnan Viaduct overnight to catch the sunrise and what a morning it was. We were the only ones there, so I sent the drone up and managed to catch the sun as it illuminated the beautiful October orange.

DUNNOTTAR CASTLE

This is the image that put me on the Instagram ‘map’. I woke up around 4am to drive up to Aberdeenshire for another sunrise mission. I had only ever seen shots from the ground here but I knew there would something special to see the castle from above, standing out from the rugged coastline. After sharing the image to Instagram, it gathered a lot of attention and I’ve loved seeing others replicate this shot in their own style.

KILCHURN CASTLE

My best images come as a result of waking up at a ridiculous hour to catch a sunrise and avoid the crowds. My trip to Kilchurn Castle was no different and yet again, I was spoiled to beautiful colours and no wind. I love the sense of calm when taking photos in such a setting. Definitely worth a 3am alarm on this occasion.

OLD MAN OF STORR

The Old Man of Storr is like something from another plant, especially seeing it from above. If you’ve only ever seen it in photos, you’d be surprised how big the pinnacles actually are. I usually like to get someone in the shot to give you a sense of scale but there was only a couple of us here on this morning. If you’re visiting Skye, I’d highly recommend going out of season – the same amazing views with a fraction of the people.

DUNCANSBY HEAD

In a whirlwind couple of days, my girlfriend and I took the car up the east coast with one mission in mind: sunrise at Duncansbay Stacks. We stopped at some other fantastic places on the way but my shot of the trip was definitely this beautiful morning. Coincidentally, standing next to me was Scottish landscape legend, Colin Prior. I still wonder what he thought of my run and gun drone style of shooting…

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY

connor mollison

Connor Mollison

I’m a full-time commercial photographer with a passion for exploring the outdoors in my free time.
 

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