When most people picture a binman’s day, they imagine early starts, clanging bins, and the steady thrum of a working truck. For Colin Morrison of the Isle of Mull, those same routines turned into something quite different: a running photographic diary of island life that has charmed locals and visitors around the world. What began as a few spare photos taken on breaks has become the annual A Binman’s View of Mull & Iona calendar, an island institution with a generous heart.
From Rubbish Rounds to Remarkable Views
Colin’s photography started simply. While on his rounds, he would reach for his phone whenever the light, weather, or wildlife presented a moment worth keeping. On Mull, the scenery changes with the minute: one moment a loch is mirror-smooth, and the next it is whipped into silver by a squall. Colin learned to notice those instants while still doing a job. His images are often shot in passing, from the cab of the lorry or during a quick roadside pause.
He began sharing images on social media, and the reaction was immediate. Islanders recognised lanes and lay-bys, crofts and shoreline, and they loved seeing their home through the eye of a neighbour. The pictures weren’t polished travel photography, they were honest, intimate captures of everyday Mull: sheep silhouetted against dawn, a sudden shaft of sunlight through storm cloud, the weathered croft gate that always seems to stand a bit too proud of the verge. That authenticity is part of their power.
The Calendar Grows, as Does the Giving
Requests for prints soon turned into demand for calendars, and an annual project was born. The calendars are now a seasonal staple: thick stock, dependable dates, and a dozen pictures that tell the quieter stories of Hebridean life. But Colin chose to give the project a purpose beyond pretty pictures. From the first editions, he pledged a share of profits to local causes, and that pledge has become central to the calendars’ identity. Over the years, the sales have raised tens of thousands of pounds for a variety of community projects, including the Isle of Mull Sports Bus, local school PTAs, youth clubs, village halls, choirs, and seasonal decorations.
The sales cycle is community-driven: local shops stock the calendars, holidaymakers pick them up as souvenirs, and long-standing supporters order multiple copies to send to friends and family. The result is a grassroots fundraising engine that channels love of place into practical help for the people who live there and highlights the island’s strong sense of community.
More Than Local—Truly Global Reach
It’s fair to say the calendars no longer only hang in kitchens from Calgary to Craignure. What began as a modest local venture has found buyers all over the globe, orders have been sent to North America, Europe, Australia, and beyond. Tourists, ex-pats, and admirers of wild places now keep a piece of Mull on their walls, and the project’s appeal continues to grow every year.
The Eye Behind the Lens
What makes Colin’s work so resonant isn’t just technical skill or perfect composition. It’s the authenticity behind it. He doesn’t set out with a tripod at golden hour or wait for tourists to clear the frame. His photos are captured in passing, moments of wonder caught in the middle of a working day. That authenticity carries through to every shot, the muddy verges, the mist, the play of sunlight on wet tarmac. It’s Mull through the eyes of someone who truly knows its backroads and rhythms.
It’s also the perspective of someone who sees the extraordinary in the ordinary. Where others might see just another run to the recycling depot, Colin sees eagles soaring over Glen More, rainbows breaking over Dervaig, or the mirror-like calm of a loch at dawn. His work reminds both locals and visitors that beauty doesn’t demand grandeur, sometimes, it’s right there in the familiar routes we take every day.
Local Hero, Island Ambassador
Colin’s story has spread well beyond Mull. His photography has been featured in regional media and online communities, praised for its warmth and unpretentious charm. A short documentary has even been made about his journey, the binman whose daily grind became a creative calling.
Yet despite the attention, Colin remains modest. He often speaks not about his photography, but about the causes the calendars support or about the pride he takes in showcasing the island he calls home. In that sense, he’s become something more than a photographer, he’s an ambassador for Mull itself, a living reminder of how deeply art and community can intertwine.
The Community Connection
Every calendar season, Colin updates his followers with the chosen charities for the year and shares photos of the groups that benefit. It’s a genuine cycle of giving, the island gives him its landscapes, and he gives back through his art. Many island businesses proudly stock his calendars, knowing that every sale contributes to the wellbeing of the place they share.
It’s not uncommon to hear tourists asking for “the binman’s calendar” in local shops, proof of how his project has become woven into Mull’s identity. It represents more than scenic photography; it’s a symbol of community pride and quiet creativity thriving far from the spotlight.
Seeing Mull Anew
In the end, A Binman’s View of Mull is more than a collection of images. It’s a story about perspective, about how the most familiar paths can still surprise us if we take the time to look up. Colin Morrison has shown that beauty doesn’t need a studio, a gallery, or a grand plan. Sometimes it rides along in the passenger seat of a bin lorry, waiting for someone with the right eye and the right heart to notice.
So next time you’re driving the winding roads of Mull, remember to glance out the window. Somewhere between the clouds and the sea, you might just catch a glimpse of the island as Colin does, real, rugged, radiant, and entirely alive. And if you do, perhaps you’ll understand why a humble binman’s view has captured so many hearts across the Hebrides and beyond.
Buy the Calendar
Ready to bring a piece of Mull into your home? You can purchase the A Binman’s View of Mull & Iona calendar directly from The Mull and Iona Shop.
