Our Team
Our team is fun, chill, efficient and hardworking. Everyone on the team is valued and their passion for their craft is encouraged and mentored. We are experts in our field and do great work because we love what we do and we take pride in what we produce.
Between shoots you can find us in our studio playing very serious games of ping pong!
Mohamed Somji
Founder & Photographer
Mohamed is the Director of Gulf Photo Plus and founded Seeing Things in 2015 and has cultivated a dynamic and diverse team of creatives who take pride on making interesting work and having fun while doing it. He is also a highly respected architectural and editorial photographer and has been widely published and exhibited but his team will tell you his true passion is beating everyone at ping pong.
Yulia Piskuliyska
Studio Manager
Yulia is the Studio Manager of Seeing Things. She has spent four years as a producer and documentary filmmaker in the creative industry.
Her love for documentary films led her to produce and direct her own, Practical Dreams (2019) and The Reader (2017). At the studio, Yulia is responsible for the team's workflow while ensuring tasks are met, and clients are happy. Outside the studio, she continues documenting lives on the Dubai Metro Red Line.
Zeina Dahlan
Producer
Zeina, Palestinian-Jordanian, has been in the film industry for over six years. With a background in film and television, a Sustainable Development masters, producing is the path she's naturally taken.
Producing in multiple countries and dealing with international crew over the years, she has embraced the crazy set life and is always looking forward to creating innovative digital content for clients. From writing the idea to end credits and subtitling, Zeina will enthusiastically lead the project from A-Z
Ismail Noor
Photographer
Ismail has a background in advertising where his curiosity brought him behind the camera.
He is now one of the best art & culture photographers in the region, shooting regularly for the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Alserkal Avenue, 421, Sharjah Art Foundation, and many other galleries. He also specializes in architecture and interior photography and enjoys documenting the streets and daily activities of people in his travels. He is very easy to work with which is a reflection of his many repeat clients.
Augustine Paredes
Art Director & Photographer
Augustine is a multi-disciplinary artist. He has authored four books, and his art has been exhibited internationally.
He works as Seeing Things' art director and photographer. His background in advertising provides a unique perspective working with clients across many industries. His creativity brings innovation and imagination to each client he works with, be it commercial or documentary.
John Gatapia
Filmmaker
John is a filmmaker with over six years of experience. He can handle a broad range of content creation, yet he especially loves docu-commercial projects.
On set he is focused and keeps things simple and the videos he makes continually exceed client expectations. Color grading is his favorite part of the whole process as that seemingly subtle detail can set the mood for the whole story. At the studio he is constantly giving Mohamed Somji a run for his money on the ping pong table.
Kristina Sergeeva
Photographer
Trained and celebrated as a documentary photographer, Kristina Sergeeva is on new adventures with photography. Furthering her talent and skills at the Seeing Things Studio, she has taken images to help brands accomplish their marketing goals. Her commercial work spans stylized e-commerce imagery to branded social media content. It has to be noted that Kristina—whose personal photography projects lie in hidden narratives, identity, and secrecy—has been exhibited internationally and is an awardee of the prestigious Prince Claus Fund Partnership Network Grant.
Daryll Borja
Photographer
Daryll is a quiet force to be reckoned with, yet still—a force. As a commercial photographer, he creates images depicting and elevating beauty and fashion. Having worked as a photographer for over six years, he has developed a creative photographic style across various types of shoots—from fashion editorials, beauty shots, and lookbooks to events, food, and lifestyle. His relentless talent and uber-cool persona make working with Daryll a memorable experience.
Bala Ochangco
Filmmaker
Bala comes from a family in film production who inspired him to pursue his craft nine years ago. Keeping creatively at the edge of the cliff, he has won silver at the QS-APPLE Creative Awards and grand prize at the Vision Petron Art Competition. Even with his experience and success his enthusiasm to keep learning and improve his visual storytelling is never ending and inspires his teammates to do the same. In his own time he enjoys cooking and even produces his own cooking show.
Niño Consorte
Photographer
Nino's love for photography started 7 years ago when he began working with Mohamed Somji as at Gulf Photo Plus. He has since become an expert assistant that the whole team relies on and shoots photo and video. His love of the craft has led him to his passion of street photography where his photos capture stolen moments of people and places that tell their stories. On and off set Nino always brings a great attitude and keeps everyone on the team laughing.
Mahalia Orillosa
Studio Assistant
It's safe to say that Mahalia brings incomparable joy to the studio. Funny and hardworking, she never fails to lighten a hard day's work. At Seeing Things Studio, Mahalia ensures everything is in order, from the studio and equipment to the team's needs. Her love for photography began when she joined the team at Gulf Photo Plus, supporting the exhibitions and printing team; now, it extends to production as the ultimate helping hand of every artist in the studio. Recently, she has been exploring her passion for photography by shooting alongside our photographers.
