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Feras Abu Mokh
@ferasamm
Photographer based in Palestine
My name is Feras, I am 27 years old, and I live in Palestine. Let’s go back to 2010, the year when I bought my first phone, a Nokia N95. I was so proud owning this phone and it was the first camera that I had as well. To test it out I went to my favorite place, the sea, and stayed until the sun had set. It was one of the most stunning sunsets I had ever seen and came home with lots of photos. As soon as I got home I looked back at them and was amazed by how beautiful it looked even at a photo. Every week I would go to the sea to take more photos, practice my abilities in photography and try to obtain better photos.
"I kept those photos for myself until one day I decided to show them to my family and friends. They were impressed and their reaction motivated me to keep shooting and improving."
I remember buying a Lumix camera right after I finished my studies in computer programing. I started working full time as a programmer in the weekends and spent my free time taking photos with this new camera. Everything seemed to be fine, however, I wasn’t happy. I couldn’t see myself as a programmer and I didn’t enjoy what I was doing. One day I was really upset, I took my camera and went to my favorite place on earth, the sea. When I am by the sea, I find a place to reflect and to clear my mind. The waves coming and going, I started to take photos until I sat down and relaxed. I still remember lying flat on the golden sand thinking that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a photographer. The passion for photography had always been inside me, it just needed to be discovered. And I needed to realize that it could be more than a passion. That I didn’t have to be a programmer just because I studied it. And I did at that moment, lying on the golden sand next to the sea that started to calm down.
“If you don’t like the road you are walking, start paving another one.”
I began to improve my skills in photography, learn as much as I could by watching videos on YouTube, reading, following other photographers and learn from their experience… My passion for photography grew day by day and after a year or so, in 2017, I bought a new camera, a Canon 80d. I was in awe holding it for the first time, this camera that I only had seen on TV or YouTube. I felt excited, this enthusiasm led me to keep learning and improving. I started traveling around the country and photographing different places in my beautiful homeland. The Palestine embraces many cultures, witnessed various imperialists over time, and let’s not forget the tremendous Arabian architecture, which is a continuing inspiration for my photography. You can get a glimpse of one of the historical places in this video I made earlier this year:
On some occasions, I photographed family weddings. The resulting pictures caused admirations of my family and a lot of people in my hometown. That helped me realize even more that besides a passion, I have a talent for this and I decided to pursue a professional career in photography. Photography began taking up more of my time, especially when Instagram became a bigger thing for me personally. I started to post my work to share it with as many people as possible. From extraordinary photos of beautiful places around the world taken by other content creators I learnt there was so much to explore and photograph. Places with a different natural scenery, architecture, and weather than my homeland.
"I got this strong desire to travel to those places, view them through my lens and capture them as I imagine."
In our culture, a steady job, a house, and marriage come first. While it was hard, I managed to convince my parents that this is my passion and that I need to do this. Now, they support my photography and even helped me with my travels. They always wanted me to be happy and satisfied with my life, they saw I have the abilities to accomplish goals within the photography world and they’ve always pushed me to do my best. It is an honor to have such a great and loving family to support you and stand by you no matter what.
"My first trip was to Kostroma, Russia. It was a sleddog adventure in the rural areas and wilderness of Russia."
It was magical; the photos and videos of the trip provided me with a huge motivation to continue traveling. It was the start of my search for the most beautiful places in the world to document them with my lens. I also decided to bring my GoPro to be able to create a video and provide my viewers a more in-depth view of the trip.
"Right after I came back from Russia I thought about what new adventure I could go on, what new destination to explore. Finally I made a decision to go to turkey, specifically to Uzungol."
The main reason to go there was to see the Milky Way. My whole life I’ve wanted to see it in person, and this was my time. To see this gorgeous view you have to hike through a forests all the way up to the mountain and when we arrived to the top I was shocked. The view took my breath away and I just stared at the mighty scene, an endless ocean of stars. I felt an intense happiness at that moment and still, that I could witness that magnificent view. I immediately pulled out my photography kit to try to capture just a small piece of the huge universe we live in. The scene got totally stuck in my head. Until today, whenever I leave my house at night, the first thing I do is looking at the sky and remembering what I saw, hoping to get that feeling and the rush of adrenaline again just like when I first rested my gaze on the Milky Way.
After my trip to turkey my adventurous spirit increased more and more each second of everyday. One day, while I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, I saw an ad for a trip to Iceland. What is this island?! The pictures I saw in that ad were so different that I did not believe that this type of nature and landscape actually exists on our planet. I started watching videos about Iceland on Youtube and my next destination became definite.
"If you never go, you will never know."
My family and friends all disagreed with me on going there and said that it was too dangerous and too cold. I didn’t want to let them influence me or pass their fear on to me; I followed my guts and went off to Iceland. It was the best trip in my life that is why this quote means a lot to me. I truly believe in it because if I had listened to them, I would have missed a lot and would never have known about this mysterious island.
"The best memories are the crazy ones, the ones that you still remember vividly after many years because it was so extraordinary or meaningful to you."
I have many, and one of them was in Iceland, when I sat on the edge of a well known cliff on a beach. I just felt the waves crashing on the rocks more than 150 meters below my feet, hear the birds and smell the sea. The view was incredible. I remember my hair on my arms standing up; I was so scared but so thrilled at the same time, I was shaking but on top of the world.
"This whole experience allowed me to overcome many fears, not just my fear of heights but also of breaking barriers, choosing the opposite of what others tell you to do."
And when I sat on the edge of the cliff, I realized anything is achievable in life if one is committed and persistent in achieving the goal. We may fall many times, but the falls make us stronger, more experienced. So trip and specifically this moment changed my thinking about life and what I can accomplish. If I feel low or demotivated I look back at this picture, this moment and remind myself I can achieve anything if I try with heart and soul.
"Taking an image, freezing a moment reveals how rich reality truly is."
Every time I snap a photo I keep that in mind. My photography should reflect the beauty of the view, I want my images to be expressive and meaningful, telling a story so the viewer can relive the experience I had as photographer. I want the viewer to have an experience when looking at my images and not just see a photograph. During the editing process I keep this in mind and wonder how the photo will move them, affect them, or motivate them. I am committed to pursuing this passion as a career and will continue to develop myself in order to achieve this dream. Photography started as a hobby and now I’m trying to make it a livelihood for me and my family.
I want to share with whomever will read this that I believe no one should ever stop trying to reach their dreams; they should always insist on achieving them whatever the circumstances or consequences because they teach us how we can think better, how to be stronger, how to be prepared for the moment we reach our goal and for all that comes after that. Travel and photography have become my whole life. I want to thank and show my gratitude to my family who supported me in this process, particularly my sister, financially and psychologically. Due to their ongoing support I made a pledge to myself and to them that I will not stop pursuing this passion.
"Whatever consequences I will face, I will continue to create, to tell a story and provide more creativity, making them very proud until the last moment of my life."
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