ABOUT ME
My name is Jawad Margieh and I am a Software Architect at SAP. I joined SAP in 2015 as an intern.
Currently I’m doing my masters degree in computer science.
I’ve mostly worked on developing backend applications, as well as other various tools that aim to make the life of my colleagues developers easier.
I was born and raised in Jaffa of Nazareth (a small town next to Nazareth). I moved to Haifa in 2012 when I joined the University of Haifa studying for my computer science B.Sc degree.
In late 2012 me and two friends that I met in the University started a small business providing mobile and web development services for small and mid-size brands.
In mid 2014 I joined a leading MENA online accommodation booking startup, and by 2015 I was accepted as an intern at SAP.
I wasn’t always into urban or street photography, I think I had this stereotype in my head that street photographers were people who had to go up to strangers and ask to take portraits of them in the streets, or people who hid in shadows and town squares and shot people from a distance, hoping not to get noticed. I always thought that street photography would make people uncomfortable, make you feel uncomfortable, it just did not fit who I was.
In early 2018 I decided to have my first collection of street and urban photography and that’s when it all happened.
I think that street photographs can certainly tell a story, showing a feeling for what the area is like under the surface, it can even open up a space for the viewer providing more possibilities for interpretation - it is opening up for storylines to unfold.
I’ve been always passionate about art and photography. Outside of my job, I love taking photographs, nothing makes me happier than getting lost in the streets with a backpack full of camera equipment learning to observe people, places, buildings and activities, I think this makes us better storytellers and communicators, also it is a good way to open up your mind to new cultures, people, and ways of living.
I use Sony A7iii with Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 - for walk around and Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG DN for portraits, I only shoot RAW files, so all my photographs have to be post edited. My typical workflow is to start with Lightroom for heavy lifting of color correction and split toning transforming it into a dark, moody, cinematic photographs, and finish up in Photoshop for retouching and removing elements to clean them up.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that photography is a fairly popular hobby amongst engineers. It’s an art form that comes with a lot of technical considerations and it’s easy for someone in the tech industry to get lost in the minutiae of camera equipment and accessories. What I learned is that in order to choose the right camera that makes you happy, you must get lost.
Finally, I do believe it’s important to share our creative passions. Many areas of tech require creativity, not necessarily an artistic creativity, but creativity itself. To be and to remain creative, you need a curious and healthy mind, and by looking outside of tech, you can learn new things about ourselves and the world we help to build, but the most important thing we can also find inspiration.