Walter Perlman

  • 17 years of professional photography experience
  • Advanced portraiture experience and training at New England School of Photography
  • Many very happy clients who not only refer me new business but also become repeat customers.
  • Creatively capturing your special moments with posed, candids, and fun shots
  • A good listener who works with you to capture your special event not run it

Abstract Fine Art Photography

"Another Way To See Water And Wrenches"
By Sarah Freedman, Correspondent - Marlborough Enterprise
Thursday, July 28, 2005

Five wrenches form a connected circle around a red dot of paint. Water drops, blown up as under a microscope, surround the image. This is a photograph, yet Marlborough artist Walter Perlman's award-winning photography piece, "Flower Tool," more resembles a kaleidoscopic image.

The piece, which won first place in the Fine Art Photography division of the Cape Cod Art Association's (CCAA) New England Regional Art Show, has an appropriate subject matter.

Perlman earned a degree in advertising and journalism at the University of Maine at Orono before fate threw a wrench in his plans.

Perlman said he had been interested in art and photography as just a hobby before taking portraiture classes at the New England School of Photography (NESP). He praised the institution, saying, "It's a great school."

Since switching gears, Perlman has run his own professional photography Marlborough-based business, Photography by Walter Perlman. For 14 years he has photographed bar mitzvahs, weddings, family portraits, champion dogs - for families, individuals or businesses who want photographs that capture a perfect split second in time, or tell a story, or freeze fleeting beauty, or even bring a tear to the eye.

The business takes Perlman, who is a Marlborough resident, to places across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Perlman's interest in photography isn't all business. He recently decided to experiment with still life abstracts and close-up photography at the suggestion of a fellow artist.

He won an honorable mention for a previous piece, and the first-place winner of the show liked his style and suggested that he experiment some more. Now, Perlman experiments with light and different media and creates images, which he photographs. For example, he uses props such as plastic translucent boxes and metal tools.

First, he arranges the props in patterns and applies fabric paint. Perlman then sprays water over the props and adjusts the lighting. He credits his expertise with lighting to the New England School of Photography. "I learned a tremendous amount of information on lighting there."

A macro lens allows him to focus in on the image, giving it a "molecular" look. By shooting the image from three inches away, Perlman can make a quarter-inch image look like a four inch image.

"I'm creating the images," he said. "I'm creating something that does not exist ... and making it more dramatic."

When working on a piece, he adapts. Originally, Perlman planned out his designs and made them more complicated. Now, he starts with a rough idea and decides to "just go with it" by changing the lighting and amount of water.

He has learned to keep it simple. According to Perlman, "Simple [designs] photograph the best." Perlman has found success with his work, most recently with the first place win at the New England Exhibition, - a win he did not expect.

After submitting slides of his work for the CCAA exhibition, which ran from June 23 to July 18, Perlman did not hear from the association right away.

Two days later, however, he received the call that he had won. "That was great," Perlman said.

As for his evolving art career, several art galleries are interested in his work. Two galleries already showcase his work. Frederick Scott Gallery, located at 29 Hudson Road in Sudbury, and Artful Image, located at 16A Walden St. in Concord, displays his pantomime photography and abstract photography respectively.

Perlman summed up his approach to creating art. He said, "I'm just starting to experiment." (source: Freedman, Sarah. "Another way to see water and wrenches." Marlborough Enterprise 28 July2005)