BETTERTON — When Perry Hall first learned to ollie (catch air) on a skateboard on Wheeler Avenue’s cracked sidewalks in Betterton, he had no idea how far those urethane wheels would take him.
From California, to Rome to now Texas.
During his recent visit to Kent County, the professional multi-international award winning photographer and co-founder of Daylight School in Rome reflected on how his experiences shaped him.
While the heat welcomed him back home in the form of a wave, so also did his family. In an interview, he shared memories about his mother, the late Pamela Hall, a photographer and artist and, at one time, a graphic artist at Kent County News.
Hall sees his mother reflected in his own art and knows she’d be proud of him.
And why not?
TinCan Magazine awarded him first place in Best Documentary Award, for “In the Mouth of the Wolf.” He was awarded first place for that same documentary by European Photography Award and by the Los Angelos Photography Awards in the Analog Film Photography category. He had an honorable mention from Italian Street Photography festival, Paolo Pelligrin as well.
His work has been featured in The New Yorker Magazine and PeriMetro Magazine.
It’s taken him to exotic locales where he’s captured those fleeting moments, that only last for a glimpse of time before vanishing forever.
Throughout all his travels and successes, he’s remained down-to-earth, his eye keen as a street photographer.
On Thursday night, June 20, Hall made a surprise appearance at the Betterton American Legion to everybody’s delight, showing he’s a hometown boy.
Everybody knows Hall, raised in Kent County, living at various times in Galena, Chestertown and Betterton.
As he greeted people that night, his positive aura was infectious.
He carried that same energy with him when he moved from Maryland to California in 2003 living with punk rockers with spiky-glued hair, homemade tattoos and big aspirations.
California greeted the Kent crew with endless possibilities — good and bad. Hall could have been caught up in the negative ones, like some others, but skateboarding “saved his life.” He ruthlessly focused on it, throwing himself in his passion, not looking back.
Like the skinny kid in Betterton bombing the beach hill, locking his knees...never looking back.
He was homeless, but found like-minded people and together they went all over finding spots to skate. He recalled memorable locations like Willits skatepark. Around those grounds in California, he hitchhiked to win skateboarding competitions in order to continue his dream.
His efforts ultimately saw him sponsored by Freedom Skate Shop.
This took him to skate spots around the world. Macba in Barcelona. In Cuba at a DIY skatepark in Havana. Burnside, Portland. Here before Millington skatepark closed down, he won first place for his run.
He loved frontside airs, launching off transitions, reflecting on doing a roast beef air over the extension while Steven Reeves was doing a nose blunt revert.
Skateboarding rewarded him greatly.
There’s scars to prove it. Injuries that read like a professional wrestler’s.
“Basically, I broke everything,” Hall laughed.
Other than the close-knit friendships, the lifestyle, skateboarding offered him something else — something hidden away.
An eye for the street!
Hall explained, “As a skater, you view the street differently. You can feel, for instance, the bumps on the road, the vibration of the wheels.
It’s true.
Stairs become jumps. Hills are launching-points. Manhole covers turn into obstacles.
Many years of viewing the streets in this way, in angles and various perspectives, unlocked the talent of photography.
He could see the natural lines like rule of thirds, natural compositions, shadows and lighting. The very split second someone’s framed in between construction scaffolding for example.
After meeting his ex-wife, preparing to move to Rome with her, he was granted a parting gift from a friend; a Canon AE-1 program camera.
Back in Rome, he took pictures, carrying in his pocket two roles of film. Photography was a natural progression.
Then, to Hall’s surprise, he discovered photography was also in his blood. Upon returning to Maryland for a visit, his father showed him old photos of his mother’s work. He was blown away by the talent and style she possessed.
“I knew then that’s where I got it from,” Perry said.
She offered her son some honest critique and advice.
Go black and white, she told him.
He did, taking advice from artists like his mother and also being inspired from some of the greatest street photographers: William Klein, Jim Goldberg, Vivian Maier and Jill Frieedman; a woman like his mother, tough and talented.
In Rome, Hall captured the beat of the street.
He called his first series, “In the Mouth of the Wolf.” That’s a Roman expression akin to wishing good luck, facing the unknown with courage.
“In the Mouth of the Wolf,” earned him some high acclaim, fueling him to continue.
Not only did he have that natural eye and family-given talent, but the work ethic to succeed. With the same fervor he practiced skateboarding, he threw himself into photography.
His discipline would be to shoot seven days a week. On the weekend develop the rolls, and scan the photos into the computer, edit them, while learning how to do printmaking in the darkroom.
“It’s all self-taught,” he said.
But he loves it and it shows. Each shot, he said, there’s a piece of himself in it. Every picture, a story to tell.
The love and passion took him to Cuba, which was a humbling experience. He intentionally strayed from the well-trodden path to capture the true essence of the island.
“I learned to never to take what we have for granted,” he replied.
Now, Hall’s back in the United States, planning to travel more on longterm projects.
He’s already shot in Austin, Texas, showcasing the essence of the Dirty 6th, a notorious nightlife hub spanning nine blocks.
It took him a year to shoot. He was masterful in finding beauty in the raw emotion, the ecstasy of the moment, or even the misery in the plight for happiness.
Learning from the greats, he builds his own style while expanding his business. His Daylight school is a collection of people who he found along the way that share that same passion.
And possibilities abound now that’s he’s under an agency, Standard Grammar in Dallas, Texas.
His style is captivating and original, something picked up on by New Yorker writer, Paul Elie in his article: “The Freedom to See Rome Anew.”
“There’s not a church, palazzo, piazza or staircase in the centro storico that hasn’t been rendered by a succession of ace photographers working with state-of-the-art gear — and by centuries of open-air painters before them. The only way to make things new with a camera in Rome then, is to be fully-present in the given moment, which is ipso facto unprecedented.”
Hall saw a new way of capturing something timeless.
It’s genius, but if you meet Hall, you’d probably just see a relaxed, well-travelled, worldly-wise dude with a playlist of good music.
At age 39 he’s living all his hopes and dreams.
He encourages others to do the same.
Check out Perry Hall’s work at perryhallphoto.com and daylightschool.com.
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