Transient Light and Fleeting Time, the title of a new book by award-winning photographer Robert Golden alludes to reaching that special moment of magic that photographers strive to capture. Produced as a series of 50 essays, each facing a photograph, the book is not a technical demonstration of how to achieve great photography but rather an exploration of Robert’s own way of thinking; a walk through the thoughts and philosophy that have evolved from a life of studying the people, places and events that he has photographed and filmed.
The book is particularly concerned with how to be socially useful as a photographer and as Robert says, to ‘live a creative life’ while surrounded by what he calls ‘a boorish, corporate made, popular culture’. Rather than lenses, F-Stops, LUT’s and technical matters, Transient Light and Fleeting Time explores curiosity, themes, content and subjects from a philosophical position. It offers a soul baring insight into the politics that drives Robert Golden to create images that make a difference.
Discussing the morality of the ‘Right to Photograph’ Robert explains that he is driven by the belief that photographers and film documentarists are ‘messengers’ whose role is often to provide ‘representation, if not a voice’ to those that might otherwise be ignored by history.
A chapter entitled, A Story of Generations, succinctly describes the human life cycle, from toddling behind our elders to being laid to rest by our children. ‘With this kind of perspective’ writes Robert ‘the photographer can recognise that all pictures are part of a journey’. He describes photographers as ‘the magpies of history’ collecting images from the narrative of their own lives as well as those of others. The impact of how we are affected—whether emotionally or intellectually—by world events, natural and cultural influences, confrontations, novels, music or even inanimate objects such as a broken tea cup or a crushed up newspaper, are all platforms that can affect our approach to a photograph.
Robert has been making photographs since he was 12 years old. In his early career, he worked in New York with many magazines and newspapers, creating photo-essays and stories for articles. Once he moved to London, he was commissioned to photograph actors, politicians and others, producing magazine, book and record covers. He pioneered a new style of advertising and editorial food photography; conceived and shot ten award-winning books called the ‘People Working Series’ published by Penguin; a book about unemployment called Down the Road, and was a major contributor to The American Air and Space and the Natural History Museum catalogues. He also trained several well-known photographers including Fay Godwin, Eamon McCabe, and Robin Broadbent.
Throughout that career, he also intensified a politic that railed against the status quo; what he describes as powerful myths sold by the media to make sure that citizens don’t grasp the incompleteness of their lives. It’s a view that has informed much of his photography, filming and writing and Transient Light and Fleeting Time is a distillation of some of that philosophy as applied to his craft.
The hard bound copy and e-pub are available from all major bookshops online and from https://robertgoldenpictures.com/transient-light-fleeting-time.