Multi-award winning, often exhibited professional photographer/film-maker teaching THINKING PHOTOGRAPHY for thoughtful people interested in beauty, culture, art and contributing to society. 

Robert is a motivational tutor, encouraging each student to identify narratives that are important to them, deepening understanding of the culture in which they live, and to go on to express those narratives through powerful photographic stories. In the ten years since that first lesson, I’ve found him to be a kind, sensitive and generous mentor.

Robert’s photographic workshops are comprehensive and expansive. His enthusiasm and expertise are guides to my evolving awareness; an eye for the unique; my personal creative voice; the skills of selecting my strongest images; the value of post processing; studying the archive of photographers to inform and inspire. I’ve learned transferable skills which are helpful in other creative areas of my life, including textile art.

I will never have enough words to write about Robert. Rare are the people who have such an approach to photography as Robert does. For me, his works are the least about photography and the most about living emotion, captured, highlighted, and conveyed in a single image. Robert has this immense talent to transmit and bring emotion closer to everyone – his work is alive and carries such depth, capable of awakening something in people that they didn’t even know exists. I am convinced that this is the true essence of photography: to convey emotion to others and leave in their souls imprinted traces of another world. Thank you Robert for being that.

I have known Robert over a number of years and he has consistently been a thoughtful and sensitive mentor and sounding board. Robert's focus is to help you find your area of interest and help you refine it. I have met quite a few of his students and they all have improved their practise with his guidance.

Robert Golden has been my teacher and mentor regarding film and photography for the past 25 years. Always available, engaged, eloquent, sharp, encouraging and honest. He has played a large roll in the advancement of my career and I would highly recommend him. He is one of a kind!

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to be Robert’s student on several occasions over the past ten years. He is a remarkable, delightful teacher, with vast experience and endless patience. In all my years of education (through school, university, and master’s) I can honestly say he is one of the few true educators, someone who can rightfully be called a mentor. His teaching style surrounds and elevates you to another dimension, where upon return, you realize you haven’t just learned a lot, but you’ve grasped the principles and concepts he teaches, at their very core. Robert is among the finest people, artists, and teachers I know. It has been a true honor to be his student, and his influence has had a profound impact on my life.

I have participated in a series of photography workshops, organized by Robert, a couple of years ago. I cannot even start to describe with words the impact that the workshop series has had on me. I learned to think deeper about the reasons to photograph and my subject matter. In just a couple of years, I got a new camera (carefully suggested by Robert based on my needs), photographed a lot and even started exhibiting my photographs. For me, this is incredible development! Robert is a very listening teacher and mentor, and individually special learning journeys are guaranteed with him.

I’ve known Robert for over ten years now and feel fortunate that he took me under his wing. It is there that I made the leap from the single image (the primary goal of so many photographers) to being able to tell a story through a meaningful body of work … the very first time I tried, under Robert’s watchful eye, that body of work became award winning. I have, since then, persuaded many people to work with Robert. It changes you.

I have worked with Robert Golden through the International Youth Arts Programme The Complete Freedom of Truth since 2008. Both his exquisite and appropriate photography and documentary film making has enhanced our work and as one artist said, shown us the other side of the work we do that we cannot see. During this time and within our residencies, he has also provided tuition for hundreds of young people from over 16 different wider European, US and African countries. He has also led master classes and teaching for documentary film making courses both for social justice and personal content. Robert's teaching is profound and exciting and respects the minds and aspirations of his students be they 18 or 80. He is able to include everyone and his history of social action both in the Civil Rights Movement, Anti Vietnam and Anti Racist movements adds to the relevance both of the meaning and necessity of photography today. Robert knows more about art, light, design, technology and the purpose of photography than anyone else I know and his deep understanding of politics, social action, tolerance and understanding make him a unique master.