March 2006
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Beyond the walls:
Darren Golden shares his passion for photography
Darren Golden If you've ever been to the Karp Family Research Building, you've met Darren Golden, the Security officer with the kind face who checks your ID badge enroute to the elevators. He's a friendly guy, so you've no doubt exchanged a few words with him. And if you work in the building, he probably greets you by name.
But did you know that outside of his nearly 17-year career in security, 10 of them at Children's, Golden is a talented photographer?
His interest in photography dates back to his freshman year of high school, where as alphabetical order would have it, he found himself seated next to Danny Gould in homeroom. Gould happened to come from a long line of photographers, even a Pulitzer Prize winner, and opened Golden's eyes to the field. He taught him everything he knew, and soon, Golden was excitedly telling his aunt, Judy, about his new interest.
Click to enlarge "My aunt told me she would buy me a camera of my own if I could show her what I'd learned," says Golden. "And I also had to promise to be the family photographer."
Sure enough, a few months later, Golden proved his new knowledge of photography, and his aunt purchased a 35mm Minolta XE-5—the Cadillac of cameras at the time. Golden continued taking photography classes throughout high school and even took summer courses through a local technical school in Billerica, Mass., his hometown.
He had a few of his photographs published in his local paper. But his first real job in photography was through the United States Navy. After acing the recruiting exam, Golden was recommended for submarine duty, serving as a torpedoman's mate for four years. As part of his assignment, Golden served as the sub's photographer. "Before every patrol, we would make all equipment repairs that couldn't be made while we were at sea," he says. "I took photos of the equipment, and processed the film myself in the laundry area on the sub. Everything was classified, so we couldn't send it out to be developed. The captain used my photos to brief the squadron commander on the status of the repairs."
Click to enlarge Upon completing his tour in the Navy, Golden worked in security for a few years before taking some time off to try his hand at professional photography. But he eventually returned to security, manning a post in the Enders Building at Children's. Little did he know that his security work would eventually yield an outlet for his photographs.
"Pam Wilkins, the hospital's art coordinator, was meeting with some artists in the conference room at Enders one day," recalls Golden. "So when she was finished, I mentioned that I was a photographer, and she asked to see my portfolio." The hospital eventually purchased two of his photographs, which hang on the 6th floor of Enders today. Golden's work has been featured in several art shows through the South Shore and Quincy Art Associations, and he's won several awards. While he finds that he doesn't devote as much time as he'd like to honing his craft these days, Golden still takes great pride in his portfolio and can ruminate on the value of a tripod and how he painstakingly composes his photos for hours. "I've always considered photography art," he says. And to look at any of his pieces, you can certainly see why.
