Ken Griffey Jr.'s surprise presence at this year's Masters as a photographer is inspiring. The 55-year-old who eclipsed baseball's precipice is still learning on the job, which he admits.
Griffey took up photography as a second career years ago following his Hall of Fame baseball career. He's been credited for shooting MLB, NFL and MLS games, as well as IndyCar events. He recently shot the MLB Tokyo Series in Japan, which began the new baseball season. He has plenty of experience behind the lens, but he acknowledged capturing the chase for the green jacket is a new challenge.
“Realistically, I’m the low man on the totem pole,” Griffey said Saturday in a conversation with GOLF.com's James Colgan. “I’m still picking it up. If you’re not willing to learn then your pictures aren’t going to get any better.”
Colgan found out why Griffey picked up a camera in the first place—The Kid wanted to ensure he was able to pay attention to his children's sporting events without distractions from other patrons. From there, the Hall of Famer fell in love with the art of photography itself.
On an epic Masters Saturday, the coolest story I saw happened outside the ropes, where I spent the day hanging with Ken Griffey Jr.
— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) April 13, 2025
How’d The Kid wind up at Augusta? And why'd a guy with 630 homers bother being a newbie? His answer blew me awayhttps://t.co/VlP9gpi8SE
He ended up with a press pass at Augusta after one of his friends learned he picked up golf. The friend had a connection to the Masters and reached out, which led to an offer for Griffey to shoot photos of the tournament for Masters.com.
Behind the lens 📸@MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. is working as a credentialed photographer for the first time @TheMasters pic.twitter.com/NjQqBDSCJF
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 10, 2025
Colgan's story on GOLF.com explained that The Kid isn't treated differently than any other photographer at Augusta National—at his request, of course. He's there to get the best shot possible and work on perfecting his second craft. And he's doing a great job.
Here's a cute picture of Jordan Spieth and his daughter.
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) April 10, 2025
Who took it? Ken Griffey, Jr., who is on site working the full Masters week as a professional photographer. pic.twitter.com/XWgubO5OQU
Griffey's presence at golf's finest tournament proves that no matter the circumstance, there's always room to learn new things.
“I mean, I’ve been this way since I was a little kid,” he said via GOLF.com. “I learned how to fly a plane. I got my pilot’s license at age 36. I learned to scuba at age 30. You owe it to yourself to go out and find something you love, and you have to be willing to start somewhere.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ken Griffey Jr. Explains How He Became a Photographer at This Year's Masters.
