There weren\u2019t too many moments during his baseball career that 13-time All-Star Ken Griffey Jr. could be just another face in the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His post-playing career hobby has afforded him a bit more of that anonymity, even at a place like the Ryder Cup, where hordes of New York sports fans have descended on the famed Bethpage Black course, but few seemed to notice the Hall of Famer snapping away as a credentialed photographer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Griffey has found a passion for photography since he retired in 2010 and first picked up a camera in 2015, thanks in part to wanting to watch his kids play sports undisturbed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI started off because my daughter played basketball and people were bothering me in the stands, and nobody bothers the photographer,\u201d Griffey told The Post on Wednesday after his first day of shooting at the Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n
Griffey said that it was a photographer friend of his who had sent him his first camera and gave him a way to enjoy and be present for his kids\u2019 sporting events.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only advice he was given was \u201cdon\u2019t put it on automatic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since then, Griffey has been credentialed to photograph MLB, MLS, NFL and IndyCar events, along with major sporting events like the Daytona 500 and made headlines earlier this year photographing The Masters<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n As far as his photography skills are concerned, Griffey has noticed stark differences from when he began to where he is now, though he joked, \u201cIt\u2019s not my full-time job, because if it was, I\u2019d be a lot better at it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Former MLB player Ken Griffey Jr. takes photos during the opening ceremony for the Ryder Cup 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n Former MLB player Ken Griffey Jr. talks with President of PGA of America Don Rea prior to the Ryder Cup 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n He described himself as \u201cincredibly fortunate\u201d to be able to learn from a number of skilled people in the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cMy learning curve has drastically changed because of the guys in this room and the guys in other rooms that I am now following around and trying to understand and be in certain spots that, and try to capture certain things that they capture,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cEven the learning curve from me shooting the Masters, from when it\u2019s my start of that Monday to Sunday, it was leaps and bounds, and I was there five days.\u201d<\/p>\n