Tracy Young, who keeps the books for The Bridge Golf Foundation and The Bridge Golf Learning Center when she’s not taking photos, recently fielded some questions from Executive Director and Co-Founder Farrell Evans.
FE: Most people understand the job of a bookkeeper and its importance to any organization. So I’ll ask you what’s unique about doing the bookkeeping for The Bridge Golf Foundation and The Bridge Golf Learning Center?
TY: For one thing, The Bridge Golf Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to teaching young men, and The Bridge Golf Learning Center is a for-profit enterprise where anyone interested in golf can come for lessons. It’s important when doing the books to keep a clear record of donations vs. earned revenue, as well as how expenses are allocated. It’s also critical not to hold a bias as to which is more valuable. I believe both sides serve a great purpose, and the two allow for broad-spectrum awareness. It’s also refreshing to be able to look up from the “books” and see the young men learning STEM and golf as well as a variety of supporters getting lessons in the hitting bays. Such firsthand experience makes you want to see it succeed. Everyone is so engaged and dedicated; it’s amazing.
FE: You’re a Queens native. It’s arguably the strongest sports borough in the city with three golf courses, the Mets at Citi Field, and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. What sports did you grow up playing?
TY: I played volleyball in high school and soccer as an adult. Although I’m athletic, I wouldn’t call myself an athlete. I’m usually open to trying a new sport, and since I ruled out basketball, tennis and baseball eons ago, I should probably grab a club and try my hand at golf.
FE: You are also a photographer. What kind of work do you do in this field?
TY: I photograph people: portraits, lifestyle and events. I’ve always loved people-watching and picking up on their mannerisms, individuality and how they navigate in the world. When I photograph people, it’s like a dance between watching them, talking with them and watching a bit more. They key is knowing when to actually take the picture. Making a human connection of any kind usually translates well in the final image.
FE: Of all the thousands of images that you have captured with your camera over the years, what’s your favorite?
TY: One of my favorite images was also one of my earlier ones. I was tasked by a professor with finding the city’s “texture and heart” on a bitter cold day. As I roamed in the cold, I was finding it increasingly hard to stay motivated. I sat on a bench to gather my thoughts and felt a tap on my shoulder. A homeless man offered me a scarf to wrap around my hands while I took pictures.
The man was wearing all of his clothes in an effort to stay warm himself, and I was touched by his willingness to help me despite his situation. I took him to lunch, and we talked for a long time. For all the layers he took off during lunch, he still had plenty on, and they were all a different pattern. Only one of his three knit hats was a solid color. He was a living tapestry, the “texture” I had yet to find.
He let me take his photo, and I decided to shoot it in black and white. As much as I wanted the layers and texture from all of his clothing to be a focal point, I didn’t want the color to overpower. In the image, he’s at a table leaning on his forearms and looking dead into the camera. His facial scruff makes his skin’s texture blend with his many layers of clothing.
What struck me most was that his left hand was crossed over his right arm. It was an easy gesture. Upon closer inspection, you see that his left hand is pointing to the back of the menu that said “Thank You, Come Again!” That was the last I saw of him, but I’ll never forget the gift he gave me in showing me that his situation had destroyed neither his kind spirit nor his dignity.
FE: Learning to play golf well and learning to become a photographer both require a combination of technical mastery and feel. What’s the best advice that you could offer the young men at The Foundation about learning any craft that will help them succeed in life?
TY: Be diligent about learning the technical aspects of your craft. I don’t believe you can truly master a craft without the technical knowledge. But don’t stop there or else it will always feel a bit robotic. When you find something that you are interested in, be patient enough to learn it well, and then quiet your mind enough to listen to your gut. Technical skill is only half of things.
Keep focused and practice. When you really focus, technical mastery will organically make way and allow your gut instinct to guide you. In the beginning, I spent so much time thinking about my camera settings and my framing that sometimes I missed the moment, the picture. It can be frustrating. Don’t let mistakes discourage you. Everybody makes them, and they teach us a lot of what does and doesn’t work. It takes time, but you will find out so many things about yourself along the way.
FE: You’re a big fan of the work of Dorothea Lange, whose Depression-era photography told the story of a generation. One of her contemporaries, Walker Evans, took one of my favorite photographs in the world — a color photo of Black caddies in 1957 at Pinehurst. As someone dedicated to using the game to help young men of color, the image inspires me daily. Why is photography so important to social change?
TY: Photos are bits of information for a moment in time. We are able to learn about the past and see conditions that prior generations lived through. They also convey messages about where we are today. If we don’t like what we see, they can inspire us to take action for a better tomorrow.
Our smartphones make it so the majority of people have a camera in their pocket. We are able to record incidents and share footage as proof in an instant. Hearing about a war, or conversely a celebration, is very different from seeing it. Images are emotional, insightful and inciting.
One example that comes to mind is all of the racial tensions that rose from the claims of police brutality in several U.S. cities last year. In so many cases, it was the imagery caught by those nearby that served as clear supportive evidence. The information these images provided was so profound that here in New York future police officers will be expected to carry a phone with a camera to record incidents and, hopefully, eliminate bias.
Photography has been a source of major change, and I think it’s amazing. We can’t have social media or social change without photography. They’re absolutely interconnected.
FE: Does working at the Foundation inspire you to photograph golfers and take up the game?
TY: It certainly does. I just told a friend the other day that I’d have to kick myself if I let this opportunity pass me by. To be clear … I don’t want to kick myself.