Long Island cameramen Keith DeSantis and Frank Lombardo shoot to thrill

Television play-by-play announcers are fans’ ears. They often are famous, familiar, well-paid names and faces to sports fans.

But what about the other part of the equation — our TV eyes?

Those are people we rarely hear, or think, much about, but who are central to the viewing experience: camera operators.

The New York area has some of the most experienced — and in-demand — in the business, pros who often are used not only for local events but nationally, too.

Take Frank Lombardo and Keith DeSantis, a pair of Long Islanders who have been at this a long time and never lose sight of their privileged seat in sports.

“I feel I’m lucky,” said DeSantis, 59, a Farmingdale High School alumnus who now lives in Long Beach. “It's pretty cool, the ride that I've had for 35, 36 years doing sports TV and getting paid for it. It’s definitely a dream.”

Lombardo, 66, who grew up and lives in Franklin Square, said, “It’s a dream come true. It's something I've always wanted . . . I work hard at it, don't get me wrong. But it's a hobby. I don't consider this work. The work is the commute.”

That commute can be varied and unpredictable. That is because, rather than work for one outlet in particular, most top camera people are independent contractors employed by multiple media entities.

On one recent 100-degree day at Citi Field, Lombardo was at the Atlanta vs. Mets game for TBS and DeSantis for SNY.

Both do major national events, including the World Series for Fox. But local sports tend to hit home for people who grew up around here.

Ask Lombardo and DeSantis their top work memory and you get a similar answer, both tied to one famous spring for their shared favorite childhood team.

Lombardo cited Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, when he got an iconic shot of Rangers captain Mark Messier holding up the Cup.

“My job, once they clinched the Cup, was to be out on that ice,” Lombardo said. “Once the game was over, I took off. I was on the ice while they were celebrating, getting all those shots. It was very memorable. I’ll never forget it.”

DeSantis named the 1994 Eastern Conference Final, when Messier guaranteed and delivered a Game 6 victory over the Devils with a third-period hat trick.

“The third period was my favorite moment, not only as a fan, but as a professional,” DeSantis said. “I had to stay tight-lipped, of course. But by God, the little kid inside of you was going crazy.”

DeSantis recalled getting a shot of another famous New York-area sports moment — David Tyree’s “Helmet Catch” for the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

“This camera that I had there was a new, high-speed camera,” he said. “They had me on the reverse 50-yard line. I think that's what really put me on the map to be a football camera guy as well.”

Lombardo graduated from Post in 1982 and first worked at Cablevision, eventually finding his way to SportsChannel. He worked his way up the freelancing food chain from there.

“There’s just that progression,” he said. “When you’re freelance, the world’s your oyster. You could work for anybody.”

DeSantis studied at Bergen Community College in New Jersey and later Adelphi, then got his foot in the door through a family friend in the camera operator world, Dom Spada, who still works for MSG Networks.

In 1989, DeSantis started doing Mets games for WWOR. He has been on Fox’s No. 1 NFL team for 20 years.

Camera technology certainly has advanced over the past 40 years. But some of the basics remain. For example: tracking balls in the air.

DeSantis said when he was learning baseball, he would attend batting practice to get as many reps as possible. “Now it’s just second nature to all of us,” he said.

While the producer and director of a given game are positioned in a climate-controlled production truck, sorting through the images the cameras give them, the operators themselves must deal with the elements. It’s just part of the job.

“We’re in the trenches,” Lombardo said. “We’re sitting in the heat. It rains. It snows. People go, ‘You have a great job.’ I’m like, 'Well, it is. But it’s got its downsides.’ The weather could really screw you up.”

That applies not only to physical comfort but to the technical part of the job. Even modern cameras do not react well to rain on their lenses.

Not only do operators travel among various sports and networks, but also among camera positions.

“Moving around is nice,” Lombardo said. “It just keeps you sharp.”

But people do have specialties. DeSantis is known in baseball for the “mid-first” camera, which shoots up the third-base line.

“It’s a high-speed camera, and I have the freedom to do whatever I want, which makes it really nice,” he said. “I can freelance and go for that really great shot.”

As good as the cameras have gotten, the operators still have work to do.

“It’s not auto-focus,” Lombardo said with a laugh. “I have to focus this camera. It’s pretty intense that way, because you’ve got to get the shot.

“Especially in sports, you’ve got one shot. If you miss that shot, if you’re out of focus, they’re not going to redo it.”

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.