Leander Gomez, a 20-year-old freelance photographer from the South Bronx, will soon have the chance to showcase his talents at one of the world’s most famous venues.
Gomez was one of four local Black photographers chosen to shoot a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden via Through Their Lens, a Black History Month program. He will shoot on Feb. 12 as the Knicks take on the Atlanta Hawks, led by All-Star point guard Trae Young.
Gomez was recommended for the contest by a friend who runs social media for the famed Dyckman street basketball tournaments in upper Manhattan, where Gomez has shot the past two years. He found out he was selected in late January.
“It was super exciting,” Gomez told the Bronx Times. “Obviously, it’s the Knicks — it’s as New York as it gets, it’s the NBA.”
While Gomez said he does not consider himself exclusively a sports photographer, the self-taught shooter, who first picked up a camera at age 15, has largely built his brand around shooting basketball games and players.
A lifelong fan of the sport, he started shooting friends playing on the junior varsity team, then expanded to Dyckman. Gomez quickly realized that his knowledge of the game helped him capture more unique and powerful shots. A lot of what he saw elsewhere in sports photography seemed very similar, he said. “I wanted to switch it up a little bit and show people how I was viewing things.”
His approach to shooting basketball is “just finding a perspective that not everyone is able to see,” and his knowledge of the sport is key. “I really understood basketball and where things would look a little different instead of just sitting under the basket the whole game,” he said.
Gomez said capturing the emotion in the game often involves looking beyond the person with the ball. He observes players coming off the bench, interactions with coaches and other moments where the average fan might check their phone or leave for the bathroom.
“There’s certain things that are more interesting to see after the fact than someone just going up for a layup,” said Gomez.
As a freelancer, he said he is starting to hit his stride and get hired for bigger projects. Gomez worked throughout last summer on campaigns with Nike NYC and the Jordan brand, which he called his “biggest accomplishment as of now.”
Gomez said he is getting a lot of work through agencies and “just going where the wind takes me” as he attends City College as a film and video production major. He is also working on starting a creative agency with a few friends who work in film and video.
“We’re trying to scale this up to where brands come in our direction,” he said.
Gomez said he is thrilled for the opportunity to shoot a Knicks game, where he will choose his best five images to send over to the team. He hopes the contest may open many more doors for him.
“It’s an opportunity to showcase what I can do at the highest level,” he said. “I’m just going to go out and execute to the best of my ability.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
