PRESENTE CONTINUO: the intimate ties between then&now

“When I take photos, I feel it in my body. I like to feel, not think. The best images come when it feels natural,” Massengo said.

As he documented his inaugural season, what began as a personal practice evolved into the foundation for the project. He brought the idea of producing a photobook and exhibition to the club and they were immediately receptive. The project came together in just over three months, finding small windows of time in his busy training schedule and even working over holiday to select and layout images. 

“I had a lot of support from the club from the start. There were opportunities to show the work in Paris, but for me, this exhibition was really for the people in Augsburg,” Massengo said.

Massengo first picked up a camera in 2020. Living in Bristol while playing for Bristol City F.C. His younger sister came to stay with him, and he bought her a camera hoping it might help her to explore the city. She never picked it up. So, one day, while on holiday in Spain with friends, he did.

That first encounter with digital photography sparked what has become a years-long love affair with the medium. Not long after, he ventured into film. Today, the camera he reaches for most often is a Minolta TC-1, a compact point-and-shoot that rarely leaves his side.

Beyond the excitement of gamedays and scenic holiday shots, what he really loves to capture the most are moments at home with his family.

“It’s really about documenting my surroundings. I used to always look for the perfect place to go, but then I realized I could find so many beautiful things in my everyday life. That felt so much more meaningful because I was the only one living it.”

Massengo is inspired by the work of Pete Martin and Keane Pearce Shaw, both of media platform SoccerBible, who he says helped shape his interest in photography. The work of Martin Parr, Andre D. Wagner, Vivian Maier, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, among countless others, has further informed his documentary-inspired point of view, one that finds beauty in the ordinary.

As his eye for compositions and frames develops, others are beginning to take notice. Last year, he collaborated with former French footballer Djibril Cissé on a limited-edition collection with Free The Youth. Most recently, his club FC Augsburg tapped him to photograph and creatively direct their 2026 away kit campaign.

Life as a footballer is demanding and all-encompassing. Since joining AS Monaco Academy as a boy and making his professional debut for the club at 17, football has been the center of his world, touching almost every facet of his life, even photography, which Massengo credits with introducing him to the medium. As much as his passions for football and photography intersect, photography also serves as an outlet, not an escape from his day-to-day life, but an opportunity to experience it more presently, capturing the small moments that might otherwise go unnoticed in the chaos.

Professionally, Massengo remains firmly focused on football, and wants to be careful not to lose the sense of curiosity and authenticity that first drew him to photography in the first place. 

“I don’t know if I see myself as a photographer. I see myself as someone who’s in love with photography… I see it as something I can always turn to when I’m dealing with struggles or difficult moments. In that way, I think photography actually makes me a better footballer.”