Shooting his shot: See KC through the lens of a man on stage for Fan Fest’s biggest moments 

Frank Q. Pham’s most-pressing challenge during the FIFA World Cup wasn’t the heat or even getting close to the biggest stage in town. The Kansas City photographer — who seemingly was shooting everything, everywhere throughout the games — was busiest combatting FOMO, he said.

Elias Alexander, who combines traditional Scottish bagpipes with live looping and electronic music, performs on stage June 24 at FIFA Fan Festival before the Scotland vs. Brazil match; photo by Frank Q. Pham

“After getting home from a day of capturing stories, I always felt like I was missing an opportunity somewhere else,” said Pham, a hired trigger man of sorts who bounced between paid photo assignments and just trying to get Kansas City’s big moment in frame. “My brain was consistently working to think of new fresh ideas or looking for new opportunities to capture.”

A staple at the FIFA Fan Festival — from opening day to a massive All-American Rejects show — the visual media creative, breakdancer, and community organizer drew from his background and experience to formulate a five-week plan.

It was simple enough, Pham said: “Be at as many places as possible and create organic, fun content.”

“I have gotten to a place now where my eyes are naturally drawn to particular subjects, ideas, and compositions,” he explained. “Many times I will storyboard or gather inspiration prior to an event by researching location and information about an event so I do not come into that space completely ignorant of what is going on or the story I want to tell.”

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A young fan runs, waving a Colombian flag through Mill Creak Park at the Country Club Plaza; photo by Frank Q. Pham

A fan is tossed in the air from the crowd at FIFA Fan Festival during a performance by Vanessa “DJ Ness” Ramirez; photo by Frank Q. Pham

Among his photos that stand out most: a woman crowd surfing at Fan Fest, framed by the 65-foot heart-shaped gateway created by Populous for the World Cup.

Hired by Vanessa “DJ Ness” Ramirez to capture her performance on the day of a big matchup featuring Team Mexico, Pham was on stage and noticed people joyfully being tossed in the air. He carefully timed and composed the shot.

It clicked.

“I have a soft spot for this photo not only because of its technical difficulty and timing but for me it symbolizes what the World Cup spirit should be about: Coming together, lifting one another up, and celebrating where we come from,” Pham said. “This is especially important with the current political climate of the United States.”

Born in Vietnam, Pham moved to Kansas City when he was about 11 months old to escape deteriorating post-war conditions in the country, he said. He’s since become an advocate of the local arts scene, and founded Coffee and Cameras KC, a community project and local camera club that hosts creative meetups. 

“Much of how I work comes from complete improvisation,” said Pham. “Being at the right place, having a chat with the right person, or just waiting for something amazing to happen.”

An Argentina fan sports a MADE MOBB jersey atop an RV at Mill Creek Park during a rally ahead of the Argentina vs. Algeria FIFA World Cup game; photo by Frank Q. Pham

That philosophy paid off during the first banderazo gathering for Argentina at Mill Creek Park near the Country Club Plaza.

Pham had seen a flyer mentioning the rally and his gears started turning. Having already teamed with Kansas City streetwear company MADE MOBB to showcase their line of KC Cup jerseys, Pham envisioned an opportunity to not only capture a wild scene during the tournament — but also turn it into a viral marketing moment. (MADE MOBB’s Argentina-inspired jersey was set to drop the next morning ahead of the big game.)

“When we arrived, the energy was already electric,” he recalled. “People were chanting, drumming, singing, all to celebrate that Argentina was ready to play in KC.”

While Pham was snapping photos, he noticed an enthusiastic fan on top of a parked RV who wasn’t already wearing a jersey.

“We made our way over to him and quickly realized he did not speak English,” Pham said. “So I motioned to him that we wanted to give him the jersey to wear. We tossed it up, he put it on immediately, and started thumping on his chest to match the drumming and cheering of the crowd.”

“It was a magical moment and really so cool that we were able to capture it,” he said.

Jesse Phouangphet, co-founder of MADE MOBB; Frank Q. Pham, photographer; and Derek Roberts, the designer behind several of MADE MOBB’s popular KC Cup jersey designs; stand outside Café Corazón during an impromptu June 15 rally for Team Argentina; photo by Wendy Paz

ICYMI: Here’s where to find that viral Argentina jersey (and more must-have KC-made merch)

Pham said he’s grateful for partnerships like those forged with Jesse Phouangphet and the team at MADE MOBB throughout the World Cup.

“It’s rare to work with brands who are so supportive of creatives and have given me a place to turn my ideas into reality. For that, I am forever grateful to them,” Pham said. “I also want to thank my wife, Lauri, who took time to watch our two beautiful children so I could take on all of these assignments. I would not have been able to do this without her.”

Check out a brief gallery below of other photos from Frank Q. Pham’s World Cup highlight reel.