Ep. 19 - Matt Cohen Photography
California (October 16, 2019) - He tells it like it is when it comes to justice in the world of rodeo photography administration and he's got the photography skills to back it up! The legendary rodeo photography Matt Cohen of California joins us on the show for Episode #19!
Matt Cohen is a unique personality that stumbled upon the rodeo world by accident when on a photography assignment. He typically shoots photography for mainstream sports like the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants but one day his assignment took him to the Grand National Rodeo in San Francisco. He liked the event so much, he went back every single day afterwards.
Getting into the world of rodeo, it took a lot of networking and learning of a system that Matt isn’t shy about saying that he’s not fond of. He takes you in-depth in his thoughts on how photographers can get their PRCA photography permit and card, and how he would change the system in this episode. He also talks about his unique marketing platform as a rodeo photographer, finding ways to make money while shooting rodeo.
On top of all of this, Matt is continuously giving back to the world of professional rodeo photography. He runs a multitude of photography schools throughout the year, specifically one with a rough stock school and one with the Luke Branquinho steer wrestling school. Discovering the school and clinic system through assignment for Yeti on Luke’s school, Matt was so inspired to add his own school to the program for the following years. If you can’t make one of his schools, you can also purchase his Patreon lessons where he walks you through shooting and edits. For free information on photography, you can also follow his podcast here which he co-hosts with a fellow sports photographer from Europe. While the sport may be different, the education is still extremely valuable and can be applied to those in western and rodeo photography.
Matt talks about some of the funny stories of his career such as the infamous “No Crybaby Buckoff’s” photo series that went viral, to shooting bull riding by laying UNDER the OUT GATE at the St. Paul Rodeo. To stay up to date on all things Matt Cohen Photography, check out his http://www.mattcohenphoto.com
for everything, Patreon for lessons, Instagram for photos, and Facebook for the sass!
Photos provided by Matt Cohen.
If you liked this episode … you may also like:
Photo provided by Cindy Schonholtz, taken by Kent Soule Photography, at the 2019 St. Paul Rodeo.
Ep 18 - Cindy Schonholtz & the St. Paul Rodeo
The general manager for the largest 4th of July rodeo, the St. Paul Rodeo, in the VERY small town of St. Paul, Oregon, Cindy Schonholtz joins the team and celebrity co-host, Kati Jo Barber, to chat about what it’s like to run a rodeo of this magnitude and CONTINUE to set unprecedented payout and attendance records. Cindy also shares some of her background leading up her “retirement in Mayberry” after being with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association for 20 years, the former Executive Director for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, working with drug testing for canine contestants of the Iditarod, animal welfare with the Iditarod, Ringling Bros. Circus, Sea World, the PRCA, and more!Ep. 16 - Jenna Smeenk
A good friend of Matt’s, Jenna Smeenk is a professional barrel racer, former Miss Rodeo Florida, military veteran, public speaker, world traveler, fitness competitor and model - is there anything that she can’t do? She discusses her new self-help book and what it’s like balancing her career as a contractor with the U.S. military and barrel racing her horse, Taz, at the professional level in Episode 16 of the That Western Life podcast.Ep. 9 - Jesse Brown & The Steer Wrestlers Club
We make a shoutout in this episode to the Steer Wrestler’s Club and so we have to recommend that you jump in and listen to Episode 9 of the That Western Life podcast where we chat with the former Steer Wrestling Resistol Rookie of the Year, Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo finalist, and Oregon cowboy Jesse Brown. Oh, did we mention? He was also a quarterback at Washington State University so we chat about the different in mainstream sports training to rodeo, tips he’s adapted from one sport to the other, and his hopes for his steer wrestling future!