matt cohen: Archive

June 2011

2 posts

Jun 18, 2011

Jun 17, 2011

#steve woolsey #reno rodeo #seminole hard rock xtreme bulls

May 2011

1 post

Movement/DEMF 2007-2010

“I learned it from watching you, Mom” 2008

DEMF/Movement/Whateverthefucktheywanttocallitthisyear is happening this weekend, and for the first time in a while, I’m not shooting it. Before I started shooting DEMF, I went for fun. Before that I ran successful club nights at all of the biggest clubs in San Francisco. Before that I produced raves. Before that I traveled across the east coast/midwest/Canada going to clubs and parties. Techno is in my blood, and I don’t take any of this lightly.

I went to DEMF a couple of times in the early years, but as a former promoter, the lack of organization really prevented me from having much of a good time. So when Paxahau took over a few years later, I let my friends talk me into going, and I in turn talked XLR8R into having me shoot the festival for them. After seeing my pictures, Resident Advisor hired me to shoot for them 2008-2010. XLR8R and Resident Advisor may not mean anything to the people who come here to see my sports pictures, but there are no bigger names in the world of electronic music. Yet sights like this were all too common:

Media Policy, 2009

I regularly shoot at big complicated sporting events where organizers use tiered access to ensure wide coverage while still making sure that top outlets get what they need without tripping over amateurs in the process. At several points, I offered to share my experiences with media reps for Paxahau, but this was always met with a condescending smile and a “we’ve got it” while the above signs popped up and “photographers” with point & shoot cameras and Flip video cams multiplied geometrically. At some point last year when I was trying to make a picture of Rob Hood on the Made in Detroit stage, I found myself composing around some wannabe-Strobist douchebag who was actually using multiple 7-ft light stands on the stage while another was getting closeup video of Hood’s face. Getting paid to shoot something other than sports for a minute is nice, seeing all of my east coast people who (until recently) regularly make the trip to Detroit is great, but I was there to make great pictures, and that was pretty much a wrap on what used to be my favorite weekend of the year, every year.

Not-quite-east-coast-people

This is all inside baseball, and I wouldn’t have even be bringing it up here except for the fact that Paxahau magically started ~~monitoring~~ following me on Twitter after I joined in on some (very light) Pax-bashing last week. See, last year Pax broke the cardinal rule of booking foreign DJs:

“SHUT THE FUCK UP UNTIL YOU HAVE THE VISA/WORK PERMIT SORTED,”

when they announced Ricardo Villalobos (probably the only DJ I care about that I haven’t ever heard live) only to have him not play due to visa/work permit problems. A couple of my friends made light of this, and when I co-signed, all of a sudden I have a new follower. So for my new audience, your shitty media policy affects me and a few others; Your increasingly shitty lineups affect everyone.

Benny Benassi, 2009

I know what it’s like to book DJs. There will always be kids who don’t get good music and have to be spoon fed some sweetener. Fuck, I once let one of my helpers talk me into booking Icey. From experience I know that you can’t just book people from Detroit, and I take a looser definition of what belongs at DEMF than anyone I know. But we are talking about the DETROIT Electronic Music Festival here, and Skrillex, Benny Benassi, Fatboy Slim and so many more have fuck-all to do with Detroit. They’re not from Detroit, they haven’t influenced anyone from Detroit, and they aren’t influenced by anyone from Detroit.
Is this who you’re programming for?

Candy raver, 2009

Psycho, 2009

What other inference can be drawn when you book nonsense like this:

DZ & TooPhaced, 2010

I get that it’s awesome for Pax to hang out at WMC in Miami and smoke beers with tons of big European DJs, but how many times do Adam Beyer and James Zabiela have to play? And Richie Hawtin? HE PLAYED TWO SETS AT THE FESTIVAL LAST YEAR. Was it entirely necessary for him to play again this year?

Literally as close as I could get to his Plastikman performance.

Luckily the fog machine obscured the legion of Eurotrash douchebags who were lining the stage.

And what’s happening to the majority of the actual Detroit artists? They are stuffed into the underground stage where the sound has been absolutely FUCKED for the last few years at least, while acts like Girl Talk, Kid Sister, and Z-Trip get to play on a flawless system on the pyramid stage.

Kid Sister, 2010

Punisher, 2008

Kenny Larkin, 2008

Terrence Parker managed to spin a whole set while talking on the phone, 2008

Twonz, 2008

DEMF isn’t WMC. It’s not Mutek, Electric Daisy Carnival, Love Parade or anything else. It is (or should be) a celebration of the place that gave techno to the world, featuring the people who invented it and their influences and offspring. A little experimentation forward or backwards is fine, but when was the last time Pax made an inspired booking? Rhythm & Sound bringing Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes, Willie Williams and Milton Henry with them in 2007? Egyptian Lover in 2008?

Milton Henry emcees for Rhythm & Sound, 2007

Egyptian Lover takes his 808 skills vertical, 2008

Four years later, and experimentation means the crappy edge of dubstep and garbage mashups at Hart Plaza while the good stuff splinters out into clubs for afterparties with the exception of Pax’s own boat party where the same people who play during the day play again at night ON A BOAT! What makes the festival special is that while the music is playing, the crowd is literally in the shadow of the Detroit skyline. The city that exported the music is in full view of everyone attending.

RJD2, 2009

Breakdancer, 2007

For me, going to clubs -while in town for DEMF- to hear quality music defeats the purpose. We have clubs in the Bay, as does every other city.

Good luck Pax, and thanks for the memories…

Theo Parrish, 2007

Ryan Elliott, 2009

Moby takes the stage, 2008

Breakdancer, 2008

Joris Voorn, 2008

Breakdancer, 2007

Crowd surfers, 2008

Cassy, 2008

Crowd, 2009

Kevin Reynolds, 2009

DJ Hype, 2010

DJ Slugo, 2009

Inner City, 2010

Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir, 2010

Crowd, 2010

MC Messinian, 2008

Deepchord presents Echospace - Rod Modell, 2008

Boom Boom, 2008

Dieselboy, 2008

Dan Bell, 2008

Dennis Ferrer, 2009

Crowd, 2009

May 22, 20118 notes

#DEMF #Detroit #Movement #Paxahau #willalobo

April 2011

2 posts

New photoblog post on the SF Giants vs the Dodgers and Cardinals → mattcohenphoto.com

Apr 13, 2011

New photoblog post featuring pictures from the 2009 & 2010 Red Bluff Round-Up → mattcohenphoto.com

Apr 7, 2011

March 2011

7 posts

Mar 21, 2011

#ucla #malcom lee #wall street journal

Mar 21, 2011

#san jose earthquakes #real salt lake #mls #soccer

Cal vs Stanford 3/5/11

On senior day vs. rival Stanford, Cal’s only senior, Markhuri Sanders-Frison
takes the court with his parents before the game…
© Matt Cohen 2011

…and then huddles with teammates.

Allen Crabbe:

Brandon Smith and an interestingly placed shadow:

Jorge Gutierrez:

Harper Kamp:

Sanders-Frison:

Gutierrez forces Stanford guard Jeremy Green into a turnover:

Stanford Dwight Powell shoots over Cal forward Richard Solomon:

Kamp takes a charge from Stanford center Josh Owens:

Sanders-Frison battles for a rebound:

Crabbe shoots under pressure from Green:

Stanford forward Andrew Zimmermann takes a charge from Gutierrez:

Powell comes up with a loose ball after scrambling with Sanders-Frison:

With Cal running up the score, I started looking for some more abstract pictures.
Here Sanders-Frison is framed by a teammate’s jersey as he looks for a rebound:

Owens is framed by other players as he watches a shot:

Sanders-Frison celebrates with fans after the Cal’s 74-55 win:

Solomon reaches into the crowd as fans go crazy after the game:

Mar 8, 2011

#cal #stanford #Pac-10 #basketball

The Many Faces of Mike Montgomery → mattcohenphoto.com

New Slideshow: A season’s worth of antics from Cal head coach Mike Montgomery ‘10-‘11

Mar 7, 2011

#CAL #mike montgomery

Middletown, CA

Mar 4, 2011

Ryan Cronin

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Nikon SB-800 + beauty dish
It’s always good to have a model who will do almost anything, and in the two
sessions I have done with Bay Area stand up comedian Ryan Cronin, he’s been
in drag, a Mexican wrestler mask, make-up that made it look like he had just
been beaten up, a priest robe, and my bath/shower. Shameless.
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Nikon SB-800 + beauty dish
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 24-70 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 16mm / 2x Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 16mm / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 16mm / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 24-70 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute
© Matt Cohen

Mar 3, 20111 note

Robin

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2
I had a full weekend off from shooting sports, so I borrowed a few Profoto
lights and set up a couple of model shoots. The first was with the lovely Robin.
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 16mm / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with DxO Film Pack 2
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with Nik Color Efex Pro
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 35mm / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with Nik Color Efex Pro
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with Nik Color Efex Pro
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with DxO Film Pack 2
© Matt Cohen

Nikon D3S / Nikon 14-24 / Profoto Ringflash / Profoto Acute / 3ft Octabox
Processed with Nik Color Efex Pro
© Matt Cohen

Mar 1, 20111 note

February 2011

9 posts

Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

Since Nik has decided to soak even upgraders, and I don’t get to do many
black & white conversions these days, I figured that I would take advantage
of the 15-day trial.

These are some pictures from last year, picked more-or-less at random.

Non-scientific findings: Ability to make fine adjustments is much improved.
The film borders are a good idea, but shouldn’t eat into the image area, as it
is, you would have to compose with dead space around the subject just to
get the border to keep from cutting things off. They included a lot more
pre-sets which provide a good jumping-off point. Film simulations appear
to be the same as before. Performance is much improved, probably due to
its full 64-bit support and ability to offload tasks to the graphics processor.

Overall it’s a nice piece of software, but at $99 for the upgrade over the $199
price for the previous version, I’m not sure what to think. I’d like to have it
for the (small amount of) non-sports work I do, but the upgrade pricing is
off by about $50 when you consider that both pieces of software I use on a
daily basis (Aperture and Photo Mechanic) are less for new users than
Silver Efex Pro 2 is for upgraders.

Feb 25, 2011

#Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 #black & white

Cal vs UCLA 2/20/11

UCLA visited Haas Pavilion on Sunday to face Cal, and the PAC-10 game
between the streaking Bruins and the slumping Bears did not play out exactly
the way the teams’ records would have suggested. Cal led most of the way and
held on for a 76-72 win in overtime.
© Matt Cohen 2011

Cal guard Brandon Smith squeezes through the UCLA defense for a layup.

Cal forward Richard Solomon shoots over UCLA forward Reeves Nelson.

Cal guard Jorge Gutierrez blocks a shot by UCLA guard Malcolm Lee.

Cal guard Jeff Powers and Nelson fight for a rebound.

UCLA center Anthony Stover puts back a rebound for a layup.

Brandon Smith loses the handle under pressure from Lazeric Jones.

Gutierrez took control of the game down the stretch, consistently finding a
path to the hoop, even through traffic.

UCLA guard Malcolm Lee celebrates after tying the game with a three-point
shot as time expired in regulation. I don’t ordinarily have a rooting interest in
the games I shoot, but after this picture, I was really hoping that UCLA would
win.

But Gutierrez’s hot hand continued in overtime, as he scored nine of his
career-high 34 points.

Bak Bak, Robert Thurman, and Jeff Powers celebrate as time runs out in overtime.

Feb 21, 2011

#CAL #UCLA #basketball #Pac-10

Hi Matt, First of all your shots are spectacular! When you do snowboarding shoots what gear have you found most useful? Eg telephoto primes or zooms? filters? and camera bags? I am looking at expanding my kit for this purpose.

First, thank you for the kind words.

Second, to be very clear, I’ve only shot snowboarding one time. I have taken a camera and shot friends as I was riding, but the Vans Tahoe Cup in 2008 remains the only time I have ever seriously shot snowboarding.

When I shot it, I brought the following lenses 300, 70-200, 24-70, 14-24 and 16mm fisheye. I’m happy with the results (especially considering I hadn’t been shooing sports for even a year at that point) and the site I was shooting for was happy, but none of these pictures were ever published in snowboard-specific media.

There is a very specific aesthetic for snowboarding photography, and that can be boiled down to “wider is always better.” The majority of the people shooting that weekend had a wide lens and a fisheye and that’s it. They went for compositions that were 97% of the pipe or the hill and maybe 3% of the rider. Their justification (and to be fair, they shoot what the snowboard mags run) is that it’s more important to show how much air someone caught or how crazy the terrain was than it is to catch the facial expression of the rider. This goes against sports photography norms, so that’s something to consider when buying lenses for shooting snowboarding.

As far as filters, the ones that would be helpful shooting snowboarding would be neutral density to give you some flexibility on aperture/shutter speed so that you could do some panning blur or shoot wide open to lose some of the signage that always seems to be in the background. You could also try circular polarizers to make the sky a deeper blue, but this is tricky because it will make the snow whiter and can blowout your exposure.

It’s also good to have a powerful speedlite with an off camera cord. You don’t get to choose how the pipe is laid out relative to the sun, so being able to deal with hard backlighting can be important.

For bags, I recommend Think Tank because they last forever even if you beat on them, and they are designed to get a ton of gear into the smallest possible space. They have backpacks and shoulder bags that I could see being useful on the hill.

Feel free to follow up if this brings up more questions.

Ask me anything

Feb 20, 2011

#formspring.me

SAP Open - Day Seven - Singles Final

Sunday was the final of the SAP Open featuring Fernando Verdasco of Spain
and Canadian Milos Raonic. On paper, the match between defending champion
Verdasco and world #84 Raonic (who needed a wild card just to get into the
field) was a mismatch. But Raonic’s serve - approaching 150mph - was just
too much for Verdasco to handle, and the day ended with Raonic taking his
first tournament with a 7-6, 7-6 win.

Following up his heavy serve and solid baseline game with a few trips to the
net, Raonic gave Verdasco no room to paint the lines in the manner that got
him to the final.

Despite the closeness of the match on the scoreboard, Raonic dictated play,
and Verdasco was in the unfamiliar position of alternately chasing and having
to fight off serves.

The second set tiebreaker was tense, with more mistakes than great shots. But
for the first time all week, there was genuine emotion on both sides of the net.

After the match, Verdasco was almost despondent in his press conference,
speaking about the near-futility of playing against guys who can serve
150mph. He’s going to have to figure something out quickly, because in a
scheduling irony due to Raonic’s low pre-SAP Open ranking, the two will have
a rematch on Wednesday at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in
Memphis.

Feb 14, 20112 notes

#fernando verdasco #Milos Raonic #Tennis #atp #sap open

SAP Open - Day Five

Lleyton Hewitt couldn’t handle Juan Martin del Potro’s power, falling 6-2, 6-3.

Milos Raonic slipped by Richard Berankis 6-4, 7-6.

Gael Monfils played with a wrist injury serious enough that he withdrew from
the tournament after beating Tim Smyczek 6-4, 7-6.

Fernando Verdasco beat Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-4.

Feb 13, 20112 notes

#sap open #Tennis #atp #lleyton hewitt #Gael Monfils #fernando verdasco #Richard Berankis #Juan Martin Del Potro #Denis Istomin #Milos Raonic #Tim Smyczek

SAP Open - Day Three

I was back at HP Pavilion on Wednesday for first round matches featuring
defending champion Fernando Verdasco of Spain and noted camera thief
Gael Monfils of France.

Verdasco drew Rajeev Ram (USA) who spent most of the hour-long match
looking exactly like this:

Verdasco sat back at the baseline ripping flat ground strokes just over the net
that landed on the lines more often than not.

After Verdasco dispatched Ram 6-3, 6-2, he served against a San Jose radio DJ
in a friendly challenge. He started out at 130mph which the DJ missed so badly,
it made Verdasco wince.

In the second match Stanford junior and current NCAA singles champion Bradley
Klahn faced Monfils. Klahn had his own cheering section made up of Stanford
frat boys who may have missed the memo about tennis being a gentlemen’s game.

But Monfils seemed to feed off of the crowd, making amazing shots, covering
every inch of the court, and in general having a lot of fun in his 6-3, 6-2 win.

Monfils reminds you that you should follow me on Twitter.

Feb 11, 20113 notes

#sap open #Gael Monfils #Fernando Verdasco #Rajeev Ram #hp pavilion #Tennis #atp

SAP Open - Day One

Gael Monfils takes the court during introductions. As the other players were
being introduced, I was mentally measuring the exact angles in hopes of
catching Monfils’ head exactly between my camera and the spotlight. I missed
by a bit, so instead of a straight backlit silhouette, I got this picture that ended
up looking like it was made in natural sunlight, complete with golden lens
flare. Geometry was never my strongest subject…
© Matt Cohen 2011

The 2011 SAP Open kicked off Monday at HP Pavilion in San Jose.

I grew up playing tennis, and followed the game religiously until serve and
volleyers were banished from the tour. I can appreciate Federer and Nadal
slugging it out until they can crack a crosscourt winner, but I’d rather watch
McEnroe or Sampras placing insane drop shots at the net any day. So I
made the trek down to San Jose to shoot Sampras play Gael Monfils in an
exhibition match.

Exhibition matches are often fun to shoot because instead of the usual intensity,
players often joke with the crowd and each other. Or in the case of Monfils,
stealing my camera.

Sampras can’t believe a Monfils drop shot…

…and again.

Monfils uses a ball to wipe sweat from his neck.

Monfils crouches as he awaits a serve.

Aside from the kidding, there were some nice points. Sampras lines up a forehand.

Monfils slides clay-court style…

…and then knocks a ball through his legs…

…and finishes with a hefty dose of top spin.

After Sampras-Monfils, Aussie Lleyton Hewitt beat Bjorn Phau 6-3, 6-3

Also on the bill for the first night was James Blake, who is currently on the
comeback trail. After a rocky start, he regrouped for a 7-5, 6-1 win over
qualifier Jesse Levine.

Feb 9, 201131 notes

#Gael Monfils #Pete Sampras #Lleyton Hewitt #Jeff Blake #tennis #sap open #ATP #HP Pavilion

The Time Gael Monfils Stole My Camera

During his exhibition match with Pete Sampras, Gael Monfils walked over to me
and took one of my cameras (Nikon D3S+400mm), walked back onto the other side
of the court and pretended to take pictures of Sampras. I had no shot because the
net was in the way, but luckily my friend Damon Tarver did, and later AP photog
Paul Sakuma sent me the one above. In the tunnel after the match, Monfils told me
that he couldn’t figure out how to shoot it because he owns a Canon and it’s
different. He was kind enough to pose for an iPhone picture with me, so I’m
planning to wear my France World Cup jersey for his match on Wednesday.

Feb 8, 20111 note

#Gael Monfils #tennis #SAP Open