There's an old adage that states if you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. Photographer Clive Cohen is the perfectly-captured personification of that statement.
Cohen, who has worked as the track photographer for Woodbine Mohawk Park for the last 25 years and recently won the Media Excellence Award for Outstanding Photography at the 2021 O'Brien Awards, is deeply grateful to make a living at his chosen profession — a profession in which he clearly excels.
"I love everything about it," Cohen told Trot Insider. "My day starts off here beautifully when I come in and everyone's warming up and I set up my files on the computer, hope for good weather. It's nice to work in your profession, just like I guess the horsepeople work in their profession, and I love taking photos and I love seeing them right away on the computer and then having people come in, and when they're great photos and they're excited people, it makes for a wonderful night and a wonderful year."
Cohen garnered his record sixth Media Excellence photography award with his 'Training Mile in the Fog' shot of Amasa Arion with trainer Patrick Rouleau, taken at Woodbine Mohawk Park on October 7, 2021 as the fog started to roll in. The photograph also won honours stateside, recognized as the best in the feature category as part of the 2021 United States Harness Writers Association Media Awards.
"So that was taken after one of the winner's circles at night, probably the second or third race off the top of my head," explained Cohen. "The fog was rolling in and people were warming up. I've shot stuff like that before but, by pure luck, the horse looked in the perfect direction, the light was perfect and there was another horse off in the distance to give you some depth."
Cohen told Trot Insider how he initially started in harness racing photography, his favourite subjects to capture on film and what's still on his professional bucket list. Watch the interview with Cohen below.
The interview with Cohen is the sixth and final feature in our post-O'Brien Awards coverage, sponsored by Horse Racing Alberta. Previous winner features included the following profiles:
- Kyle Bossence (Future Star Award winner)
- George Millar (Armstrong Breeder of the Year)
- Luc Blais (O'Brien Award of Horsemanship)
- James MacDonald (Keith Waples Driver of the Year)
- Kathy Cecchin (trainer and co-owner of Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year, Desperate Man)