Born in Edmonton, now residing in Fort Saskatchewan with his wife and partner, Iona, Mike was the consummate professional rodeo photographer. Mike had a fifteen year career as a boiler maker prior to getting the photography bug. He bought his first camera in 1986, looking to get published in books and magazines. He started shooting amateur rodeos along with Cloverdale. Being proactive, Mike took the opportunity to talk to cowboys in different events to find out how they preferred to be shot, wanting to get the best possible angles. Mike said once he started shooting from inside the arena his main objective was to not get killed. He was hired by the Edmonton Sun to cover the CFR at Northlands in 1989. Mike was a freelance photographer at the CFR 1989-1996. By 1993 Mike had moved into full time photography, shooting show homes and rodeo. In 1994 Iona quit her day job to work with Mike and as they say, the rest is history. Mike has great memories from 1996-2017 when he was hired by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association as the arena photographer to shoot the CFR and supervise the accredited CFR photographers. Mike also served as the photographer for the NFR 1998-2015 and coordinated other photographers as well as doing the annual mugshots for program and PR use. From 1997-2017 Mike was hired by Calgary Stampede to shoot the Calgary Stampede bucking stock in addition to shooting for Mike Copeman photography. In 2001 Mike led the charge in rodeo from film to digital shooting. There were some tense moments with committees, as skeptics were nervous that quality would be compromised but in the end it took rodeo photography to a new level just as Mike and Iona had been doing for years. In 2004 Mike Copeman Photography was named PRCA photographer of the year.
