Michael Flugstad
Nineteen-year-old Michael Flugstad planned on taking a month off work and enjoying his last bit of summer, before heading off to college in the fall. Not knowing where he would go or stay, Michael hit the open road in his 1997 Jetta. Little did he know, how much the adventure would impact his life. Throughout his journey, he traveled to Idaho, Montana, California, and Utah where he met a lot of people along the way. Michael believes that this trip confirmed his passion for pursuing photography as a career and that he would no longer attend college in the fall.
Since the epic road trip last summer, he’s made shooting as much of a priority as possible and is now a full-time photographer. In January, Michael told me a little bit about his photography aspirations and drum roll please….what camera he uses!
What sparked your interest in photography?
What sparked my interest in photography would probably be the people around me. Skateboarding is really freeing to me and I started making skateboarding videos with my friends. A few of my skateboarding friends started taking pictures too and [that sparked my interest.]
I’ve always gone camping a lot and just seeing how much fun my other friends were having with a camera made me want to try it out. Last year, I started getting into photography more seriously. I met a few really good photographers whose lifestyles were super sick that inspired me. I’ve had a camera for two years, but this last year is when I started getting out to shoot as much as possible.
Who inspires you?
Before I had a nice camera I met Dylan Furst on a hike at Lake 22 and he had a kayak with him. We went on a hike together and he let me use his super nice camera and we had a lot of fun. He’s a very successful photographer and was the guy who inspired me by his work ethic before I started taking photography more seriously.
Obviously, Andrew Kearns has inspired me a lot over this last year. He’s always sharing what he’s doing and his work is really different, always telling stories, and stands out to me. Both Dylan and Andrew work really hard and know how to draw the line between working, having fun and not letting it get in the way of how they are as a person.
What are you goals?
One of my goals this year was to quit my job and become a full-time photographer, which I reached! As far as just life and photography goals, just being able to stand out more and tell more stories. Do what people aren’t doing as much and bring back what photography is really out there for. It’s about telling stories and not worrying about only getting the crazy banger [shot]. I really enjoy camping and I want to eventually live out of my car. I want to tell more stories on a different level.
What kind of camera do you have?
Thank God, you asked me that because I have a lot of people ask me that question! I use a Canon 6D, Sigma 24 MM.
What is #Queekygrams?
It’s just a funny word that me and my friends used to say. For example, “queeky is you.” We just replace it in a lot of words, it’s just a word that started off as a joke and we replace it in sentences. You can give it it's own definition.
What are three facts that people might not know about you?
I went to a lot of church camps growing up and was always that annoying prankster that liked to “queek” around. I was a little trouble maker!
I love to be around people and feel depressed when I’m not around them. I constantly have to be around people!
I’ve worked at a few different jobs at food places so far, Papa John’s, Papa Murphy’s and Panera.
Going back to the road trip you took last summer, what about it impacted you the most?
Everything was always really exciting and an adventure. I had the minimal, but didn’t worry too much at all about what would happen. I didn’t really know what to expect but it made me want to travel more often. It all worked out so perfectly. My car even broke down in a town outside of Yosemite National Park, where I had to spend three days waiting for it to get fixed. [At this time, ] I ran out of money and didn’t really know what to do.
During one of the days I was waiting, I was really bummed out and took photos at a deli. I started talking with one of the workers and we hit if off. I asked if he could drive me to the top of Taft Point. I experienced one of the most crazy sunsets and still got to go to the Park. It just shows that everything can go wrong and things can still turn out.
Ultimate place to shoot one day?
I would love to go to Norway and shoot. I’d like to explore and kick it with some family I have over there!
Let’s say that you’re stranded on a desert island with only food, water and your camera. What else do you bring?
I would probably bring my Bible and my dog.
Thanks Michael!
Website: https://www.michaelflugstad.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelflugstad/