Meet Michael Tullberg

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Michael Tullberg again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Michael, we are so thrilled to be connecting again and can’t wait to hear about all the amazing things you have been up to. Before we jump into all of that, some of our readers might have missed our prior interview, so can you take a moment to reintroduce yourself?
I’m one of the longest-running electronic music photographers in the country. Beginning in the mid-90s, I helped define the visual style for rave photojournalism in America. Besides writing and shooting for most of the electronic music magazines of the day, I also shot album covers for several world-famous DJs, such as Carl Cox, Ferry Corsten, DJ Dan and many more.

I also was the founder and CEO of 5150 Publishing, a book publishing company that specialized in books about the glory days of American rave. Under 5150, I published “DANCEFLOOR THUNDERSTORM: Land of the Free, Home of the Rave”, and “The Raver Stories Project”.

Since 2004, I’ve shot for Getty Images’ entertainment division, with my work appearing reguarly around the world in countless media outlets, TV shows and publications. Highlights include Oscar viewing parties, GRAMMY Awards events, Golden Globes parties, Coachella, SunDance and many, many more.

I’ve also been hired by the likes of Motown legend Diana Ross and alternative rock gods Jane’s Addiction to shoot their live performances. In the case of Jane’s, the images ended up appearing on their 2017 live album.

More recently, I served as associate producer on an upcoming music documentary for Insomniac Productions, the same people who produce the Electric Daisy Carnival festival. The film is due to be released later this year.

In addition, I’ve also been on the college lecture circuit, giving presentations about the history of electronic music in America. Some of the schools who have hosted me include USC, the University of Miami, and the University of Missouri. My images have also begun appearing in new academic books about electronic music as well.

Awesome, so we reached out because we wanted to hear all about what you have been up to since we last connected.
I think the most rewarding job that I’ve done recently was the associate producer position for the Insomniac documentary. I was originally brought in to be an archivist, but when the producers of the film saw the above and beyond results that I was delivering in my research and acquisition of vintage rave photos and videos, they quickly promoted me and basically turned me loose in that direction. As a result, Insomniac ended up getting an oversupply of great material to work with (a luxury that documentary directors really appreciate), so that now there’s plenty of stuff to pick from for future projects as well.

A rather unexpected pleasure has been my forays into the academic world, most especially the lecturing I’ve been doing. This has given me a great opportunity to pass the knowledge about electronic music’s history down to a new generation of dance music fans. It’s great to know that my personal experience can be translated into a formal academic format.

We also want to give folks a chance to get to know you a bit better so we’ve prepared a fun lightning round of questions. Ready?

Favorite Movie: Jaws

Favorite Book: The Mind Of The South

Favorite TV Show: NOVA

Favorite Band or Artist: Led Zeppelin

Sweet or Savory: Savory

Mountains or Beach: Beach

Favorite Sport (to watch): Baseball

Favorite Sport (to play): Soccer

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Yes: Soccer, hockey, baseball

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: A superhero

French Fries or Onion Rings: French Fries

Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: neither

Favorite Cartoon growing up: Gaiking

Favorite Childhood movie: Star Wars A New Hope

Favorite Breakfast Food: Bagels with cream cheese and gravlax

When you look back on your life, what are three things you expect to be proud of?
I think I will be proudest of my experiences in the photographic world, specifically being able to insert myself into the core of the American electronic music world as a photojournalist in the 1990s, and then later as a Hollywood entertainment photographer for Getty Images in the 2000s. Besides that, I’ll also be proud of my writing and publishing of my books.

Website: https://www.michaeltullberg.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeltullberg

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltullberg/

Twitter: https://x.com/michaeltullberg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.tullberg

Youtube: LAshutterbug

Image Credits
Photo copyright by Michael Tullberg