Michael Yamashita
Renowned visual storyteller Michael Yamashita has worked for the National Geographic magazine for 40 years, photographing wide-ranging topics throughout six continents. As the first person of color to be a regular contributor to National Geographic, his long career has carried him from the Great Wall of China to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and across his ancestral home country of Japan, on more than 30 major stories for the magazine.
After graduating from Wesleyan University, while on a “roots” trip to Japan, he discovered his two passions – photography and travel. His first assignments shooting for Singapore Airlines took him all over Asia while based in Tokyo and Singapore. Since then, Yamashita has continued to focus on Asia, especially China and Japan, as his primary area of interest and expertise.
Many of his stories have focused on great explorers, from Marco Polo’s travels along the Silk Road to the epic voyages of 15th-century Chinese Admiral Zheng He and the 16th-century journeys of Matsuo Basho, Japan’s most celebrated literary figure. He has published 16 books, including Marco Polo, Zheng He, The Great Wall of China, Shangri-La, Along the Tea Horse Road to Lhasa, A Silk Road Journey, and In a Japanese Garden.
Upcoming books will focus on a retrospective of his 40 years covering China, titled East Meets West, and on his roots in Japan, with the working title Full Circle. In addition to his still photography, Yamashita has produced two award-winning feature-length documentary films based on his work retracing Marco Polo's and Zheng He's journeys.
A partial list of recent commercial clients includes Sony Cameras, The Nature Conservancy, the Singapore Tourist Board, Abu Dhabi Tourist Board, Visa, Four Seasons Hotel, and cell phone manufacturers, Oppo, Vivo, Meizhou, and Huawei. As one of the top photography influencers worldwide with over 1.7 million followers on Instagram (@yamashitaphoto), Yamashita is a powerful voice in contemporary visual media, as well as a mentor to emerging photographers. In recent years, Yamashita has ventured into digital innovation, successfully launching 5 sold-out NFT collections that translate his archive into new contexts.
Yamashita’s work has been exhibited in such diverse venues as the Beijing Millennium Monument, the Palazzo Blu in Pisa, Palazzo Altemps in Rome, in plein air at La Gacilly, France, and the Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan, France, as well as the Carter Center in Atlanta and the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Next year, major exhibitions are being planned for the Asia Society in Hong Kong, and Gallerie D’Italia in Florence.
A charismatic communicator, Yamashita frequently speaks at global photography events and has delivered TED Talks that reflect on his career, travels and the evolution of the field of photography. He has received many industry awards, including those from the Pictures of the Year competition, the New York Art Directors Club, and the Asian American Journalists Association and is often called on to judge international photo competitions.
Balancing global travel with grounded community involvement, Michael juggles time between homes in New York and rural New Jersey, where he maintains a studio and is a volunteer firefighter.