Mike Yamashita: My life behind the lens

Mike Yamashita: My life behind the lens

By Adrian Lim - December 9, 2006
AsiaOne

IF you think National Geographic lensman Michael Yamashita has the ultimate dream job traversing the globe taking pictures, think again. In the man's own words, it is a dream job yes, but one he cannot afford to fail in.

In an industry of tough competitors, the photographer must have absolute passion and obsession for his photographic subject to keep himself ahead in the game.

This was one of the points this renowned travel cameraman made at the start of his masterclass at the Beyond 2006 summit, held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel last week.

The summit featured prominent figures from the creative industries such as fashion priestess Joanne Ooi, hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany, and renowned architect Duangrit Bunnag.

Yamashita also shared his story about about life behind the lens, and how he conceptualised the ideas behind his famous Marco Polo and Zheng He expeditions.

In 1999, Mike embarked on a two-year expedition crossing over 6,000 miles to document and retrace the silk-road journeys of famous 13th century explorer Marco Polo.

This culminated in the hugely successful book Marco Polo: A Photographer's Journey, which was also featured in an award-winning National Geographic Channel documentary.

Later, Mike reprised the journeys of another great explorer, Zheng He, by retracing the 15 th century admiral's voyages in his exploration of the Straits of Malacca and the Indian Ocean.

Full Article here.