Michael Yamashita is a Japanese-American photographer.

Early life and education

Born in 1949 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and raised in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

. Yamashita graduated from

Montclair Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

in 1967. He graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

with a degree in Asian studies.

Photography career

After college in 1971, he traveled to Japan to teach English. After joining a photo club to work on his Japanese, he was inspired to pursue photography professionally. After living and shooting throughout Asia for seven years, he returned to the US where he started working for the ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' in 1979, photographing in various countries.

Personal life

Yamashita lives and works in

Chester Township, New Jersey Chester Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 7,838, reflecting an increase of 556 (+7.6%) from the 7,282 counted in the 2000 Census, which had ...

, with his wife and frequent collaborator, Elizabeth Bibb, where he also serves as a volunteer fireman.

Publications

Books by Yamashita

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Contributions

* * * United States Postage stamp: 90 cents, Hagatna Bay, Guam single, 2007.

Filmography

*''Marco Polo: The China Mystery Revealed'' – Finnigan, Jonathan (director) Jennifer Lee (writer). Produced by Yamashita, Craig Leeson and Farland Chang. United States. *''Ghost Fleet – The Epic Voyage of Zheng He'' – Finnigan, Jonathan (director) (2005). (Motion picture). Produced by Yamashita. United States: National Geographic, Channel Asia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamashita, Michael Living people 1949 births American artists of Japanese descent Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni People from Chester Township, New Jersey People from Montclair, New Jersey Artists from San Francisco Photographers from New Jersey Wesleyan University alumni