Yamashita began taking pictures in 1971 while on a self-styled "roots" trip to Japan. What began as a pastime led to a career combining his two passions—photography and travel. He has been a regular contributor to the National Geographic since 1979 and has worked in such diverse locations as Somalia and Sudan, England and Ireland, New Guinea and New Jersey. Although he has traveled to six continents, Asia is his special area of concentration. He has lived in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan, and shoots for a variety of Asian publications. Fluent in Japanese, he has covered Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu.