Yamamoto Masao studied painting before he chose gelatin silver prints as his medium. His first gallery show in 1994 at Shapiro Gallery, San Francisco and a solo exhibition at Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, in 1996 led to many other gallery shows in the U.S. Since 2006, he has been actively showing at galleries and museums in Europe, Japan, Russia, and Brazil. Media coverage includes New York Times and other major art magazines. Yamamoto lives in Yatsugatake Nanroku, Yamanashi Prefecture where he enjoys creating his work while being close to nature.