He cites fortune and Fu Qing, his assistant, translator and coordinator on his western China travels since 2004. But Fu insists it's Yamashita's persistence that helps him capture the perfect shots.

"Mike (Yamashita) is dedicated to his job and endures all the hardships," Fu says. "He's a crazy photographer. He'll risk everything for a good picture."

Fu recalls Yamashita lying on the grass of the 4,000-meter-high mountains to snap close-ups of Tibetans sifting the soil for caterpillar fungus - aka "Tibetan gold".

He walked into a freezing lake in Jiuzhaigou to shoot a tree rising from the surface. And he endured half an hour with a broken rib while shooting a mountain village. He fell down and broke his rib when he hiked downhill but he didn't go to the hospital until he finished the shooting.

After he finished, he hiked down hill to the hospital.

"'Doctor' isn't in Yamashita's vocabulary," Fu adds.

The photographer rarely discusses adversities. He didn't mention any difficulties or dangers in his public lecture on his Shangri-la journey at Fangsuo Commune in Guangdong province's capital Guangzhou in November.