Meet Kenji Yamaguchi, the man who makes custom gear for National Geographic photographers

by Gannon Burgett

posted Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 11:39 AM EDT

 
 

Photography work for National Geographic is as demanding as it comes. Oftentimes required to shoot in tough environments in rough conditions, both the photographer and his equipment need to be on the top of their game to get the job done.

To ensure the equipment side of the equation is good to go, Kenji Yamaguchi is the man behind the madness. Sitting deep inside the basement of National Geographic’s office, Kenji is surrounded by drill presses, stepper motors and more to ensure any piece of gear needed, that can’t be bought in store, is made to perfection by hand.

The three and a half minute video, shown below, shows the work of Kenji and highlights just what it is that keeps him passionate about his custom work for some of the best photographers around.

If you’d like to see some of Kenji’s work at play, you can head on over to National Geographic to see how Kenji’s motion-triggered ‘camera traps’ help photographer Steve Winter capture big cats in the wild.

(via NatGeo PROOF)