9th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Sunset Clamming

Xiapu, China “is famous for photo ops because it has lots of small hills along the coasts,” says Dong. “I zoomed in with my Nikon so that the reflection filled the whole frame. I waited till those fishermen walked into the right position and took the shot.”

Jia Han Dong, a shipping company manager from New Jersey, was vacationing in a small fishing community in southern China when he climbed a hill, intending to photograph the setting sun above the East China Sea. He walked around for hours trying to find the best spot to set up his equipment, but the conditions weren’t ideal. “It was kind of cloudy,” recalls Dong. Then the sun appeared and lent the shoreline a golden cast. “I saw those fishermen going out for low tide clamming with their tools on their shoulders. I loved the color, the pattern of the posts in the foreground, the texture of the water.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2009
Date Uploaded: 11.2011
Photo Location: China
Camera: NIKON D300
Copyright: © Jiahan Dong
Awards
Photo of the Day: 06.19.15
Finalist
Grand Prize Winner