Sally Strand’s Award-winning Photo

When the editors at Plymouth Magazine go through the selection process each year determining which images will be showcased on the Last Glance page (a process that occurs in tandem with the city judging of the annual Picture Plymouth contest in early September), details about images and who shot them are intentionally removed from discussion to optimize the visual impact and seasonal feel of each selection.
   
So it was a very happy accident to discover that Sally J. Strand’s image, Our Favorite Bridge, which was selected as a wonderful February issue was actually shot on Valentine’s Day 2013 at Three Ponds Park. “My husband and I wanted to something together—that we both love—for Valentine's Day,” Strand says. “There was a beautiful snow the night before, and the day was calm, sunny and warm for a February in Minnesota, so we went to our favorite park in Plymouth to go for a walk and photograph the snow.” The couple, who’s lived in Plymouth since 1991, have been hobby photographers since 2003. They live on the channel to Larch Heights Lagoon on Bass Lake with their “grand cat,” Tigger, who likes to travel the length of their upper deck looking for ducks, great blue heron and turkeys. Nature inspires much of Strand’s work, as do lighting, abstraction in nature, shapes, colors, textures and good lines.