By Scott Shephard

Here's yet another photo opportunity that made me stop and turn back. As you can see, there are very few trees along this stretch of County Road 12 a few miles west of Turton, SD. As I drove by, I admired this solitary stand of trees and was a half mile by when I thought, "Why not?" And so I turned around and launched my drone on a nearly windless and warm spring day.

I have two things to say to you today. First, I like trees in spring almost as much as in the fall. When the leaves start to pop out, you get a hint of green - but you still get the underlying structure of the tree. Photographically, it is a perfect combination. In this photo, of course, you'll have to imagine the color.

The second thing is that for those who call this part of the world "boring" because there is so little contour and are so few trees, I say, "Look again." From the ground, I think there is a pure and stark beauty to be seen. And from 100 feet up, the view (to me, at least) is breathtaking.

Phantom 4 Pro FC6310 1/320s f/5.6 ISO100 8.8mm