By Scott Shephard

As I looked as this photo this morning, I was thinking of the paradox of the sun. The sun's cycles are precisely predictable. For example, we know the instant of sunrise and sunset for every day of the year and for every place on Earth. We also know when eclipses will happen and when seasons will officially begin and end.

On the other hand, wind and weather, both caused by the sun's interaction with the Earth, are much less predictable. Will good rain help the wheat germinate and grow? And will warm summer days help the wheat ripen? Or will hail, wind and rain beat the wheat field down?

And while all of this happens, the sun is unthinking and oblivious. I can be the same about much of what I do, of course. But on this morning I knew exactly where I wanted to be and when I needed to be there. For, I have photographed these two struggling trees several times. And I know they look best in the dawn's early light just minutes before the sun shows itself for its daily journey over the central plains of South Dakota. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/25s f/10.0 ISO200 28mm