This is the world-famous willow tree in Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, that for many years has attracted photographers because it presents such a stunning composition. Unfortunately, earlier this year, vandals hacked off a few lower branches and destroyed the perfection of the tree. It was such a senseless and mean act. I'm glad my photography tour group was able to photograph it when it was whole. The tree is still very attractive, but it is not as elegant and artistic as what you see here. I smoothed the turquoise-colored water with a long exposure. My settings were 15 seconds, f/32, and 100 ISO. I used a 100-400mm Canon telephoto set to 164mm. The small aperture was necessary for two reasons: First, for complete depth of field, and second, to reduce the light striking the sensor so the shutter could be open for a long time. Note that even though the water is blurred due to motion, it is sharp in terms of focus. There is an important difference between motion blur and focus blur.
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