Frozen Divide
by markwiley

Comment by primabarbara:
Congrats Mark!
The icicles! A very well composed city view with the curve. I wonder if you ever have problems with authorities flying your drone?

I always enjoy your pictures of Chicago.
My friend lives on the other side of Lake Michigan and I visited her and Chicago a loooong time ago (I think 1997)
It's definitely time to visit again soon. I haven't even seen the Bean yet.

Chicago Tourism
by markwiley

Comment by Barroness:
Beautiful, makes me want to go to Chicago. I love the color or the cracked ice against the stunning sky line.

Once Lit
by markwiley

Comment by tnun:
that is quite the dinner!

Once Lit
by markwiley

Comment by beatabg:
That's an unusual tree. This photo tells a cool story. I'm a big fan of the wide angle you used, and the aesthetic of this photo. Well done! One of my favorites in the challenge.

Frozen Divide
by markwiley

Comment by ThingFish:

Originally posted by Bear_Music: Gotta watch your horizon, Mark ;-)

Yeah but the tower in the foreground is straight and some of the buildings in the background are leaning very slightly to the left and others are leaning very slightly to the right so I think that's the best that Mark could achieve with this very wide angle taken from a high angle.. Straighten the horizon and the tower will be slanted and the buildings in the background even more. A false horizon occurs when a prominent line in the landscape, such as a sloping beach, a mountain ridge, or a tilted shoreline, tricks the eye (or the camera's auto-leveling systems) into appearing horizontal, resulting in a slanted, unlevel composition in the final photo
. This is a common issue in landscape photography, particularly when the actual water-to-sky horizon is obscured or when using wide-angle lenses.
Causes and Effects of a False Horizon

Misleading Foreground: A sloped shoreline or sandbank can appear to be the "true" horizontal line, but aligning with it makes the actual ocean horizon, if visible, appear skewed.
Perceptual Illusion: Human perception often relies on familiar lines (like a hill edge) rather than true, mathematical level, leading to a "perceptual horizon" that is inaccurate.

Message edited by author 2026-01-22 07:05:58.

Frozen Divide
by markwiley

Comment by glad2badad:
I'm enjoying the lines in this. Nice job on the comp.

Night Shift
by markwiley

Comment by Barroness:
Stunning nightscape, your coloration in the lighting is amazing and so beautiful.

Sidewalk Solidarity
by markwiley

Comment by Barroness:
Congrats top 10, This is gentle and yet effective. The first local small town rally I went to was like this, the next one was bursting at the seams and the 3rd was powerful. Nice capture and your coloration is spot on.

Once Lit
by markwiley

Comment by VitaminB:
I love how different this shot is from the rest, really stands out. It isnt a 'pretty' photo, but it is so impactful. I like the pun title too.

Once Lit
by markwiley

Comment by Barroness:
Graffiti and Garbage, such disrespect to our earth. I like that you presented it. Very nice imagery and an artistic sign of the times.