Do not be alarmed, the first two are actual ice. Chill dudes.... You see what I did there? The first two are taken with my cellphone camera.
The first picture shows a vast landscape of ice, with a soft curve around a mountain. The flakes does give away it's not real, but since there are no other objects revealing the actual size of the objects, it's sort of believable.
Made with the help of my partner in crime's legs, I got to enhance the wave effect so to me, it looks like a frozen tsunami. The light through the ice gives it the feeling that it's a clear wave.
Now to begin the summoning of the illusion.
"Cast: Awesome photo skills"
Look at mah caves.
If you tilt your head to the right, or just turn your laptop towards the right, you'll see how it actually looks. Though I feel it's more interesting with this angle.
The reason for that is the spiral effect in the bottom half is enhanced, though It may not look like ice, but I find it pleasing.
My favourite. To me this is perfect, you have the reflection, the water dripping from the cave side, and the light is not that extreme. Also, the shadow in the background to the left does sort of look like a guy in a boat.
Aaaand a mixture of both.
Real ice: Multiply layer prosperity, Cooling filter, Higher contrast and lower lighting
Fake: Overlay, Red filter, Higher contrast and lower lighting.