Photographer Aydin Buyuktas' dizzying images of Istanbul were taken with a drone -- that is, when the weather and local wildlife permitted.

"So many times I had to turn back without a picture because of bad weather, technical problems, or birds attacking the drone," explained Buyuktas, whose background is in visual effects, animation, and video.

The result is a fantastically curved world, where roads and bridges dip away from the viewer much like roller coaster tracks.

First though, Buyuktas had to learn to fly a drone.

"I trained for one month in an empty field," said the 43-year-old, originally from Ankara.

"I'm not flying around like video guys. I'm just taking photos, so the drone has to stand in the air in the exact position I planned."

Buyuktas then used Photoshop to morph together his vertigo-inducing collages -- similar to the mind-bending worlds depicted in Leonardo DiCaprio's 2010 film "Inception."

The photography series -- called "Flatland" -- was inspired by Edwin Abbat's 19th century mathematical novel "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions."

"We live in places that most of the time don't draw our attention," explained Buyuktas.

"But these works aim to leave the viewer with a surprising ironic visual -- a multidimensional romantic point of view."