WHAT IS A FRACTAL?
I like to think of fractals as a visual representation of numbers. These numbers, or equations, are constantly being fed back into themselves. The fractal program will assign colours, according to the amount of time it takes to work out whether each number is part of the equation or whether it will be discarded.
Mathematicians will by now be aware that I am not one of their number. If you are curious, there are many sites on the Internet which explain these mysteries much better than I can. Try Spanky's gallery for starters.

WHAT IS FRACTAL EXPLORER?
Fractal Explorer is a fractal creation program written in Kiev, in the Ukraine. It is my favourite fractal program because it is quite user-friendly, and is freeware. It contains a range of filters which the user can apply, in order to create a diversity of interesting effects. Find out more from the Fractal Explorer homepage. The folks here frequently update the program with new and helpful features.

When using Fractal Explorer, I always create the fractal in a large format (I prefer to use 1920x1440) and then resize the fractal down with an image processing program. This results in a nicely anti-aliased image (i.e., smooth lines, no jaggies). I prefer to use a 1.333:1 ratio, because then the image sits well on a computer screen.

All of the images on these pages are created by myself using Fractal Explorer, and are free for non-commercial use.

WHAT IS A SPOT FILE?
Spot files are used by Fractal Explorer to document the parameters of a fractal. If you have the program, you can download the parameters of most of the images on this site. Click on the Spot File link beneath the thumbnail, save the zip file and unzip it onto your hard drive. Then you can view the fractal by selecting Load Spot from the File menu. (Be sure to select a 1.333:1 ratio for my Spot files!)

OTHER FRACTAL PROGRAMS.
The classic fractal program is Fractint (freeware). There are many other good fractal programs on the Internet, including Fractal Extreme (shareware), and Ultra Fractal (shareware).

OTHER WEBSITES - LINKS.
THE M.A.D. PAGE. My personal website which contains quality images of Tasmanian seashells, rustic historic huts, short meaningful poems and many other interesting things.
GRIST WALLPAPERS. This site contains free high-quality desktop wallpaper in a range of sizes. Specialising in flowers, shells and leaves. One of the sections is entirely devoted to fractal wallpapers.
TASPIX - Digital photography from Tasmania, Australia, many with an unusual twist. Plus some pinhole photography.
THE OTHER SPACE.
Fractal Psychadelic Art from Argentina.
And, just to throw in a wild card, check out the Tasmanian Taiko Drummers web site!

CONDITIONS OF USE.
All fractals and spot files are free for non-commercial use. Please ask me if you wish to use any of my work for commercial use.