Fractals

FRACTALS are images generated by reiterative mathematical formulae. They have the amazing property of being almost - but not exactly - self-similar at all levels of magnification. Fractals are remarkably similar to natural structures like trees, mountains, clouds, snowflakes, lightning bolts, and crystals, and (when explored along a central axis) have complex and pleasing symmetric patterns similar to meditative mandalas. I think of my exploration of fractal images as photographs of a mathematical universe - a parallel universe much like our own.

Sometime around the year 2000, I found a fractal-generating program created by Peter Pawlowski called GF4. All of the images shown below were generated with this program. Around 2010, I moved on to another program called Sterling 2. If you followed the burst of fractals I posted on Facebook throughout 2015, you saw the results of that exploration, which I hope to post soon.

If you want to learn more about fractals, try this Wikipedia article. A bit of Googling will quickly lead you to a huge resource of fractal images and free software programs. In the meantime, enjoy the journey through my fractal gallery...