Hmm...great idea. I have several thoughts in mind, will go to work.

You know...that's one of the reasons I switched to UF. Might be time to take another look at Apo.

wow...very, very nice. Good selection of images also. (((clap))) (((clap))) (((clap))) (((clap))) (that's the sound of one mouse clapping) G

What I like about it is that is helps me to see some great works that I missed. Thank you for your time and effort. I (we) really appreciate it. G

Hey all, Life is actually returning to normal in my neck of the woods. Gas and groceries are in fair supply, power back for most folks. Day by day, things are getting better. Mike: appreciate ya, buddy! Jennyfnf: You can bet there will be a lot of finger-pointing...But there are a lot of real reasons why help was delayed. Stephanie: KY Baptist Convention is a good organization. And they are definitely on the ground helping. Most are working with the Red Cross feeding folks. Barb: Thank you, ma'am. Rick: You can bet they can use some help. Labor intensive right now, but more specialized as the months go on. Poke around with area MEMA (MS Emergency Management Agency) offices and they can direct you to companies that are hiring. And again, I appreciate everone's thoughts and prayers. We're doing fine locally, but it's going to be a long road for the folks further south. G

Thank you all for your kind prayers, thoughts, and help. gumbykat: What's happening is that folks are scared and the panic factor is coming into play. This is going to be felt probably everywhere, but particularly in the SE US. Gas is $7 a galllon in Dallas, $6 in Atlanta...which effects everything else...food prices going to rise, that sort of thing. We need to expect to be pushed out of our comfort zones for a while to come. kansas: Yep, JoeyDude is from N.O. I can only pray that he got out in time. I work for the MS highway dept. and was involved in the evacuation Sat and Sun before the storm. The authorities in N.O. were very clear...LEAVE!!! NOW!!! So if someone was able, they did. We had estimated traffic of 1.5 million cars on US59 Sunday before the storm. fractalinda: You go girl!!! You are on the right track, local churches being probably the best practical way to help. Needed are the very basics: drinking water, and more dinking water, and oh yeah, did I mention water? Plus non-perishable food, diapers, clothes, etc. Just imaging if you suddenly had nothing...I mean nothing...what would you need? That's where most folks are at. mountmous: You're right...it's going to take months for us locally, years for folks farther south to recover. But today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be better than today. Again, thank you all, continue to pray, help if you can, remember us next week, and the week after, and the week after... G

When I would do Apo post, I would duplicate the base layer, 3 or four times. Add noise to one, a texture effect to two maybe, then maybe add a laquer filter to one, merging and playing with transparencies to suit...til I had an image I liked. Then I would flatten them, and start the process over, this time duplicating the flattened image several times, adding contrast, saturation, blurs, etc. Make sense? I realise I could do work arounds in PS or whatever, but I'm trying to stay pure to UF. But I think SimonKaye summed it up.

Yeah...I figured it was wishful thinking... Thanks.

Bravo!!!!

Good variation... "Heart on Ice" seems to be a such a "happy" little fractal! ~~~!Happy anniversary!~~~ G

Message edited on: 07/18/2005 12:05

OK...Here's my puny ideas. If I take a starter flame then open the Mutation window and click on one of the mutations...then that flame has just begun the journey to becoming my own. If I add 2 scripts, go twelve mutations deep, then apply 4 filters in post...that image is mine. Make sense? I mean...where do you draw the line. Someone uses your starter flame to make an image, but they also used a mouse, a monitor, a computer, a program, electricity...in a house, in a country, on a planet... Where do you begin with the credits??? When you made the starter flames, did you thank Mark Townsend? Bill Gates? God? Here's the thing. When you made the starter flames available to the public, the idea was, "Well, now that I have some experience with the program, I'm going to help other people." And you felt good about it, and rightly so. You should at this point be clapping and cheering for the people that have taken your generosity and done good things with it. Not crying because you aren't getting whatever recognition you feel you deserve. None of us truly start from scratch.... Am I wrong? (p.s. I noticed that you forgot to give credit for the coloring algorithm that you used on your latest image...)

Second that motion...

Hi Barb, On the contest announcement post where it was asked that the contest be extended you have one vote to extend with a second, and then four dissenting votes (including the vote in this thread). While I can understand that the summer months might cut into someone's creative time because of travel, kids at home during the day, etc., I also say that the contest should stand as is. There is a reason these are called "challenges". And the point of a challenge is to push through obstacles and produce before a deadline. If someone has trouble developing and refining an idea during the time specified, well...you didn't live up to the challenge. I think pressure can be stimulating to the creative flow. So...we have a little over two weeks to submit an entry. I say we tighten up and "git'r done!" =^}

I echo these thoughts, especially Yvonne's. Thanks!!! Gary

Excellent...Jos, Tina. Thank you both for taking the time to help. G