How cool!  These are all so inventive and funny, I just love visual puns, and this gallery reeks of them!
;)

These are all really great and fun photos!  They reflect some cool senses of humor, and you all know who you are.

TO LovelyPoetess,

**They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

So where do they go when a photograph leaves you speechless? ****

**I love this quote very much. 
When a photograph leaves us speechless, thank goodness we can still all type!
;) **Lea
**

My congrats to you all!  Just looking in here and see so many wonderful captures.  I especially like the one by PD 154, and JeffG7BRJ.

This is great photography!
Lea

Now RJ, Don't strain anything you may need for later!
;)  LLea

Well, mine wasn't near this fancy, I just had a little Polaroid camera that developed the photos instantly!  Saving up now for a 'real' camera though!

Thanks Nick, I have been looking around and checking to see if it was voting time yet. Appreciate the heads up. Having been sick myself for about the last week, I can appreciate where you are coming from! Leann

What a beautiful poem. Dramatic and deeply moving! I know how this feels! Leanndra

Rick, Judi, Congrats back to you both! It was such fun! I too really enjoyed this tweak fest, of course, I enjoy all of them, especially when I get an entry in by the deadline! Can't wait till the next one! Rick, I am from Oklahoma, I understand y'all real well! Leanndra

Nick, Works for me! I sometimes come back several times before I post an image in the challenge and reread the rules. Thanks for the timely reminder! Leanndra

After reading all the comments in this thread I find there are good points all the way around. I can speak only for myself, so here goes. What constitutes art is subjective. We all have our own criteria. What I consider art, you may not. I never cared for Picasso, or Dali. But I love Van Gogh. Go Figure. I always personally felt that Picasso should have taken a course in Human anatomy, and that Dali must have been friends with Timothy Leary. Just my personal opinion. I have been using apophysis for almost a year, prior to finding it last December, I had been using Fractal Explorer for 2 1/2 years. I love fractals and flames. I think that in general flames are softer, more ethereal, more delicate than fractal images are. There are artists here who can make scenes from just flames, or flames and fractals combined. One young man made an amazing composition that contained over 50 flames! Fault me if you will, but I call that 'art'. To say that 'if you have seen 100 flames you have seen them all', is in my opinion saying that once you have seen 100 paintings of roses by various artists you have seen them all. No two artists are alike. I never view flames as being just like someone elses, because they aren't. Each person who creates an image imbues that image with a part of themself, their spirit, if you will. A uniqueness that no one else has. I feel the same way about fractals too. It doesn't matter what tools, or programs one uses, be it Bryce, Vue, Ultra Fractal, XenoDream, Apophysis, Visions of Chaos,or Photography, it doesn't matter. The creativity is what I look for. What I consider art? When an image reaches into you and squeezes your heart, evokes emotions that you might not particularly want to feel, when you are so touched by the beauty of the image you cry, when someone has the ability to evoke a response that helps you to grow as a person, to consider and think, to blindfold your prejudices, so to speak; That is art! My 'art' is an outlet for me. I lived the first 17 years of my life in a domestic 'war-zone'. I have PTSD, depression, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, Social Anxiety Disorder, and I could go on. But I won't bore you with the facts. When I create images, I am outwardly focused. It is how I maintain a balance in my life. It is an expression of who I am, and what I feel. Sometimes it is joyful, sometimes not. It is communicating on a non-verbal level. It isn't really hard to grasp. Personally I find it arrogant that if we move a transform it isn't art, but if you add a layer, it is! Hmm I have to wonder if the artists who painted roses felt that those who painted daisies, weren't artists? Food for thought. Thanks for your time Leanndra

I am so glad to see another one! It would be great if we could have one every month! Is that a possibility? Leanndra

Okay, I am going to jump right in here with my two-cents worth and hopefully not offend most of the fractal-flame community! Here is how I see it!
The only person who ever created 'original' flames is Mark Townsend! He created the Apophysis program! I have yet to see anyone give him credit! Every image we 'create' is from what he originally did!
Honestly, to me if someone requests that we give them credit for the starter flames they provide, I think it is the courteous thing to do! However, if the starter is just that, a 'starter' a foundation on which to build a different flame image, then to me the person who is generating a lot of comments added their own flair, their own unique ability to change that starter, to make it 'their own'.

When I send starter flames to people I ask them to change the image by using the x-forms, and the gradient, to in effect make it their own and I don't ask for acknowledgement.
We are all individuals, we all have different talents, different ideas and beliefs of what beauty, what 'art' is. I don't want my art to look like anyone elses, however because we use the same program Apophysis, we can come up with some of the same parameters on our own that other people have too! I have seen identical images to some of mine. The only difference was the gradient was different! That is a mathematical possibility, after all!
I think it is a shame that something like this is causing hurt feelings among any of these great and creative artists!
'Nuff said?
Leanndra

Nick, Simply beautiful choices! I really love this addition to the fractal forums! It is a unique concept. One I think benifits everyone! Thanks! Leanndra

Patti, You are right, about people stumbling on to fractals! Got an I M here yesterday from an artist who told me that. I also agree about the viewer using their imagination when seeing a fractal is part of what makes fractal art so fascinating. Sometimes I almost hate to title an image because it sets a boundary in the mind of everyone who sees the title and the image. Despite that many of us still see different things looking at the same image. As anyone who has read comments under a fractal will attest to. We don't all 'see' the same image. Leanndra

You bring up a very good and valid point Patti. If I had purchased the book and only found one entry for fractal art, I would have been very disappointed. There are many wonderful fractal artists here, as well as the great artists who use other programs, Bryce, Terragen, Poser,Vue, etc,the photographers, and artists who actually can draw! Art is another form of communication! We all know the adage,"One picture is worth a thousand words". Art is also an expression of who we are. We reveal things about ourselves in our art. Fractal art is a wonderful example of that expression too. To me personally, there is a beauty that fractal art has, whether the fractals are 'true fractals', or flame fractals, that no other kind of art possesses. I feel that there should be an opportunity for others to see more of that beauty than just one picture in a book of art. I can certainly understand your decision to not enter the new art contest. Mathmatically, the odds are against you. Don't blame you for feeling left out! Leanndra