Studies in Fractal Image Formats
While largely obscure today, fractal image compression algorithms were developed in the 90s and released through a series of Photoshop plug-ins called Genuine Fractals (and Genuine Fractals Print Pro) as well as a stand-alone image conversion app called Fractal Imager. These apps have drifted into obsolescence but can still be accessed through a virtual Windows 95 machine or legacy software like Photoshop 6.0. These fractal compression algorithms are used in two formats, .STN (databent in the first image) and .FIF (all subsequent images). The former has a trickier structure and requires a section-by-section byte reversal to databend, the latter is a more malleable format and can be databent with greater facility. Presented are images based (mostly) on photographs shot around Western Massachusetts in the Fall of 2020 while on assignment for the Daily Hampshire Gazette.