. you know if you set the max iterations to say, 1000000, that doesnt mean every pixel iterates that many times, they all bail out according to the nature of the fractal and algorithm at some number less than that. but i assume the lake regions use the max. is there a way to determine the maximum number of iterations that any pixel(s) actually did? i think there is a way but i cant find it thanx if anyone can help JoTz .