As a result of exploring FraxHD, I have a collection of beautiful abstract images for which I look for ways of using in my compositions. One way of using them is as a surface over which to distort another image. For this type of application, search for a smooth-looking fractal or smooth area of the fractal, with a fairly simple design. You can often achieve this by zooming in to get a smooth, simple, yet interesting portion of the fractal. Distorting an image over this can produce a result jumping with life.
FraxHD is a fun program. The free version is easy to use. You can look at different fractals and "fly" over them to find an interesting pattern, which you can then save and reuse. Here is one that I will use for this image as the basis for distorting another image.
I opened this image in Trimaginator, and used the Frozen style, which gives a nice soft abstract result.
I used this photo from Pixabay, a source of copyright-free images. I like the colors and the simple geometry.
I opened the image in iColorama and used Effect/Distort to distort the Pixabay image over the frozen image, using Multiply mode.
I applied Adjust/Tonelab and Adjust/Levels to lighten the image and add a bit of depth. I used Effect/Raise applied to the above-water part of the image, using a brush mask to mask the below-water part of the image. Save, but don't remove the brush mask yet.
Inverting the brush mask, I applied Form/Deforms 19 to the water. I removed the brush mask and applied a bit of Form/Warp to the buildings on the left.
Then I applied some Form/Warp to the buildings on the right.