1. A method for manipulating an image, comprising: using a computer to perform: receiving an image; selecting a first region within the image for applying a bilateral filter, wherein the first region is centered at a first pixel, and wherein the first region comprises a plurality of other pixels; applying the bilateral filter to the first region, wherein a spatial component of the bilateral filter is a 2-D box filter, and wherein said applying comprises: constructing a first histogram of pixel values for the pixels within the first region; and computing a new pixel value for the first pixel, wherein said computing comprises applying a filter to the first histogram, wherein the filter applied to the first histogram is centered at a current pixel value for the first pixel.