Blurate

Photo filters offer a quick and straightforward way to transform your images from something ordinary to something with a bit more personality.

Blurate is a powerful piece of software that provides you with a simple interface and the tools for creating very customizable photo filters.

Before anything else, you should know that, in order to work, Blurate requires an OpenCL video adapter with the latest drivers installed. If this condition is met, you can proceed with the installation process and start using the utility in a few seconds time.

Upon first launching the app, you are met by simplistic main window with a typical user interface without anything kind of impressive elements on display.

You can open, save or import filters from the File menu, select filters with the help of the nearby drop-down menu and apply them to your photos by simply clicking the designated button from the top toolbar.

From the same top toolbar, you can also access the utility's KernelDesigner, the place where all the magic happens. While it may seem a bit counterproductive at first, learning to use this tool is not that difficult.

With the help of the each building block or "pass", you can fine-tune elements that make up the actual filter namely, the input surface, function type, input neighbor weights and input and function.

Each pass provides you with a couple of options for the Operation type, more exactly, it enables you to determine what type of operation should be performed on what filter phase.

In principle, the most important advantages of using Blurate are as follows: it enables you to customize how any picture needs to be filtered based on elements such as source color channel intensity and offers a high degree of customization for describing your filters.

Blurate is a simplistic application for custom image filtering but you should know that a fair bit of getting used to might be necessary until you can access its full potential.