10.15. Whirl and Pinch
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### 10.15. Whirl and Pinch

#### Overview

This filter is found in Filters->Distorts->Whirl and Pinch

"Whirl and Pinch" distorts your image in a concentric way.

"Whirl" distorts the image much like the little whirlpool that appears when you empty your bath.

"Pinch" can be compared to applying your image to a soft rubber surface and squeezing the edges or corners. If the Pinch amount slider is set to a negative value, it will look as if someone tried to push a round object up toward you from behind the rubber skin. If the Pinch amount is set to a positive value, it looks like someone is dragging or sucking on the surface from behind, and away from you.

| Tip
The "pinch" effect can sometimes be used to compensate for image distortion produced by telephoto or fisheye lenses ("barrel distortion").

#### Parameter Settings

Original | Whirled | Pinched

Changes to parameters are immediately displayed into the Preview. The whirlpool is focused around the center of the current layer or selection.

Whirl Angle: Clockwise or counter clockwise (-360 to +360). Controls how many degrees the affected part of the image is rotated.

Pinch Amount: Whirlpool depth(-1 to +1). Determines how strongly the affected part of the image is pinched.

Radius: Whirlpool width (0.0-2.0). Determines how much of the image is affected by the distortion. If you set `Radius` to 2, the entire image will be affected. If you set `Radius` to 1, half the image will be affected. If `Radius` is set to 0, nothing will be affected (think of it as the radius in a circle with 0 in the center and 1 halfway out).

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