1. A method for segmenting one or more candidates in an image having image elements, the method comprising: using a computer system to perform the steps of: identifying a location for one of the candidates in the image, wherein the location is based at a given one of the image elements; computing a plurality of response values at each of one or more neighboring image elements that are in a neighborhood of the location; creating a respective image element cluster of the one or more neighboring image elements from each of the computed response values; and integrating, selectively, the image element clusters to create a segmentation of the candidate at the identified location.