[Pic] Is This The Most Well Known Landscape Image Of All Time?

squaregrass [Pic] Is This The Most Well Known Landscape Image Of All Time?I’ve always wondered what who actually took the amazing images that come with our operating systems to be used as desktop wallpaper. I’ve never seen a name or heard a story about how they got the shot. Sadly I still don’t have the story but we do have a face. Someone just sent me this image of the guy that took the shot that came with every Windows XP machine back in the day. Does anyone know who this is? Let us know in the comments below.

windowswallpaper [Pic] Is This The Most Well Known Landscape Image Of All Time?

November 18, 2011
  • Anonymous

    Here you go, the name of the photog is Charles O’Rear. :)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_%28image%29

    Also note the picture from november.

  • http://twitter.com/jeffersonite J.C.Chang

    Charles O’Rear is credited with the photo.

  • Physics Dude

    That photo, Bliss, is by Charles O’Rear.
    Here is a PetaPixel link explaining all this.
    http://www.petapixel.com/2010/04/06/the-photographers-behind-the-wallpapers/

  • http://devdef.net Ralph Leo Bennett

    Personally, I’m wondering what the royalties were. Then again, any publicity or credit for an image viewed by hundreds of millions of users would make the career of any photographer.

    He might as well have re-painted the Mona Lisa, and no, I’m not kidding. I’d bet that photograph is better known.

  • http://twitter.com/focalmatter mike ricca

    I read an article on him not long ago that alluded to the fact that Microsoft paid a BUTTLOAD of money for the rights to the photo. Supposedly an obscene amount of cash. 

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_(image)

  • http://popraul.wordpress.com/ Raul Pop

    The photograph was taken by professional photographer Charles O’Rear. More info about the picture you can find here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_(image) :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/oguz.uygur Oguz Uygur

    You could easily do a google search to find out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_(image)

  • http://twitter.com/willianbs Willian Silveira

    The photographer’s name is Chuck O’Rear, a former National Geographic magazine photographer. :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/ryan.powers Ryan Powers

    publicity or credit don’t pay the bills

  • http://devdef.net Ralph Leo Bennett

    Anyone credited with one of the most iconic photographs of the generation would be a fool if they couldn’t forward their career and keep their bills paid.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=712322265 Robert Potter

    Here is a recent article about him and the famous photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060695/Microsoft-XP-background-How-California-view-planets-viewed-vista.html

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Williams/1049288034 Andrew Williams

    what about the desktop images for the mac.

  • http://twitter.com/nfm Nancy Messieh

    We wrote about it on The Next Web a couple of months ago http://tnw.co/vlSK4k

  • Anonymous

    i personally have never seen this photo!! for that fact nor have i ever used windows!!

  • Shane Stiles

    Will work for photo credit is way overrated.  It rarely pans out to anything.  Better to get paid what your work is worth up front then let the cards fall where they may.

  • http://devdef.net Ralph Leo Bennett

    I do completely agree, that applies to Graphic/Web-Design too. It’s a common means of trying to avoid payout.

  • http://twitter.com/CannonPhotos James Cannon
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Nick-Stern/661000044 Nick Stern
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