[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.

Lee Morris's picture

Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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18 Comments

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.

Charles O'Rear is credited with the photo.

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-wallpap...

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.

publicity or credit don't pay the bills

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.

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.

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

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)

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) :)

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

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

Here is a recent article about him and the famous photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060695/Microsoft-XP-background-...

what about the desktop images for the mac.

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

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

It was a story I shot for the Daily Mail.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060695/Microsoft-XP-background-...

Nick Stern