The abundance of smartphones has led to billions of photos being taken daily, with many of them getting posted on social media or other services. However, there’s still one image that holds the honor of being the most viewed in the world.
It might be challenging to guess which image this is, but can you imagine what it could be?
Believe it or not, you’ve probably seen it too. Can you make an educated guess about which image we’re talking about?
The image in question is the default wallpaper known as “Bliss,” which was part of the operating system Windows XP by Microsoft.
Yes, it’s hard to believe, but this image, despite the retirement of Windows XP by Microsoft in October 2021, still holds the record for being one of the most viewed images worldwide.
This image was captured by photographer Charles O’Rear in 1998 while he was on a road trip from Sonoma, California, to Marin. It was a sunny day, and the region had recently experienced heavy rain, making the Napa area exceptionally lush.
During the trip, Charles O’Rear suddenly pulled over because the road ahead was narrow, and the wind was blowing strongly. As he looked around, he noticed a hill with a green field, and that’s when he took the iconic “Bliss” image.
In an interview, he mentioned, “I stopped the car and shot some images, and then I resumed the journey, and now that trip has become part of history.”
In 2000, Microsoft was preparing to introduce Windows XP, which consolidated essential features of past operating systems. Charles O’Rear used a stock photo service to license his images.
The owner of this stock photo service was none other than Bill Gates, who was the CEO of Microsoft at the time.
According to Charles O’Rear, “I don’t know how many images they looked at for the default wallpaper of the operating system.”
However, Microsoft chose “Bliss” and rewarded Charles O’Rear for it, although he never disclosed the amount.
His claim is that the location in the photograph looked exactly as you see it; no alterations were made to the image. He insists that it was a real image with no changes.
He mentioned, “I got an email from the company one day, and it was saying that there was a debate going on within the company about whether this image had been altered by Photoshop, while some believed that it was taken in Eastern Washington. I replied that this is a real photograph, and I didn’t make any changes to it.”
One week later, he received a print of the image from the company, asking him to sign it and send it back.
So, the next time you see the “Bliss” image, you’ll know the fascinating story behind this iconic photograph.
