In 1996, a photographer driving to see his GF accidentally captured the world's most viewed image
Charles O'Rear reveals the fascinating story behind his iconic picture, also known as the 'Bliss.'
If you're fifteen or older, there's a massive, almost certain chance that you've seen this single pristine landscape on your computer — a flawless green hill rolling beneath a vibrant blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. The image in question here is the default wallpaper for Windows XP, which was launched all the way back in 2001. Given how perfect the most viewed photo ever looked, millions assumed that it was a digitally manufactured product. But in reality, it wasn't. On the contrary, it was a raw, unedited picture, taken by a man named Charles O'Rear, with an interesting story behind it, as reported by CNET on March 30, 2014.
A result of love
The picture, which has been seen by over a billion people, wouldn't exist if it weren't for O'Rear's then-girlfriend and now wife, Daphne. It was on a Friday afternoon in 1996, when he was traveling across California's wine country to meet Daphne, and he spotted a beautiful landscape. Although that day he wasn't on his regular photography job, he still had his medium format Mamiya RZ67 film camera. He spotted the perfect area to shoot, not too far down the road.
When he saw it, his first thoughts were, "My God! The grass is perfect! It’s green! The sun is out, and there are some clouds." He stopped his car, and decided to snap a few pictures, and continued his journey to his girlfriend's house. Back then, he was completely unaware of the fact that he had taken the most viewed picture in human history. Even more so, because he had tried taking that exact shot before, but the colors didn't come out as he wanted them to. But this time things were different.
Microsoft didn't come calling right away
As great as the picture was, it stayed hidden for two years in the archives of Westlight, a stock photo agency to which O'Rear had submitted it. Then, suddenly, in 1998, Bill Gates' company, Corbis, acquired Westlight. So when Gates and Co. were looking for an image to put as the default wallpaper for their upcoming Windows XP platform, they stumbled upon 'Bliss.'
Right away, they knew that they didn't need to search any longer. Soon, they closed a six-figure deal with O'Rear, while also explaining why they chose his picture. As it turns out, the company was looking for something "peaceful" that had "no tension." At the same time, they wanted something a bit more grounded, contrary to the Windows 95 sky background. This led them to O'Rear's picture. While everything was going smoothly, O'Rear and Microsoft soon ran into an issue.
O'Rear ran into trouble
While O'Rear transferred the rights to the image to the company almost immediately, a problem arose when it came to delivering the original negatives. When he attempted to ship them, major courier companies refused to insure the package because of its immense value. It was so valuable that even giants like FedEx backed out. But Microsoft needed that image. So, they sent a plane ticket to O'Rear to come to Seattle, where the company's headquarters are, to deliver the photos in person. Well, he did just that, and the rest is history.
Following this, Microsoft aggressively used O'Rear's masterpiece to promote Windows XP with their $200 million advertisement campaign. So much so that once the system got integrated into the world, about one billion people saw it, according to Cynthia Sweeney of the Napa Valley Register. While she did attest that it was impossible to extract the exact number of people who have seen or can identify this picture, it should likely be in the billions.
While an NDA prevents O’Rear from disclosing the exact figure, he has described the payment as the largest he has ever received for a photograph and the second-highest known amount paid to a living photographer for a single image, surpassed only by a photograph of Bill Clinton embracing Monica Lewinsky.
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