Bliss – the most viewed photograph of all time?

If you’ve seen the photograph above before, don’t worry – you’re not the only one. According to reports online, over a billion people have seen this photograph since it was published back in 2002. For those of you wondering where you’ve come across the image, it’s been part of Windows XP’s Luna theme that came default with a lot of computers. The photograph, entitled Bliss, was taken when former National Geographic photographer Charles O’Rear was at a rest stop driving through the wine region of Napa Valley in California.

The photograph was sold to Microsoft at an undisclosed “extraordinary” price, and you could say the rest is history. If you’re interested in checking out more of the photographer’s work, you can head here. Honestly I always thought Bliss was a digitally created image and not a photograph – I guess I was wrong. How many of you are still using this photograph as your desktop wallpaper?

George Wong
Categories: Computers
Tags: windows xp