The Untold Story Behind Windows XP’s Iconic “Bliss” Wallpaper

In January 1996, photographer Charles O'Rear was driving along Highway 121 to visit his girlfriend when he passed through Napa Valley, a Mediterranean‑climate region known for its vineyards.

After a pest infestation destroyed about 50,000 acres of grapes, the valley’s fields lay fallow, creating a surprisingly verdant landscape.

When a storm cleared, O'Rear stopped, took out his Mamiya RZ67, and captured the vivid green hills under a bright blue sky on Fujifilm Velvia film, naming the shot “Bliss.”

He uploaded the unedited image to the stock‑photo site Corbis, which had been founded by Bill Gates in 1989.

Gates believed that digital photo frames would soon create massive demand for images, prompting the acquisition of Corbis.

Years later, when Microsoft was preparing Windows XP, the team searched Corbis for a default wallpaper and discovered O'Rear’s photo.

Impressed by its bright greens and pure blues, Microsoft purchased the rights, asked O'Rear to send the original negative (the carrier refused to insure it), and eventually flew him a ticket so he could bring the original to Seattle.

After minor digital adjustments, the image was named “Bliss” and became the default background for Windows XP, an operating system built on the NT kernel that offered greater stability, hardware compatibility, and a more user‑friendly, colorful interface.

XP’s popularity—over a billion users between 2001 and 2014—made “Bliss” arguably the most viewed photograph in human history.

Despite rumors about its location and claims of Photoshop edits, the original scene no longer exists, as the vineyards have been replanted.

O'Rear reportedly earned the highest payment a photographer has ever received for a single image, second only to the Clinton‑Lewinsky photo.