Bliss, originally titled Bucolic Green Hills, is the default wallpaper of Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system. It is a photograph of green rolling hills and daytime sky with cirrus clouds. Charles O’Rear, a former National Geographic photographer, took the photo in January 1998 near the Napa–Sonoma county line, California, after a phylloxera infestation forced vineyards to be cleared from the hill years prior. He used the Mamiya RZ67 camera and Fujifilm’s Velvia film to create the photograph; O’Rear remarked that he did not enhance or manipulate the photograph.
| Bliss | |
|---|---|
|
The Bliss wallpaper |
|
|
Photograph location |
|
| Artist | Charles O’Rear |
| Year | January 1998 |
| Medium | Landscape photography |
| Location | Sonoma County, California, United States |
| 38°15′00.5″N 122°24′38.9″W / 38.250139°N 122.410806°W | |
| Owner | Microsoft |
Initially a stock photo available through his photo agency Westlight that was acquired by Bill Gates’ Corbis in 1998, Microsoft obtained full rights of the photograph in 2000 and then used it to promote Windows XP. Bliss received positive reception from reviewers and has been speculated to be the most viewed photograph in history by Microsoft and journalists. Microsoft has reused the photograph in several promotions since the release of Windows XP. Photographers have attempted to re-create the iconic image, but the rolling hill has since become a vineyard again.
The photograph depicts a lush green rolling hill with cirrus clouds during a daytime sky, with mountains far in the background.[1][2] It was taken by Charles O’Rear, a former National Geographic photographer and resident of St. Helena, California, in the Napa Valley region north of San Francisco, while on his way to visit his girlfriend in January 1998.[3][4][5] He drove along the Sonoma Highway, California State Route 121 intersecting 12, when he noticed the hill, which had been cleared of vineyards after a phylloxera infestation years prior.[3][6][7] O’Rear came to a stop in southern Sonoma County,[8] near the Napa–Sonoma county line and pulled off the road.[3][9]
O’Rear recalled that he was alert for a photo opportunity the day he took the photograph, considering that a storm had passed over and winter rains left the hills green.[1][10]: 1:10 «There it was! My God, the grass is perfect! It’s green! The sun is out; there’s some clouds,» he remembered thinking.[10]: 1:24 He took four shots and got back into his truck.[9][10]: 2:10
O’Rear used a Mamiya RZ67 medium-format camera on a tripod and Fujifilm’s Velvia color film that saturated green and blue colors.[7][10]: 2:29 [11] He credited the combination and said that if he had shot with 35 mm film, it would not have had an identical result.[10]: 2:40 O’Rear later recollected that he had previously attempted to capture the Napa Valley hills with the Kodachrome 64 film, but was dissatisfied due to the unsaturated greens.[12] Despite being widely believed that the photograph was manipulated or created with software such as Adobe Photoshop, O’Rear said that he did not digitally enhance or manipulate the photograph in any way.[1][2][13]
After creating the photograph, O’Rear made it available as a stock photo through Westlight, a photo agency he co-founded.[3][4][14] Westlight was bought by Seattle-based Corbis in May 1998, who digitized its best-selling images.[15][16] By the time of its acquisition, Westlight was estimated to have been one of the largest stock photo companies in the United States.[15] He also submitted a vertical shot, which was available at the same time.[17] The photograph was originally titled Bucolic Green Hills.[11][18]
In 2000, Microsoft’s Windows XP development team contacted O’Rear through Corbis,[10]: 3:50 which he believes they used instead of their larger competitor Getty Images, also based in Seattle, because the former company was owned by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.[3][6][19] «I have no idea what [they] were looking for,» he recalled. «Were they looking for an image that was peaceful? Were they looking for an image that had no tension?»[10]: 2:54 He said that he was unsure how Microsoft found the photograph.[12] Microsoft chose the image because «it illustrates the experiences Microsoft strives to provide customers (freedom, possibility, calmness, warmth, etc.)» and the ideas of Windows XP.[20][21]: 816 Another image of O’Rear’s, known as Red Moon Desert in Windows XP, was also considered to be the default wallpaper, but was changed due to testers comparing it to buttocks.[22][23]
Microsoft said they wanted not just to license the image for use as Windows XP’s default wallpaper, but to buy all the rights to it.[10]: 3:37 [24] They offered O’Rear what he says is the second-largest payment ever made to a photographer for a single image; however, he signed a confidentiality agreement and cannot disclose the exact amount.[7][13][25] It has been reported to be «in the low six figures.»[3] O’Rear needed to send Microsoft the original film and sign the paperwork; however, when couriers and delivery services became aware of the value of the shipment, they declined since it was higher than their insurance would cover. Instead, Microsoft bought O’Rear a plane ticket and he personally delivered it to their offices in Seattle.[3][10]: 3:57 «I don’t think the engineers or anybody at Microsoft had any idea it would have the success it had,» he said.[10]: 4:40 After the rights to the photograph were bought by Microsoft, it was renamed Bliss and was chosen as the default wallpaper of the Luna visual style,[2][26] the default graphical user interface of Windows XP.[27] The image was used extensively by Microsoft for promoting Windows XP and their $200 million advertising campaign.[2][28]
Since the origins of Bliss were not widely known after the release of Windows XP, there had been considerable speculation about where the landscape was. Some guesses have included locations in France, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, and southeast Washington.[13][28][29] Dutch users believed the photograph was shot in Ireland since the image was named «Ireland» in the Dutch release of the software.[30] O’Rear said that Microsoft also questioned him about the authenticity of the photograph several years after the release of Windows XP, with the developers saying that «most of us think it was Photoshopped.»[6][12] O’Rear is adamant that, other than Corbis’ minor alterations to the digitized version, he did nothing to it in the darkroom, contrasting it with Ansel Adams’ Monolith:
I didn’t «create» this. I just happened to be there at the right moment and documented it. If you are Ansel Adams and you take a particular picture of Half Dome and want the light a certain way, you manipulate the light. He was famous for going into the darkroom and burning and dodging. Well, this is none of that.[13]
The photograph was positively received.[21]: 818 David Clark of the British magazine Amateur Photographer commented on the aesthetic qualities of Bliss, saying that «critics might argue that the image is bland and lacks a point of interest, while supporters would say that its evocation of a bright, clear day in a beautiful landscape is itself the subject.» He described the landscape as having surreal features and speculated that it was chosen by Microsoft because of its appeal and landscape.[2] Writing for Digital Camera World, Hannah Rooke said that Bliss became a metaphor for peace, nostalgia, and natural charm.[4] Wayne Freedman of ABC7 called it the contemporary version of Adams’s Monolith photograph.[9] Observing the sky in the photograph, cultural anthropologist Katrien Pype referred to it as «almost perfect.»[31]
In a journal, Pedagogical University of Kraków professor Marcin Kania referred to Bliss as «one of the most recognizable contemporary landscape photographs.»[32] Jacob Ridley of PC Gamer described Bliss as the «wallpaper that defines [all] Windows wallpapers,»[23] while Adrienne Vogt of Bustle said that the photograph became omnipresent with Microsoft.[33] Writing for Sonoma Magazine, Meg McConahey added that a cult following emerged around the photograph.[34] Shortly before Microsoft retired Windows XP in April 2014,[3][35] news about the Bliss photograph escalated in popularity.[21]: 816
Due to the market success of Windows XP over the next decade,[2] Microsoft and some journalists speculated that it might be the most viewed photograph in history.[3][10]: 0:02 [25][26] Cynthia Sweeney of Napa Valley Register estimated that the photograph has been seen by billions of people,[3] while O’Rear estimated that Bliss has been seen on a billion computers worldwide, based on the number of copies of Windows XP sold since then.[13] Regarding the one-billion estimation, he said that it is «an educated guess rather than a fully-accounted-for statistic.»[26] Calum Russell of Far Out Magazine said the claim that Bliss is the most viewed photograph in history cannot be exactly proven.[36]
After the release of Windows XP, Microsoft used Bliss in several promotions. In December 2001, a screensaver featuring Bliss was released,[37] while in July 2021, a modified version of the photograph was added to Microsoft Teams as a background. They wrote that the modified version «shifted the shadows, softened the clouds, and added some dandelions.»[38] Microsoft later released a 4K resolution rendering of the background on their Microsoft Design website in June 2023.[39] A limited-edition holiday sweater featuring Bliss was made available by Microsoft in November 2023 at the Xbox Gear Shop.[40] The sales of the sweater were donated to The Nature Conservancy to combat climate change.[41]
O’Rear conceded that despite all the other photographs he took for National Geographic, he will probably be remembered most for Bliss.[13] «Anybody now from age 15 on for the rest of their life will remember this photograph,» he said in 2014.[10]: 5:33 O’Rear framed a photograph of Bliss in his home.[42] After the release of Windows 7 in 2009, O’Rear said that if asked, he would have provided more photographs to Microsoft.[13] Prior to Microsoft retiring Windows XP in 2014, O’Rear was interviewed by them about the history of the photograph.[1][35] In the interview, he said that he had hoped Microsoft would have contacted him for a Windows 8 wallpaper photograph.[10]: 8:26 In a separate interview for The Sydney Morning Herald, O’Rear said that he regretted the deal he negotiated with Microsoft and wished that he had opted for a «fraction of a cent for every time it’s seen» deal instead.[43]
Before the photograph was bought by Microsoft in 2000, the hill returned to its previous state as a home to vineyards.[4][44] Despite this, photographers have tried re-creating Bliss.[36] The Goldin+Senneby duo visited the site in Sonoma Valley in November 2006, where Bliss was taken, re-photographing the same view now full of grapevines.[7][21]: 832 Their work, titled After Microsoft, was created when the Luna theme was replaced by Aero in Windows Vista and also discussed the history of the photograph and its legacy after the phasing out of Windows XP’s default theme.[45][46] The duo said that they were attracted to the Bliss location due to it being «a backdrop to our lives in the front of the screen, as a kind of collective subconscious.»[7] Their work was exhibited at the gallery La Vitrine in Paris in 2007.[44] Art historian Julian Myers-Szupinska said that with the return of vineyards, the Goldin+Senneby Bliss re-creation «loses its shine.»[21]: 832
- List of photographs considered the most important
- Frutiger Aero – Design style and Internet aesthetic
- ^ a b c d Taylor, Victoria (April 12, 2014). «The Story Behind the Famous Windows XP ‘Bliss’ Wallpaper». New York Daily News. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Clark, David (May 28, 2012). «Bliss by Charles O’Rear – Iconic Photograph». Amateur Photographer. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sweeney, Cynthia (March 26, 2014). «Say Goodbye to ‘Bliss’«. Napa Valley Register. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Rooke, Hannah (August 7, 2023). «Have You Seen the «Most Viewed Photo Ever»?». Digital Camera World. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Rich, Jonathan (September 18, 2023). «Transylvanian of the Week: Charles O’Rear». The Transylvania Times. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
- ^ a b c Hachman, Mark (October 25, 2021) [2014]. «The Story of the Windows XP ‘Bliss’ Desktop Theme—and What It Looks Like Today». PC World. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Cain, Abigail (July 3, 2017). «The Story Behind the World’s Most Famous Desktop Background». Artsy. Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Newman, Lily Hay (April 11, 2014). «The Most Famous Desktop Wallpaper Ever Is a Real, Unaltered Photo». Slate. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c Freedman, Wayne (April 7, 2014). «Windows XP Background Is Photo of Sonoma Hillside». ABC7. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m The Story Behind the Wallpaper We’ll Never Forget (Video). Microsoft. 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Burton, Poppy (September 15, 2023). «‘Bliss’: The Photograph Viewed by Billions». Far Out. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c Savvides, Lexy (March 30, 2014). «It’s Bliss: Behind the Iconic Windows XP Photo». CNET. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Younger, Carolyn (January 18, 2010). «Windows XP Desktop Screen Is a Napa Image». Napa Valley Register. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
- ^ Lachnit, Carroll (January 1999). «Agencies Cast for Consumers». Photo District News. Vol. 19, no. 1. pp. 43–46. ISSN 1045-8158. ProQuest 202873018. Archived from the original on October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via Proquest.
- ^ a b Pickerell, Jim (May 20, 1998). «Corbis Acquires Westlight». Selling Stock. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ Karon, Paul (July 16, 1998). «Corbis Buys Outline Press». Variety. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ Corbis Westlight Creative Freedom (CD-ROM). Corbis. 1998. Images: 71810.jpg (Bliss) and 71811.jpg (vertical)
- ^ O’Rear, Charles (2000). Bliss.jpg (Windows XP Beta 2). Corbis, Microsoft. Headline: Bucolic Green Hills.
- ^ Popa, Bogdan (April 11, 2014). «Microsoft Creates Short Documentary About Windows XP ‘Bliss’ Wallpaper». Softpedia. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- ^ Turner, Paul (February 22, 2004). «No View of Palouse from Windows». The Spokesman-Review. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Gupta-Nigam, Anirban (July 2021). «After Bliss: Visual Infrastructures of Technostalgia». Theory & Event. 24 (3). ISSN 2572-6633.
- ^ Chen, Raymond (August 25, 2003). «Windows Brings Out the Rorschach Test in Everyone». The Old New Thing. Microsoft. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ a b Ridley, Jacob (July 2, 2021). «The Best Windows Wallpapers, Ranked». PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Nelius, Joanna (February 26, 2021). «I’m Packing My Bags to Visit the Real-Life Inspiration for Windows XP’s Wallpaper». Gizmodo. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Heisler, Yoni (July 23, 2015). «The Most Viewed Photo in the History of the World». Boy Genius Report. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ a b c «Microsoft Behind World’s Most Viewed Photograph». The Times of India. July 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Michael J. (October 30, 2001). «The New Windows: Great XPectations». PC Mag. Vol. 20, no. 18. p. 116. ISSN 0888-8507.
- ^ a b Marek, Grant (October 1, 2023). «I Found the Bay Area Hill in Windows XP’s Iconic Wallpaper». SFGate. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Younger, Carolyn (January 24, 2010). «Finding the State of ‘Bliss’«. St. Helena Star. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Messieh, Nancy (August 28, 2011). «Ever Wonder Where the Windows XP Default Wallpaper Came From?». The Next Web. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ Pype, Katrien (March 2021). «Beads, Pixels, and Nkisi: Contemporary Kinois Art and Reconfigurations of the Visual». African Studies Review. 64 (1): 28. doi:10.1017/asr.2020.74. ISSN 0002-0206.
- ^ Kania, Marcin (2021). «A Photographer Among Greenery, That Is About Portraying Nature». Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia ad Didacticam Biologiae Pertinentia (1). Pedagogical University of Krakow: 280. ISSN 2083-7267.
- ^ Vogt, Adrienne (April 11, 2014). «Guys, This is a Real Photograph!». Bustle. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ McConahey, Meg (April 28, 2014). «Lucky Shot – Most Viewed Photograph in the World». Sonoma Magazine. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Luckerson, Victor (April 11, 2014). «Meet the Guy Who Took the Most Famous Desktop Photo of All Time». Time. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Russell, Calum (August 6, 2023). «What Is the Most Viewed Photo of All Time?». Far Out. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ «Windows XP Bliss Screen Saver». Microsoft. December 12, 2001. Archived from the original on December 27, 2001. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- ^ Endicott, Sean (July 8, 2021). «Microsoft Releases Teams Backgrounds Featuring Clippy, Solitaire, MS Paint, and More». Windows Central. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (June 8, 2023). «Today I stumbled Upon Microsoft’s 4K Rendering of the Windows XP Wallpaper». Ars Technica. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ Bowden, Zac (November 28, 2023). «Limited Edition: Microsoft’s 2023 Windows Ugly Sweater Features the Iconic Windows XP ‘Bliss’ Wallpaper and It’s Available Now». Windows Central. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (November 28, 2023). «Microsoft’s Ugly Sweater for 2023 Is Windows XP’s Iconic Default Wallpaper». Ars Technica. Archived from the original on February 11, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ DeSantis, Rachel (April 14, 2021). «Inside the Real-Life Love Story That Inspired Microsoft’s ‘Bliss,’ the Most Viewed Photo Ever». People. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ Grubb, Ben (March 26, 2014). «Man Behind Famous Windows XP Wallpaper Wishes He’d Negotiated a Better Licensing Deal». The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ a b «After Microsoft». Goldin+Senneby. April 5, 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- ^ Swenson, Kirsten J. (June 2, 2015). Critical Landscapes: Art, Space, Politics. University of California Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-520-28548-4.
- ^ Chandra, Omeed (Spring 2006). «Modernize Windows XP». Maximum PC. p. 38. ISSN 1522-4279.
- Media related to Bliss at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website of Charles O’Rear
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Иногда самые великие вещи в жизни появляются… случайно. Именно так получилось с легендарной фотографией зелёного холма под мирным голубым небом, ставшей заставкой Windows XP — самой узнаваемой в мире. И всё началось в январе 1996 года, когда фотограф по имени Чарльз О’Риер (Charles O’Rear) просто ехал навстречу со своей девушкой.
Источник: ru.wikipedia.org
На тот момент Чарльз уже был не новичком — за плечами у него десятки лет работы фотографом, в том числе для National Geographic. Но в тот день, проезжая по живописной местности в округе Сонома, штат Калифорния, его внимание внезапно привлёк идеальный пейзаж: ярко-зелёный холм после недавних дождей, мягкое светлое небо с облаками и никаких признаков цивилизации. Это была настоящая цифровая нирвана.
Чарльз остановился, вытащил среднеформатную камеру Mamiya RZ67, щёлкнул пару кадров — и поехал дальше, не подозревая, что только что сделал снимок, который увидит весь мир.
Он загрузил фото на стоковый сайт Corbis, принадлежащий, кстати, Биллу Гейтсу. Назвал его «Bliss» — что в переводе значит «блаженство». И о, как же это название оказалось пророческим.
Прошло четыре года. На дворе — 2000-й. Компания Microsoft готовит свою новую операционную систему — Windows XP. Разработчики хотят вдохнуть в продукт дух надежды, легкости и… цифрового оптимизма. Им нужен идеальный фон для рабочего стола — спокойный, радующий глаз, запоминающийся.
Они находят «Bliss». И звонят Чарльзу.
Тут начинается магия уровня «это мог бы быть Голливуд». Microsoft не просто купили права на фотографию — они выкупили их полностью, навсегда. Сделка оказалась настолько крупной, что О’Риеру пришлось лично везти оригинал снимка в штаб-квартиру, потому что FedEx отказался брать на себя такую ответственность. Более того, Чарльз подписал строгий NDA — соглашение о неразглашении, поэтому точную сумму он раскрыть не может до сих пор.
По слухам, сделка стоила сотни тысяч, если не миллионы долларов. Но главное — не это.
С выходом Windows XP в 2001 году, «Bliss» стал дефолтной заставкой для более чем 1 миллиарда компьютеров по всему миру. Эта фотография стала первой вещью, которую видели миллионы людей, включая тех, кто вообще впервые столкнулся с компьютером. Её не надо было объяснять. Она просто… была.
Это был не просто снимок. Это был символ эпохи. Удивительно простое и в то же время мощное изображение стало визуальным синонимом «компьютера», «интернета», «начала» для целого поколения.
Чарльз О’Риер ушёл в золотую калифорнийскую пенсию, продолжил фотографировать природу и виноградники, и иногда с улыбкой вспоминал, как одно удачное фото с дороги перевернуло его жизнь. Его работу сравнивают с Мона Лизой цифровой эпохи. Только вместо загадочной улыбки — холм и небо. Всё просто. Всё идеально.
P.S. Так что в следующий раз, когда увидишь зелёный холм и облака, не спеши проезжать мимо. Вдруг перед тобой не просто пейзаж, а кусочек будущей истории?
Изображение в превью:
Автор: Автор: Чарльз О’Риэр. en:File:Bliss_(Windows_XP).
Источник: ru.wikipedia.org
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«Безмятежность» Windows XP: полная история
«Безмятежность» (Bliss) — это официальное название знаменитых обоев из операционной системы Windows XP. Да, тех самых зеленых холмов, знакомых каждому пользователю персонального компьютера, начиная с конца 2001 года. На Wikipedia есть отдельная статья про это изображение, но сегодня, в день окончания поддержки Windows XP, мы попробуем рассказать полную историю этого IT-символа начала XXI века.
Фотография, позже названная «Bliss», была сделана 24 июня 1996 года в округе Sonoma (Калифорния, США). За несколько лет до выпуска Windows XP автор снимка Чарльз О’Риэр (Chuck O’Rear) создавал подборку кадров, демонстрирующих культуру виноградарства. Снимок сделан случайно, а холм на тот момент не был засажен виноградом. Десять лет спустя, в ноябре 2006 года, фотографы проекта Goldin+Senneby повторили снимок того участка с виноградником для своей инсталляции “After Microsoft”.
Согласно оценке специалистов компании Forrester Research, работа Чарльза О’Риэра стала самой известной фотографией в мире, получив уже несколько миллиардов просмотров с момента выпуска Windows XP. По словам автора, изображение было получено среднеформатной камерой Mamiya RZ67 и не подвергалась какой-либо цифровой обработке — специалисты Microsoft осуществили кадрирование и небольшую коррекцию цвета. Чарльз определенно заработал на этом фото не только популярность, но и неплохую финансовую компенсацию. Точные суммы не могут быть названы по причинам подписанных соглашений о конфиденциальности, известно лишь, что это был разовый платеж. В заметке газеты Napa Valley Register приводится цитата автора, где доходы от своего фото он ставит на второе место после скандального кадра с Биллом Клинтоном, обнимающим Монику Левински. В той же статье Чарльз остро шутит, даже не зная, насколько он прав: “I’m sure in the Kremlin the computers have this photo”
Сегодня Чарльзу О’Риэру 73 года, и в последних публикациях он немного меняет интонации, сожалея, что не «взял больше» за этот снимок. Сама же история фотографии обрастает романтическими подробностями «поездки к девушке», «желанием срезать дорогу по небольшой трассе», и вот он, кадр моей мечты!
За прошедшие годы энтузиасты многократно приезжали на место съемки, чтобы посмотреть все своими глазами. Несколько наборов координат холма помогут вам отыскать точку съемки на картографических сервисах:
38.250124, -122.410817
38.248966, -122.410269
посмотреть на Картах Bing
blisstoday1
Интересный факт — в датской и португальской версиях Windows XP обои назывались Ireland (Ирландия) и Alentejo (город в Португалии), хотя на самом деле кадр снят в США. Обои Bliss стали настоящей визитной карточкой Windows XP и активно использовались в рекламной кампании «Yes you can» (бюджет $200 млн.) на этапе запуска новой операционной системы. Очень показательным является этот кадр из Пекина, где рекламный принт органично переходит в настоящий зеленый газон:
В начале 2009 года в сети появилось изображение, считающееся оригинальной фотографией, из которой сделан Bliss — файл в формате .TIFF назывался «bliss 600dpi», занимал 46.8Mb при разрешении 4510×3627. Трудно утверждать насколько это изображение является оригиналом кадра, но оно будет полезно, если вы захотите повторить ощущения от Windows XP на своем новеньком 4K-мониторе. Вы можете скачать вариант в .PNG на нашем сайте.
В день завершения поддержки Windows XP компания Microsoft выпустила небольшой документальный фильм об истории создания знаменитой фотографии.
Bliss, originally known as Bucolic Green Hills, is the default wallpaper of Windows XP, fully bought from Corbis by Microsoft for use as XP’s main branding image. It depicts a green hill in Sonoma County, California, United States, just after the rain had went off. It was taken by Charles O’Rear in January 1996 while visiting his girlfriend. O’Rear also took XP’s Red moon desert wallpaper, along with Highway Winding Through Countryside, which was used in an MSN Explorer 7 demo.
With Bliss being the default wallpaper of Windows XP and the subject of many memes, it is easily the most well known Windows wallpaper of all time, and it has been seen by millions of people all over the world. It also appears on a card in cards.dll, where it is cropped to just the clouds. Several edits have been produced over the years, as well as shots of green hills inspired by this one.
History[]
Background[]
Charles O’Rear was visiting his girlfriend Daphne Irwin in January 1996. He stopped by the side of Sonoma Highway (California State Route 12 and 121) to take a few pictures of the hills with his Mamiya RZ67 medium-format camera, including the picture that would become Bliss. During this time the hill appeared to be greener than usual as a storm had just passed and there had been other frequent winter rains. Along with that, the vineyards had been removed from the field sometime years earlier due to a phylloxera infection; both factors combined made it the perfect opportunity for him to take a memorable, dream-like photo.
He would submit it to the Westlight stock photo agency (which he co-founded with Craig Aurness, who took the XP Beta sample picture Surfer) under the name of Bucolic Green Hills (with an ID of 71810), along with a vertical variant (ID of 71811). In 1998, Bill Gates-owned Corbis would buy Westlight, incorporating their photos into their evergrowing stock photo library. Corbis scanned best-selling images and added them to the online database,[1] meaning several companies have licensed Bliss in the past, although there are not many known examples of its previous usage.
Inclusion in Windows XP[]
Rob Girling, the design manager of Windows XP, carried out user research, and found that there was a common preference for landscape wallpapers. Jen Shetterly was the product design lead of XP, and was involved with curating and naming the wallpapers; she advocated for Microsoft to use Bliss as the default wallpaper, as an evolution to Windows 95’s clouds branding motif. Incidentally, it also fits the color scheme of the default Luna visual style.
In 2000, Microsoft contacted O’Rear via Corbis about purchasing the photo. With Bliss, Microsoft went a step further than merely licensing it: they bought the full rights to the image meaning no company would ever be able to license the photo from Corbis again, as the image was often used as part of XP’s marketing and the Luna theme is modelled around its color scheme. It was purchased for an undisclosed amount of money in the low six figures; O’Rear cannot reveal the exact amount without violating a non disclosure agreement. He did not receive the full cost as Corbis handled the sale. As a result of its Microsoft acquisition, it was permanently removed from Corbis’ website and has never been available on Getty Images or other sites that Corbis cross-licensed photos to. The vertical shot was also included in the acquisition, as O’Rear cannot release it due to his agreement with Microsoft.
As Microsoft had now become the image’s owner, O’Rear had to send them the original film along with paperwork. As the cost was so high, delivery services refused to send it, so Microsoft had to buy O’Rear a flight to their offices, where he delivered the film in person. Several Microsoft employees asked him for 10×8-inches (25.4×20.32 cm) prints of Bliss. Despite this, the version used in XP is identical to the version that was for sale on Corbis, rather than using a rescanned version by Microsoft.[2]
Another photo taken by O’Rear, Red moon desert, appeared as the default wallpaper in several pre-release builds, most likely as a decoy. It is still likely that Bliss was always intended to be the default wallpaper, as it appeared with Luna for the first time in build 2415. The Windows XP branding wallpaper also briefly replaced Bliss as the default wallpaper during development.
Authenticity and myths[]
The authenticity of Bliss has frequently come under scrutiny, while various myths and misconceptions surrounding the wallpaper have developed. For many years, the location of Bliss was unknown to the general public. There was a wide range of guesses as to where it was taken, including France, England, Switzerland, the North Otago region of New Zealand, southeastern of the US state of Washington, Ireland, and the Alentejo region of Portugal; the latter two are a result of the Dutch version of Windows XP naming it «Ierland» (which is the name of Ireland in Dutch) and the Portuguese (Portugal) version of XP naming it «Alentejo» respectively. Many users have speculated it is not even a real photo at all, simply being a digital composite comprising multiple photos.
Alleged edits by O’Rear, Westlight and Corbis[]
O’Rear himself has repeatedly claimed in interviews that the photo is entirely unedited, which has been met with skepticism. The image appears on the CD Corbis Images Creative Freedom 3, which consists of 10,000+ low res images that can be browsed using portfolio software. The description mentions «This image is potentially a composite of several images, combined to enhance its conceptual appeal.», which is found in the description of several other digital composite images, including Azul. While the use of the term «potentially» makes this more ambiguous to confirm, the presence of the description here means that it is highly likely to be a digital composite, possibly a combination of separate hill and sky photos along with further additional editing. The colors of the sky and hill in O’Rear’s other shots of the same hill are also drastically different from those of Bliss, which would not make sense if they were taken during the same photo shoot, unless they were further touched up. O’Rear has also created several other digital composites, including other photos that depict grassy plains or hills.
In 2016, an uncropped version of Bliss appeared in a Toronto Star article. The metadata states it was provided directly by Microsoft; it is likely a new scan or print, featuring darker colors. This version features elements that are not fully present in the Corbis version. It is unclear if it was retouched, if the colors had faded over time or if this represents an earlier version before it went under further post-processing by O’Rear or Westlight. There are also older scans that show the missing elements from the Corbis version but feature the same colors.
Alleged edits by Microsoft[]
Microsoft are often falsely believed to have cropped the hill on the left and added extra saturation, however the former may have been done by Corbis when they digitized best-selling Westlight images, while the image was already saturated to begin with, either due to pre-existing edits or using the Velvia film. The original 4510×3627 TIF from Corbis has also surfaced as it was available from Fujifilm’s site. It is likely the exact same copy that Microsoft purchased from Corbis, as it contains Corbis metadata and uses the Corbis RGB format (which has a rather problematic color space, resulting in some programs making it look brighter than it actually is). Like with other wallpapers included in Windows XP, the only edits Microsoft done to the image after purchasing it from Corbis were cropping and resizing it to 4:3 in 800×600, and compressing it as a JPEG.
Greg Melander, who was the lead visual designer for Windows XP, and designed the Crystal and Ripple wallpapers, claimed in 2011 to have «raised the saturation levels, adjusted a few flowers in the foreground, took out a few clouds in the sky and adjusted the mountain the far distance».[3] However, the version of Bliss used in XP does not include these edits. Bliss (along with five other wallpapers) was added by build 2419 and did not undergo any further visual changes; Melander joined Microsoft in February 2001, a month after these wallpapers were added to XP. A version of Bliss with missing clouds and subtle color changes can be seen in some of XP’s marketing material;[4] this may have been the version that Melander described. It is not clear if this version was intended to be used as the default wallpaper, or if it was only created for marketing usage.
Legacy[]
Due to it being the default wallpaper of XP, along with the image used to market the operating system, Bliss has become iconic. It is known to be one of the most viewed photos of all time, as a result of XP’s success and many people not bothering to change the wallpaper. David Clark of British magazine commented on Bliss that «it’s attractive, easy on the eye and doesn’t detract from other items that might be on the screen are all contributing factors.» He believes it was chosen as «it’s an unusually inviting image of a verdant landscape and one that promotes a sense of wellbeing in desk-bound computer users.»[5] In an interview with O’Rear in 2010, regarding Bliss, he stated: «I didn’t ‘create’ this. I just happened to be there at the right moment and documented it. If you are Ansel Adams and you take a particular picture of Half Dome and want the light a certain way, you manipulate the light. He was famous for going into the dark room and burning and dodging. Well, this is none of that.» He also believes it will be mentioned in his obituary.[6]
As the default wallpaper of Windows XP, Bliss has become iconic in online culture. Several meme edits of Bliss have been made, along with tribute photos inspired by the original. It also has the most detailed backstory out of Windows wallpapers as a whole, as a result of both its popularity and the circumstances that led to it being shot to begin with.
Bliss also holds sentimental value for O’Rear, due to it both being his most successful image and it being taken while visiting his girlfriend. When O’Rear gave Microsoft his phone number, he hoped that they would call him to take a photo for Windows 8. This did not happen, and it is unlikely Microsoft will ever do so for later versions of Windows. With Windows 10, Microsoft hired photographers Steve McCurry and Chad Copeland instead, while Windows 11 features photorealistic CGI works by various design studios such as Six N. Five.
Variations[]
O’Rear’s alternate shots[]
The shot of Bliss that appears in XP is not the only shot O’Rear took while at the hill, and there are at least three other shots from the same photoshoot. There is a vertical shot with a slightly darker sky, which was also submitted to Westlight and appears on the CD Corbis Westlight Creative Freedom. It appears that Microsoft have bought the rights to this too, as O’Rear has stated he cannot release it nor has it been made available on other stock photo sites. There are two other shots which are exclusive to O’Rear’s PhotoShelter and were never available from Westlight, Corbis, or other sites. One is a horizontal shot with a darker sky and grass along with different clouds, while there is another vertical shot available too.
Microsoft edits[]
Throughout the years, Microsoft has created several edited versions of Bliss. Shortly after XP’s release, it released a screensaver version of Bliss with different, animated clouds. Only the top of the hill is present, as the rest has been cropped off. Windows Mobile 2003’s default wallpaper is also a heavily cropped version featuring new clouds and a Windows flag in the bottom right. Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition also includes a theme titled Bliss, which includes a lower res, more cropped version of Bliss with an added Windows flag, along with removing some clouds and making it brighter.
The downloadable Christmas Theme 2003 also contains two wallpapers titled Snowman and Xmas Tree, both of which feature a cropped, snowy version of Bliss with a snowman and a Christmas tree on them respectively. Similarly, in 2020 Microsoft shared a tweet showing four brightened versions of Bliss with a snow overlay added to them. A white cutout is also added on top of the hill, and progressively gets less transparent in each image.[7]
A version of Bliss with a Texas Longhorn bull humorously added to the center of the image appears in Longhorn build 5001. It is likely that the bull photo was simply sourced from a photo on the internet. As very few builds in the 50xx range have been leaked, it is unknown how long this version of Bliss was used for.
A version of Bliss also appears in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, under the name of Energy Bliss. It is based on the original, but with a noticeably different sky and clouds, and several light effects have been added, giving it a more modern, digital look. It has also been cropped to only include the top of the hill, like with the screensaver version. It is at 1600×1200, compared to the 800×600 used by XP’s wallpapers.
Shots inspired by Bliss[]
Over the years, various people have visited the location and took photos of the hill now, as a result of Bliss’ popularity, along with taking shots of other similar hills. Simon Goldin of the Swedish photographic duo Goldin+Senneby would take a picture of the hill in November 2006 titled «After Microsoft», showing that the view is now covered in grapevines again,[8] as the phylloxera infection that led to them being removed was several years ago at this point. Another example of these photos is one by James Smith on Alamy, taken in October 2016. In 2021, YouTuber Andrew Levitt travelled to the Palouse, USA with friends to capture a series of photos very similar to Bliss, as well as to Bliss’ location; these photos were released as wallpapers on his Patreon.
Microsoft New Zealand[]
In 2004, Microsoft New Zealand released a New Zealand-oriented version of the Bliss wallpaper with several sheep present. It was taken near Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand by an unnamed international tourist; Jeroen Jordens of Morcomm Systems, who accompanied the tourist, recognized the strong similarity to Bliss and sent it to Microsoft New Zealand, who made it available for download and later as part of the Royale theme along with New Bliss and an unrelated wallpaper titled Bluff. It appears the lighting was altered to give it a brighter appearance. Edited versions of the wallpaper, including winter and Queen’s birthday themed versions, were also released for download.
Microsoft New Zealand’s downloadable Royale theme, released in 2005, uses a wallpaper titled New Bliss, rather than using Energy Bliss. It originated from DeviantArt as an edited photo titled «Grassy» posted by judge, which itself is edited from americanpsycho’s «Where Are You Going». According to judge, it was used without permission and he attempted to email Microsoft regarding this, but got no reply. This wallpaper has falsely been spread on the internet as being a Longhorn wallpaper titled Aero Bliss, due to its inclusion in unofficial Longhorn transformation and wallpaper packs.
Official CGI recreations[]
In 2021, Microsoft included a version of Bliss created with what seems to be CGI artificial fur, in the Microsoft Pride 2021 wallpaper pack. Later that year, Six N. Five were commissioned by Microsoft to create a wallpaper pack related to Windows nostalgia called Nostalgic Celebrations, including a photorealistic CGI landscape inspired by Bliss, as well as wallpapers featuring Solitaire, Clippy and Paint. These wallpapers are in 4089×2726, although 1080p versions for use as Microsoft Teams backgrounds were also released.
Trivia[]
- As a result of Bliss’ popularity, numerous edits have been made to the wallpaper for various purposes, including various attempts to adapt it for widescreen displays, which involve either stretching or cropping the original image.
- Due to being the default wallpaper, it is frequently referred to as simply “the Windows XP wallpaper”.
- In 2020, a Redditor posted a picture of a Russian geography textbook featuring Bliss with lights on it. The version of Bliss featured is the original, without Corbis’ cropping. It is possible this could be an instance of Bliss being licensed during 1996-98.
References[]
- ↑ Pickerell, Jim (May 20, 1998). «Corbis Acquires Westlight». Selling Stock.
- ↑ rozniak (September 2, 2019). «Yes, that was my photo. Agreement with Microsoft says I cannot release the image. They own it; they control it. Sorry, wish I could . . . .». Reddit.
- ↑ https://gregmelander.com/post/9749412313/bliss-this-photo-is-a-blast-from-my-past-i-came
- ↑ https://download.microsoft.com/download/e/0/2/e02793e2-ab82-4763-9ed5-03789e0d8815/MS_Box_Windows_XP_Home.pdf
- ↑ Clark, David (May 28, 2012). «Bliss by Charles O’Rear — Iconic Photograph». Amateur Photographer.
- ↑ Younger, Carolyn (January 18, 2010). «Windows XP desktop screen is a Napa image». Napa Valley Register.
- ↑ December 17, 2020. «Makin’ it snow.» Twitter.
- ↑ «After Microsoft». Goldin+Senneby. April 5, 2007.