Featured Image Credit: Bill Clark/Roll Call/Getty Images
Topics: Technology, News
Britt Jones
The world’s most viewed image in history is probably something that you’ve seen (I’m 100% sure) but you probably have never thought about it.
Photography is constantly evolving as viewers want better and better imagery to feast their eyes on.
Long gone are they days where a guy like Andy Warhol can grab a can of soup and cause a stir, things have to be bold and eye-catching.
But if we were to measure what groundbreaking photography is by using an image which has been seen by a gazillion people’s eyes (that’s a real metric, I swear), you might be a little confused.
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Now, you’re probably thinking that I’m talking about a photo which is hung in some gallery and people have been seeking it out to view… but that’s not even close.
Instead, it’s a background character of sorts that people look at often, but never really give it much thought.
It was captured by photographer Charles [Chuck] O'Rear, who was in the right place at the right time when he pulled out the camera that he always carried around with him.
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In an interview with PEOPLE in 2021, the 81-year-old explained that his ‘most viewed photo’ was taken in 1996 when he was visiting his now-wife, Daphne Larkin.
He was driving from his house in California to hers in Marin County, and 'used to pull over often to take photos' of the scenery.
That’s when he snapped the 'Bliss' photo that you’ll know very well from any Microsoft computer screen background image.
The beautiful rolling green hills, a clear blue sky and morning glow made this image an instant hit.
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The fact that there was no photoshop available to enhance it is insane. It was literally as you can see it.
"When it's on film, what you see is what you get," O'Rear said. "There was nothing unusual. I used a film that had more brilliant colours, the Fuji Film at that time, and the lenses of the RZ67 were just remarkable.
He added: "The size of the camera and film together made the difference and I think helped the Bliss photograph stand out even more. I think if I had shot it with 35 millimetre, it would not have nearly the same effect.”
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In 1998, the image was at Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ disposal after Gates' Corbis group bought Westlight stock photo agency.
'Bliss' was bought by Microsoft at a 'low six-figure' sum of over $100,000 and then it became the Windows XP desktop image.
However, because of the sum, Fed Ex refused to deliver it due to insurance costs so O'Rear had to fly to Microsoft's Seattle office and deliver it himself, as per St Helena Star.
While the image is great, the photographer has had just as great of a career over the years.
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"Twenty-five years at Geographic and nobody ever gives a damn about that," his wife laughed.
O'Rear said: "I get emails maybe every week or two, something related to the 'Bliss' photograph.
"When I die, although I won't be buried, Daphne has said, on your tombstone, we're not going to say National Geographic, we're going to say, 'Photographer of Bliss'."