The iconic Windows XP default desktop wallpaper of a sloped green hill beneath a bright blue sky is one of the most viewed photos in the world, but its generic pleasantness has long stumped internet denizens in regards to its real-world location — with some believing it’s not a real photograph.
The photo even has an incredible backstory: Charles O’Rear snapped the now-legendary shot of what is known as “Bliss†hill while driving to see his now-wife on a Friday afternoon in January 1996
O’Rear, 79, uploaded the photo to a stock photo agency
Despite O’Rear’s prolific photography career shooting for the Los Angeles Times, The Kansas City Star and, for over two decades, National Geographic, he is well aware that his omnipresent image of “Bliss†hill will be what he is remembered for.
“After 25 years photographing at National Geographic, there will be no mention of Geographic on my tombstone,†he told the publication.
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