Bliss is widely accepted to be the most ubiquitous photograph to have ever graced our computer screens, simply because it was the flagship desktop wall paper that came with Windows XP. The image itself was a wonderfully evocative scene that inspired many interpretations, parodies and is still discussed academically today. One of the most common misconceptions is that it was CGI, or at best a very heavily edited photograph, however as the man who took the snapshot, Chuck O’Rear explained, it was little more than a medium format frame of some vineyards on film that Bill Gates bought the full rights to.

For Windows 10, we’re treated to this:

A highly stylised, light show that looks like a scene straight out of Tron Legacy. It’s a sanitised, far too perfect, completely constructed image that is as far away from Bliss as you can get. Despite still championing a photographer to produce the piece, the web is less than impressed. Continue reading →