It’s Tuesday. It was originally titled “Bucolic Green Hills” but to Windows XP users worldwide it was known as “Bliss”. This familiar photo was taken by photographer Charles ‘Chuck’ O’Rear in the Napa-Soma County line in California back in 1998. In 2001 it appeared as the default background image in Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows XP. These days the rolling green hills look quite different. Check out the story below and a photo of what it looks like today.
-keep
It might be the most viewed photograph of all time.
But people have been heartbroken to discover what the location of the Windows XP desktop background really looks like today.
Labelled in the software as ‘Bliss’, this iconic image captures the rolling hills and bright blue sky of the Napa Valley, California.
However, social media users claim that the legendary site has been ‘ruined’ in the 27 years since the photograph was taken.
In a viral post on Instagram, @insidehistory shared images of the Napa field as it appeared in 1998, 2006, 2020, 2024 and 2025.
As these images reveal, the green rolling hills which formed the background for so many people’s computers are long gone and have been replaced with a vineyard.
One heartbroken commenter wrote: ‘I used to stare at this for minutes and would wish I was there… it’s sad now.’
While another bluntly wrote: ‘This is what depression looks like.’
In their original post, @insidehistory wrote: ‘Despite widespread belief, the photograph wasn’t digitally manipulated; its stunning colors and sharpness were naturally achieved with a medium-format camera.
‘Bliss has since become one of the most widely viewed images worldwide’.
However, many social media users were extremely disappointed to find that the green, grassy hills they recognised were no more.
‘So, it’s ruined. Nice,’ wrote one upset commenter.
Another chimed in: ‘Well that’s hideous.’
One commenter added: ‘In ten more years it’ll be a parking lot.’
And another disappointed commenter wrote unhappily: ‘The “spark” the world used to have is gone, the once vibrant colorful world has turned dull approaching grayscale.’
But not every commenter was so upset to see the dramatic change in appearance.
One social media user wrote: ‘I’ve been there and I assure you it’s just as beautiful today. Breathtaking really.’
Another added: ‘Beautiful vineyard.’
‘Everybody’s reacting like it’s a grey brick apartment building there now,’ wrote another.
Some commenters also pointed out that the striking variation between the pictures could be caused by the changing seasons.
A commenter wrote: ‘Every picture from 2006 on is just the same grapevines. Some are just during the dormant season and others during the growing season.’
While one commenter bluntly wrote: ‘Different seasons.’
In reality, the real history of the ‘Bliss’ image shows that the famous green hills are actually the exception to the rule.
The photo was taken by photographer Charles ‘Chuck’ O’Rear as he was driving near the Napa-Soma County line in California.
He stopped his car to take this legendary photo after noticing that one field among the vineyards was completely clear.
This was because the field had been infested with a species of insect called phylloxera, which devastates grape vines, and had been cleared the previous year.
This is why the 1998 image shows beautiful open plains, while the later images show the vineyard returning after the infestation had passed.
After taking the photo, Mr O’Rear sold the image, which he called ‘Bucolic Green Hills’, to a stock photography company called WestLight.
WestLight then went on to be bought by Corbis Images, a marketing company owned and founded by Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.
When Microsoft was launching its new operating system, Microsoft XP, in 2001 it chose ‘Bucolic Green Hills’ as the key image for its $200 million advertising campaign.
Although Mr O’Rear has not confirmed how much he was paid for the rights to ‘Bliss’, he told PC World in 2014 that it was an ‘acceptable amount’.
Mr O’Rear has also confirmed that the original image was not digitally altered to enhance the colours of the scene, saying: ‘It was all there. The clouds were there, the green grass was there and the blue sky.’
Bliss From Windows XP
It’s Tuesday. It was originally titled “Bucolic Green Hills” but to Windows XP users worldwide it was known as “Bliss”. This familiar photo was taken by photographer Charles ‘Chuck’ O’Rear in the Napa-Soma County line in California back in 1998. In 2001 it appeared as the default background image in Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows XP. These days the rolling green hills look quite different. Check out the story below and a photo of what it looks like today.
-keep
It might be the most viewed photograph of all time.
But people have been heartbroken to discover what the location of the Windows XP desktop background really looks like today.
Labelled in the software as ‘Bliss’, this iconic image captures the rolling hills and bright blue sky of the Napa Valley, California.
However, social media users claim that the legendary site has been ‘ruined’ in the 27 years since the photograph was taken.
In a viral post on Instagram, @insidehistory shared images of the Napa field as it appeared in 1998, 2006, 2020, 2024 and 2025.
As these images reveal, the green rolling hills which formed the background for so many people’s computers are long gone and have been replaced with a vineyard.
One heartbroken commenter wrote: ‘I used to stare at this for minutes and would wish I was there… it’s sad now.’
While another bluntly wrote: ‘This is what depression looks like.’
In their original post, @insidehistory wrote: ‘Despite widespread belief, the photograph wasn’t digitally manipulated; its stunning colors and sharpness were naturally achieved with a medium-format camera.
‘Bliss has since become one of the most widely viewed images worldwide’.
However, many social media users were extremely disappointed to find that the green, grassy hills they recognised were no more.
‘So, it’s ruined. Nice,’ wrote one upset commenter.
Another chimed in: ‘Well that’s hideous.’
And another disappointed commenter wrote unhappily: ‘The “spark” the world used to have is gone, the once vibrant colorful world has turned dull approaching grayscale.’
But not every commenter was so upset to see the dramatic change in appearance.
One social media user wrote: ‘I’ve been there and I assure you it’s just as beautiful today. Breathtaking really.’
Another added: ‘Beautiful vineyard.’
‘Everybody’s reacting like it’s a grey brick apartment building there now,’ wrote another.
Some commenters also pointed out that the striking variation between the pictures could be caused by the changing seasons.
A commenter wrote: ‘Every picture from 2006 on is just the same grapevines. Some are just during the dormant season and others during the growing season.’
While one commenter bluntly wrote: ‘Different seasons.’
In reality, the real history of the ‘Bliss’ image shows that the famous green hills are actually the exception to the rule.
The photo was taken by photographer Charles ‘Chuck’ O’Rear as he was driving near the Napa-Soma County line in California.
He stopped his car to take this legendary photo after noticing that one field among the vineyards was completely clear.
This was because the field had been infested with a species of insect called phylloxera, which devastates grape vines, and had been cleared the previous year.
This is why the 1998 image shows beautiful open plains, while the later images show the vineyard returning after the infestation had passed.
After taking the photo, Mr O’Rear sold the image, which he called ‘Bucolic Green Hills’, to a stock photography company called WestLight.
WestLight then went on to be bought by Corbis Images, a marketing company owned and founded by Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.
When Microsoft was launching its new operating system, Microsoft XP, in 2001 it chose ‘Bucolic Green Hills’ as the key image for its $200 million advertising campaign.
Although Mr O’Rear has not confirmed how much he was paid for the rights to ‘Bliss’, he told PC World in 2014 that it was an ‘acceptable amount’.
Mr O’Rear has also confirmed that the original image was not digitally altered to enhance the colours of the scene, saying: ‘It was all there. The clouds were there, the green grass was there and the blue sky.’