
The story behind the default Windows XP desktop background - sethbannon
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-story-worlds-famous-desktop-background
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noonespecial
>Although he signed a non-disclosure agreement that prevents him from
revealing the exact price, O’Rear has claimed it was the most he’s ever been
paid for an image.

I'm just ridiculously happy he got paid tons for this. There's so many stories
about $BigCorps just helping themselves to this stuff and screwing artists via
their legal teams that I was really hoping this wasn't one of them.

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xenadu02
If anyone else is curious, FedEx generally won't insure a shipment for more
than $50,000 without a special contract so we can assume it is more than that
amount.

My completely uneducated guess would be in the $100k-$250k range.

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Ambroos
It's iconic. At some point a high-resolution version of the image turned up
online. I regularly switch to this high-res variant at work just because it's
funny how people react to seeing it:
[https://i.imgur.com/C5ja2Kp.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/C5ja2Kp.jpg)

~~~
smellf
This is my favorite version of the Windows XP hills:

[http://i.imgur.com/1xtcI.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/1xtcI.jpg)

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edoceo
They mention a bet (there was more than one) inside Microsoft about where that
photo was taken

I lost $100 cause it's NOT eastern Washington.

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fredley
I love the story of the guy trying to track down the exact location of the
Autumn desktop photo too:

[http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/02/autumn200702](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/02/autumn200702)

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Cheyana
Years ago I used to tell customers that it was a picture of Bill Gates
backyard. Most of them (if not all) believed me.

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legitster
I've heard this is likely the most viewed image of all time. Any evidence for
or against this claim?

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nickc14
Interestingly enough, I have the same type of camera (a Mamiya RZ67) and use
the same type of film (Fuji Velvia 50) that were used to take this.

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andreareina
The "Alien Ray Gun" we used to call it. The rotating back was nifty, but in
the end I prefer the square format. I did get to shoot a dozen or so rolls
through a Mamiya 7, that camera was a joy to handle.

~~~
nickchappell14
You can find 6x6 backs (as well as 6x4.5) but they're not as common as the 6x7
backs. Tried a Mamiya 7, and though I liked it, I just can't get into
rangefinders. The framing not being exactly what the image will be always bugs
me.

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phusion
Nice, I grew up in Sonoma county, definitely looks like home. More so the area
to the right that's almost cropped out, but still.. nice to know that winxp's
iconic background is of home. Wish I knew that back in '01 when it was the
talk of the town.

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avenoir
I'd have guessed this was taken somewhere in Palouse, WA because Microsoft and
all... So much for Golden Hour, eh? I'm going to make another wild-ass guess
and assume he's used a Circular Polarizer because the sky looks a bit too
unnaturally blue on the right side of the image. :)

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JetSpiegel
In the portuguese version of Windows XP this was called "Alentejo".

Yet another losing bet, it seems.

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AnthonyTerry
That was pretty interesting

