Charles O'Rear

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Charles O'Rear (born November 26, 1941) is an American retired photographer and author, known for photographing Bliss, the default wallpaper of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, and for being a National Geographic photographer from 1971 to 1995. O'Rear was born in Butler, Missouri, and developed an interest in photography at a young age. He started his career at the Butler Daily Democrat and later worked as a photographer for the Emporia Gazette, The Kansas City Star, and Los Angeles Times newspapers. He then worked as a freelancer for The New York Times and Western Airlines. O'Rear participated in the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica project in the 1970s, where he is credited with the most photographs. He was hired by National Geographic in 1971, covering Old Believers, Napa Valley, and various international stories. He worked for the magazine until 1995 and is the only photographer to have appeared on its cover. Following his Napa Valley assignment in 1978, O'Rear developed...

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