The image appears to have been made using CGI, but is actually the result of incredible practical effects
An easy guess would be the Mona Lisa, or perhaps the ‘Earth Rise’ photo taken from the moon.
While these images are indeed famous, they don’t top the list of the most viewed.
It’s likely one that nearly everyone who has ever used one of the most popular computer operating systems has seen.
Consider the default desktop wallpapers on Windows computers, like the iconic green hill.
However, what’s really surprising is that another well-known Windows background is also a real photo, not CGI.
It’s the default wallpaper for Windows 10, featuring the iconic four-paned window with pale blue light casting sharp lines into the surrounding deep blue void.
But in reality, it’s the product of some incredibly clever practical effects.
This image was crafted by designer and director Bradley Munkowitz, who is also known as GMUNK.
They used a cut-out of the familiar Windows logo placed against a backdrop of black curtains.
Out of the many patterns captured on film, they chose the best one to become the iconic wallpaper.
The revelation that this was a photograph stunned many online.
One person commented: “At first I was like woah how’d they do that and then I remembered that practical effects exist. Remember those? I miss practical effects so much.”
Another expressed: “Damn this background is so much cooler to me now.”
While someone else noted: “Looks like you CAN create art without using AI.. who could have known.”
Meanwhile, someone humorously added: “The lengths people went to to avoid paying for Photoshop.”