Img8 (Windows Vista)
img8 | |
---|---|
Image information | |
Original title | Leaf 02 |
Originates from | Microsoft |
Photographer | Mike Swanson |
Taken | March 21, 2002 |
Location | Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, Key West, Florida, United States |
Windows information | |
Software | Windows Vista |
Type | Wallpaper |
Theme | Textures |
Original filename | MSwanson - Wide - Leaf 02 (builds 5355 to 5840.16384) |
Resolution | 1920x1440 1600x1200 (builds 5355 to 5840.16384) |
File type | JPEG (.jpg) |
img8, originally known as Leaf 02, is a wallpaper included in Windows Vista. It was taken by Microsoft employee Mike Swanson on March 21, 2002. It is a close-up of a banana leaf at the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, Key West, Florida, USA.
History
On March 21, 2002, Swanson was on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Key West, Florida. Once he got off, he walked past the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum and noticed a backlit banana leaf leaning over the sidewalk, as he liked the way it was backlit. Using his Nikon Coolpix 990, he quickly captured the photo before leaving.[1][2] Jenny Lam would later include it as a wallpaper in Vista, from Beta 2 onwards. Swanson did not want any money out of the photo as he wanted to protect his photography as a hobby as opposed to a profession. He described the fact that many people have his wallpaper on their systems as "wild", and similar to Peter Burian with Autumn he did not consider it special at the time of it being taken.[3]
Judging by the filename hidden in the metadata for the version of the wallpaper included in Vista Beta 2, it seems it was cropped from the 1920x1200 version rather than using the original source image. It was most likely resized to 1920x1440 for the RTM release, due to its somewhat blurry look.
References
- ↑ Swanson, Mike (1 June 2008). "How I Make My Wallpaper Images". Mike Swanson's Blog.
- ↑ Swanson, Mike (23 December 2017). "There was a palm frond leaning over the sidewalk in front of the house, and I liked the way it was backlit. So, I quickly composed the shot and took it before leaving." PetaPixel.
- ↑ Swanson, Mike (23 December 2017). "My “Leaf 02” image was included as wallpaper in Windows, and I wasn’t paid anything. Though, to be fair, I was a Microsoft employee at the time, and I didn’t want any money for it. I wanted to protect my photography as a hobby...not turn it into a profession. It’s wild to think that hundreds of millions of people have one of my photographs on their computer." PetaPixel.