Welcome to DesktopScenes.com!

Welcome to Desktop Scenes!

Modern life brings with it many joys, but also many stresses. We all could use a nice vacation; to go to a peaceful place to relax and appreciate the beauty of the world. Vacations cost time and money, however, so most of us can only take one vacation a year -- if we're lucky.

For those times when you need a quick break but can't get away, you can now take a virtual vacation any time with Desktop Scenes! Each SceneSet contains high-quality, full-color photos from a natural area, national park or other place of interest. You can view these beautiful pictures online, right in your Web browser, letting you experience what it is like to visit a noteworthy location. You can take a "virtual vacation" any time you wish!

DesktopScenes.com photos are available for licensing in electronic form. They have been used in the past for Web site backgrounds, product packaging, posters, music album covers, book covers and much more. I'm also now offering prints for sale at very reasonable prices, to help you get even more enjoyment from my images. Those who help support my future SceneSets with donations of $10 or more get a free custom-sized wallpaper image of their choice!

My name is Charles, and I started DesktopScenes.com as a vehicle to share my love of photography with others. Please feel free to contact me with your feedback. Thanks for visiting, and please check back regularly, as I am adding new SceneSets regularly.

News

September 15, 2011:

New Business Model: I originally created this site back in 2004 with the idea of creating SceneSets as desktop screensavers that I would sell for small amounts of money (under $10) to let my photos be viewed more widely and to help offset the tremendous costs associated with producing them. Over the years I've sold very few of these screensavers, however, partially because most people simply don't use screensavers any more. Given the additional time required to create them, and support and compatibility issues that arise whenever new operating systems are released, I've come to the decision to no longer offer screensavers on DesktopScenes.com.

Instead, I am going to continue to provide free access to the images on the Web, and move to a license/purchase/support model to attempt to keep the site and my photography viable. I have licensed my images for use by individuals and corporations in the past, and am hoping that I will be able to continue to do so in the future. I am also now going to offer my viewers the ability to purchase prints of their favorite images. Finally, I am offering a free customized wallpaper (background) image to anyone who makes a donation of $10 or more to the site.

Full information on how you can use Desktop Scenes images and help support my art can be found on the License / Purchase page.
Site Streamlining and Redesign: Consistent with the changes to how Desktop Scenes operates, as described above, I have substantially redesigned the site. Many of the pages related to the operation and troubleshooting of screensavers have been updated or removed, as have all the pages for previewing and purchasing them. The page describing my hardware and software used has been updated. I have also eliminated the Flash-based SceneSet viewer (which created extra work for me and wasn't compatible with all browsers), and made the "View SceneSets Online" button go directly to the actual image gallery. I hope this will make the site easier for you to enjoy.
Scenes from the Canadian Rockies: To celebrate the relaunch of the site, I have added to the gallery my first new SceneSet in several years: Scenes from the Canadian Rockies. But actually, this is not just a new SceneSet, it is my first SuperSceneSet, consisting of ten individual SceneSets from a trip to the Alberta / British Columbia region of Canada in 2004. All together, I have prepared for you over 300 images, which is actually more than the combined total of all previously-published SceneSets combined. Enjoy! :)