Romanian artist Adrian Borda doesn’t play any musical instrument. But that doesn’t mean he can’t use them to mesmerize us. As an artistic experiment, Borda has started shooting them from the inside, and the view from within is just as mystical as the notes that come out from there.

“I live in Reghin, Romania, also called the city of violins,” Adrian told Bored Panda. “Most of the violins in our country are made here. I’m a surreal painter and many of my paintings contain violin themes.”

“I don’t know much about the instruments I have already photographed, they were broken, open for repairs, so I was able to put the cameras inside them. The first that I shot was a double bass that I found in a friend’s shop. The second was a very old French cello from Napoleon’s times that I found in the city of Amiens, in an orchestra director Dominique Leroy’s house.”

Adrian found most of the inspiration for the project in a promotion campaign of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. “I had no idea how the images were made, and I wasn’t even sure if they were photos or digital renderings, so this project was a real challenge. I had a few ultra-wide macro attempts before specialized lenses like Laowa 15mm macro appeared.”

“It was a really nice and fun challenge to create the right atmosphere inside. One time, I used wood dust, and the best light was a light bulb from the ceiling. I was moving the cello all around the house to play with different angles of light. I hope the series will continue, I’m planning to photograph more instruments and other interesting objects from unusual perspectives.”

More info: adrianborda.com | Facebook | 500px

“I live in Reghin, Romania also called the city of violins”

“I don’t know much about the instruments I have already photographed, they were broken, open for repairs, so I was able to put the cameras inside them”

Inside a Cello

Inside a Saxophone

Inside a Guitar

Inside a Violin