Stunning photos capture interiors of rare musical instruments

I'm blown away by cellist-turned-photographer Charles Brooks' images of the interiors of rare musical instruments. Each instrument appears as if it's straight out of a dream — some look like futuristic structures, some like fantasy castles, and others like secret lairs of fantastical creatures. It's hard to believe they're real, and I'm just in awe of Brooks' photography talent.

The photographs are part of Brooks' "Architecture in Music" series, where, he explains, he "explore[s] the hidden spaces inside fine instruments" which have included a Steinway Grand Piano, the St. Mark's Pipe Organ, and the Lockey Hill Cello (c. 1780, England), among many others. His website provides an overview of his work:

Artist Charles Brooks transforms the interiors of rare instruments into vast architectural scenes, reminiscent of film sets and concert halls . . . Charles's intricate process, using specialist medical lenses and high resolution cameras, blends hundreds of images to forge each stunning illusion of space. Immerse yourself in a visual symphony where music meets art.

In an article featuring Charles Brooks' work (with some gorgeous photos of the insides of clarinets — you should go look!), the International Clarinet Association describes how Brooks achieves these stunning photographs:

Each image in this series by Charles Brooks is made up of over 100 individual frames, photographed with ever increasing focal distance, then blended together to keep the whole instrument in sharp focus throughout. It's this sharp focus that tricks the brain into believing it's looking at a very large space, almost as if the instrument has become its own concert hall.

Colossal also describes how Brooks captures the photographs:

Bringing the camera inside a variety of string, brass, keyboard, and woodwind instruments, he offers unique insight into rarely seen textures, details, and patinas. He angles the camera from a low viewpoint, mimicking the perspective of standing in a grand space and looking up at architectural details like columns or skylights.

In a feature article about Brooks, FStoppers explains that while Brooks has both played cello and made photographs since his teens, his work photographing the interiors of rare musical instruments really took off in 2020. FStoppers more fully discusses Brooks' process:

Speed up to 2020 and the pandemic, this is when New Zealand went into lockdown and Brooks was looking for anything to fill the time. This is when he stumbled across the Laowa Probe Lens. Since many musicians were out of work, Brooks had access to a majority of instruments in need of repair. He grabbed a Violin and started experimenting with this new lens and quickly wanted to see what it looked like on the inside. Using his knowledge of how instruments are put together, Brooks carefully inserted the lens into each instrument through pre-existing holes and lit them with constant light using 600D lights, taking into account the importance of not damaging the varnish from the heat of the lights.

Brooks then uses a technique on his Lumix S1R called high-res mode and painstakingly adjusts the focus millimeter by millimeter to work his way through the instruments. He then places his photos into a program called Helicon Focus, which is used for photo stacking, to produce this wide-angle masterpiece. Each photo is a stack of hundreds or thousands of photos. When looking at one of his photos, it makes it look like you are looking into a mansion. In reality, you are looking at the inside of instruments no more than two hands wide in some cases.

The rest of the piece is terrific, and highlights the challenges Brooks faces while creating the images (his biggest challenge is not damaging the really expensive instruments), his commitment to telling the stories of each instrument he photographs (some have fascinating, almost unbelievable histories!), his quest to find a smaller, skinnier camera for his work, and his thoughts on the question of "Why photograph the inside of instruments?" Brooks answers that question by stating:

"They are a fine art. The instruments sound better with age. For something which can be played for 300 years, the inside is where you can see really what was has gone on through its history. Performers couldn't do what they're doing without some really good instruments. They (the instruments) let them express themselves. I'd like people to have an appreciation of the extraordinary craftsmanship and precision that go into creating these things."

See more of his Brooks' work on his website or Instagram.