Mario Bihari is a well-known Romany musician from Slovakia who has lived and performed in Prague for many years. Although he has been blind since childhood, Bihari has begun using a new medium of expression: photography. He collaborates with photographer Bjorn Steinz to create images that share an aspect of the musician's subjective experience.
Blind Romany Musician Uses Photography 'To Capture Music'
![Bihari says he associates colors with music, and instructs his photographic collaborates to add color to the final images.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b5b5495e-0828-48d6-b56a-0435f426a5d0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari says he associates colors with music, and instructs his photographic collaborates to add color to the final images.
![In Bihari's musical imagination, a violin sounds red, while a flute sounds blue.](https://gdb.rferl.org/c284e24f-90e2-4bf3-91c0-987d2e81df82_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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In Bihari's musical imagination, a violin sounds red, while a flute sounds blue.
![Bihari's friend Alenka. Bihari began photographing by choosing subjects that he could touch and arrange as he wanted.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2bfe502e-f222-42fe-aab8-205ef48541b3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari's friend Alenka. Bihari began photographing by choosing subjects that he could touch and arrange as he wanted.
![Bihari's friend Nelson](https://gdb.rferl.org/9a41912a-28a5-4e65-a3d4-426ba630cfb5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari's friend Nelson
![Alenka](https://gdb.rferl.org/804556de-fab2-48c6-a17b-e06de4ec5b4f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Alenka
!["I thought that I could always capture what I hear – the way people play," Bihari says of his photography. "I press the shutter during a section of music when I believe that I feel what the musicians are experiencing."](https://gdb.rferl.org/fdd70b4a-1332-43d4-bbd8-b553a7602d62_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"I thought that I could always capture what I hear – the way people play," Bihari says of his photography. "I press the shutter during a section of music when I believe that I feel what the musicians are experiencing."
!["You never know if it works," Bihari said. "I only know when I show pictures to someone and ask people what they like about it."](https://gdb.rferl.org/607b2828-de25-467b-93f5-9b5c6a7a62c1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"You never know if it works," Bihari said. "I only know when I show pictures to someone and ask people what they like about it."
![Bihari took photographs of Romany musicians in Jarovnice, the largest Romany settlement in Slovakia.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ea0d646a-f6d9-4355-ae30-6e42beabd796_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari took photographs of Romany musicians in Jarovnice, the largest Romany settlement in Slovakia.
!["Of course I enjoy photographing, but also the feeling of anticipation, to learn if an image works or not, and eventually making it into what I want," he says.](https://gdb.rferl.org/730e4a2b-dad4-4b3b-b630-82147a5cf2b2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"Of course I enjoy photographing, but also the feeling of anticipation, to learn if an image works or not, and eventually making it into what I want," he says.
![Bihari poses in front of his photographs at an exhibition in Ostrava, Czech Republic.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1a0e76f5-4166-4a89-8d3b-949487b166e6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari poses in front of his photographs at an exhibition in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
![Bihari takes a picture of his university friend Jarek for a project titled "Music In Images." The project was documented by fellow photographer Bjorn Steinz, who collaborates with Bihari on his photographic work.](https://gdb.rferl.org/57b8a784-2bf3-41fc-bda1-de44f201dcc6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari takes a picture of his university friend Jarek for a project titled "Music In Images." The project was documented by fellow photographer Bjorn Steinz, who collaborates with Bihari on his photographic work.
![Bihari in Jarovnice, Slovakia, during his project photographing Romany musicians](https://gdb.rferl.org/4504445d-9686-4438-b560-69537d3fc8c6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari in Jarovnice, Slovakia, during his project photographing Romany musicians
![Bihari plays the accordion in Jarovnice.](https://gdb.rferl.org/766b7559-3f23-4e5d-98c6-0ab37a89a9a4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari plays the accordion in Jarovnice.
![Bihari's guide dog, Harley](https://gdb.rferl.org/f0b985bc-1ab0-420a-8719-854cccfd2902_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari's guide dog, Harley
![A Czech Television crew films Bihari in Prague in 2009.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ced53f98-4058-487e-9470-f9e5e2c9901f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Czech Television crew films Bihari in Prague in 2009.
![A performance in Prague in 2012](https://gdb.rferl.org/c085a203-b7cd-4689-af7c-1dfd5bba1991_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A performance in Prague in 2012
![At home with his family in the Zizkov neighborhood of Prague](https://gdb.rferl.org/216dcbe8-b243-402a-b62f-0a10cd2f92cf_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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At home with his family in the Zizkov neighborhood of Prague
![Bihari and his band, Bachtale Apsa, perform for a live recording session in Prague in March 2013.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ee58164d-4b25-4039-84c5-b6dee1310167_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari and his band, Bachtale Apsa, perform for a live recording session in Prague in March 2013.
![Bihari and his family walk through Prague.](https://gdb.rferl.org/9474524b-3921-4ed7-99e2-d2e3ff310504_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bihari and his family walk through Prague.