About
The Story Behind the Lens
Pajac Slovensky
I am a wildlife and travel photographer from Slovakia. My first camera came along mostly as luggage — and then, in October 2015, I carried it through the alleys of Stone Town and the mangroves of Zanzibar, and it stopped being luggage.
Since then the camera has led the itinerary. A year later it took me across a tidal causeway to Uzi, an island whose road drowns twice a day. In 2017 it pulled me around the great parks of the East African Rift — Nakuru, the Masai Mara, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Amboseli in one long loop. In 2022 it was Ruaha, Tanzania’s wild heart, far from the crowded circuits. In 2023 it was Mauritius, where the work split three ways — from the air over Le Morne, at eye level with a storm-lit church, and underwater among the turtles of the northern reefs. In 2024 it was Iceland’s Ring Road under the midnight sun, with a drone opening a second, bird’s-eye body of work over the glaciers and craters.
I photograph slowly, and I don’t travel alone — more on that below. The stories on this site retell the trips the way they happened, day by day, from the first ferry to the last flight home.
Two Behind the Lens
One name signs this site, but two pairs of hands made it. My wife and I travel, plan and photograph together — same itineraries, same hides, same gear bag, and usually a polite negotiation over who gets the long lens when the elephants show up. A good number of the photographs in these galleries are hers, and most of the pictures of me at work exist only because she was holding the other camera.
She prefers to stay out of the captions, so the site carries one name for both of us. Wherever it says I, read we — especially in the good light.
My Philosophy
We believe in ethical wildlife photography that prioritizes the welfare of animals above any shot:
Patience Over Persistence — The best hour of my 2017 safari was spent with the engine off, letting a breeding herd of elephants drift past at eye level. Waiting is not the price of the photograph; it is the photograph.
Respect for People — Much of our work is cultural as well as wild: Maasai villages, island schools, spice farms. We ask first, show the screen after, and photograph people as hosts, never as scenery.
Authentic Moments — We never bait, call, or manipulate wildlife for photographs. The images you see represent genuine encounters with animals behaving naturally in their environment.
Equipment
The gear has grown up alongside the work — a Canon EOS 500D carried to Zanzibar in 2015, a 6D across the Uzi causeway, a 5D Mark IV around the Rift in 2017, and the R5 since Ruaha. Everything in the bag is shared between the two of us; the Sigma 150-600 Sports has been the wildlife workhorse through all of it, on whichever camera reaches it first.
- Canon EOS R5 (Primary Body)
- Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
- Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports
- Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
- Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro
- Autel EVO II Pro V3 (Aerial)
- Canon EOS 3 (35mm Film)
- Rollei 6008 Professional · Planar 80mm f/2.8 (6×6 Film)
Alongside digital I shoot film — 35mm through the Canon EOS 3, and square 6×6 through a Rollei 6008 Professional with the Planar 80mm, a camera that slows every subject down to one considered frame at a time. The Analog section grows as the negatives come back.
Expeditions & Collaboration
Photography for us is built around long, self-organised expeditions rather than quick trips — the kind where the tide table, the dry season, and the light decide the schedule. The places we know well and return to are East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar), Mauritius, Iceland, and the mountains of our Slovak homeland.
If you’d like to talk about joining a future expedition, licensing images, or a collaboration, I’d be glad to hear from you.
Let’s Connect
Whether you’re interested in fine art prints, image licensing, or simply want to talk wildlife photography — get in touch.