One photograph shows a person holding a camera. Beside it, another reveals the photographer they were looking at. Suddenly a travel picture has two directions, and you get to see the scene that would normally remain behind the lens.

That is the pleasure of Lens Between Us, the project by Peter Sedlacik and Zuzu Galova. Their paired images turn an ordinary act—photographing your companion—into a shared visual diary.

Paired Lens Between Us photographs facing in opposite directions on Cockatoo Island
Paired Lens Between Us photographs facing in opposite directions on Cockatoo Island. Gallery attribution: Peter Sedlacik and Zuzu Galova.

How the project works

On the creators’ own website, the pair describe meeting while working in advertising in Slovakia, later moving to Australia and developing a way to photograph one another at the same location.

The finished diptychs bring the opposing views together. Their individual biographies explain backgrounds spanning design, illustration, photography and art direction.

The concept is simple enough to understand immediately, but it asks for two compositions rather than one. Each person has a different background to work with.

What the second photograph adds

Look at the selected coastal pair. The same shared outing produces a view towards one person and a different stretch of surroundings behind the other. You learn more about the space by moving your attention between them.

In a conventional portrait, the photographer’s position is usually invisible. Here, it becomes half of the finished piece. The pictures feel connected through the cameras, poses and the fact that each participant is looking back.

The pair need not be a seamless panorama. Their interest comes from the relationship between two separate views.

Try a small version on your next trip

Choose a comfortable place where both people can stand safely without blocking a path. Face one another and look at what will appear behind your companion.

Peter Sedlacik and Zuzu Galova photographing one another during an Algarve coastal outing
Peter Sedlacik and Zuzu Galova photographing one another during an Algarve coastal outing. Gallery attribution: Peter Sedlacik and Zuzu Galova.

Take a moment to improve both compositions. A small move may give one person a clearer background, but make sure it still works for the other. Then take the photographs and review them together.

The goal is a shared record of the outing. Matching equipment, rehearsed smiles or a spectacular landmark are not requirements.

Keep the pair easy to read

When arranging your own photographs afterwards, try the same height for both images and a small gap between them. Keep any crop simple enough that the relationship remains clear.

Two opposing Bondi Beach views presented as a Lens Between Us photo pair
Two opposing Bondi Beach views presented as a Lens Between Us photo pair. Gallery attribution: Peter Sedlacik and Zuzu Galova.

Write one useful caption with the place and date. If the two pictures were taken at different times, say so rather than presenting them as one simultaneous moment.

Save the originals as well as the finished pair. Our travel-video diary ideas offer another compact format if you enjoy recording movement and sound alongside still photographs.

Give both companions a place in the story

Travel albums can easily leave one person behind the camera for most of a trip. Taking turns is a simple way to make the record feel more shared, whether or not you create a formal series.

Ask before posting your companion’s image, and choose photographs you both enjoy. For more ideas about planning enjoyable time together, see travelling as a couple.

Sedlacik and Galova’s project shows how much a small creative rule can change what you notice. The destination remains part of the picture, but the act of seeing it together becomes visible too.

The Half & Half photography project connects two cities through paired everyday images, using a different form of visual conversation.