In Deep: Adventures in Caving

A cave explorer and visual storyteller, Robbie Shone is recognized as one of the most accomplished cave photographers in the world. He is based in the heart of the Alps in the scenic alpine town of Innsbruck, Austria. While completing a B.A. in Fine Art and Photography in Sheffield, UK, Robbie pursued his love of the outdoors. He developed a strong interest in caving, and in particular the challenges that cave photography has to offer.

Over the past twenty years, Robbie has lit up caves to capture stunning images of the naturally pitch-black world beneath our feet.  His work has featured in national and international publications, including magazines—National Geographic, National Geographic Science, GEO, Intelligent Life, Stern, View and Terra Mater—and books—@NatGeo – The Most Popular Instagram Photos, Night Vision (Nat Geo), Spectacle (Nat Geo), Almanac 2019 (Nat Geo), Bear Grylls Great Outdoor Adventures, and Robin Hanbury-Tenison’s The Great Explorers and Finding Eden. Robbie has also worked for the European Space Agency (ESA) on the PANGAEA and PANGAEA-X programs in which he documented astronauts undergoing geological and microbiological field training.

Robbie’s exciting expedition photography has taken him to the remotest parts of the world where he’s photographed the world’s deepest, largest, and longest known cave systems. In September 2018, Robbie spent two weeks underground as part of a National Geographic-funded expedition to the bottom of Veryovkina (-2,212 m), the deepest-known cave in the world located in the Caucasus Mountains of Abkhazia, Georgia. He has also hung on a thin rope to take photos 200m above the floor in the world’s deepest natural shaft, explored the far ends of a 189-km long cave system, and photographed Sarawak Chamber, one of the world’s largest underground chambers the size of eight soccer fields—all in pitch blackness with no natural light!

Robbie has received many national and international awards and is often an invited speaker, workshop lecturer, or competition judge. In addition to cave photography, several of his wildlife, travel, and landscape images achieved finalist status in highly acclaimed international travel and wildlife competitions. Robbie works as an expert on National Geographic Student Expeditions and has worked for major film and television crews, including the IMAX film Ancient Caves.