Robbie Shone Photography

09/05/2026

The next picture from my first assigned expedition. A giant stalagmite standing alone in the centre of an enormous underground chamber, in San Wang D**g, with one of the cave explorers appearing almost impossibly small beside it.

I remember being struck by the simplicity of the scene. There was no need to fill the frame with anything else. The space, the geology and that tiny figure said everything about the scale of the place. This was also the kind of picture I was hoping to find when I went to China. I was conscious that this first assignment for GEO, and particularly being given that chance by Ruth Eichhorn, could be an important moment for me. I wanted to make the most of being there and to come back with pictures that felt like my own, rather than simply documenting what was in front of me.

Looking back, I think that was one of the most valuable things about those early assignments. Ruth and the team of cave explorers gave me the time and space to work things out for myself, and I’ll be forever grateful.

09/04/2026

Following on from the previous photographs in memory of Ruth Eichhorn, here is another image from that first assignment she gave me for GEO in 2012, exploring the caves of China.
This is Erin Lynch, the leader of the expedition and the protagonist of our story, suspended hundreds of metres above the floor of Cloud Ladder Hall and looking down into the vast emptiness below. There is something wonderfully unsettling about this picture. The lure of the unknown, although Erin had already been down there, it still resembles an opening into a new world. I suppose there is a little of the freelance photographer in that view too. You often find yourself looking into the unknown, with no guarantee of what is going to be there.
In 2012, I was still very much finding my way. Ruth’s decision to send me to China put me in a position where I had to trust my instincts and see what I could make of it. I stayed on for two extra weeks after the assignment finished, partly because I felt there were still pictures waiting to be found and as mentioned before, mostly because I wanted to honour the faith and kindness she had shown me.
Looking back, I think some of the photographs I’m most proud of came from that willingness to keep looking beyond what was expected, and it was thanks to Ruth for sewing that seed.
I’ll always be grateful to Ruth for giving me that opportunity in the first place.

09/03/2026

To follow yesterday’s photograph in memory of Ruth Eichhorn; who was the Director of Photography at GEO magazine in Germany for 21 years, here is a third image from that first assignment she gave me for GEO in 2012, exploring the caves of China.
This photograph was taken during the extra two weeks I stayed in China after the original three week assignment from Ruth and GEO had finished. By then I was determined to keep going. I wanted to come home with a knock-out set of photographs that truly made a mark and the most of the opportunity Ruth had given me.
The caver in the water is American speleologist Erin Lynch, the leader of the expedition and the protagonist of our story. Here she is fighting her way across ferocious rapids in an underground river, completely focused on getting through. There is something about Erin in this photograph that makes me think of Ruth. Both had found their own paths and made a significant mark through the work they did. There was a quiet, yet steely determination in both of them that I admired.
During those extra two weeks in China, I wasn’t ready to leave. I wanted to keep looking, keep photographing and come home with something that would show Ruth that the chance she had given me had been worthwhile.
Thank-you, Ruth.

09/02/2026

Following on from yesterday’s post in memory of Ruth Eichhorn, who was Director of Photography at GEO magazine in Germany for 21 years, here is another photograph from that first assignment she gave me in 2012 - China caves.
These two cave explorers are crawling flat out through a narrow passage in San Wang D**g, pushing heavy bags of equipment ahead of them. It was painful, exhausting work. Looking at this photograph now, I’m struck by how much cave exploration resembles the life of a freelance photographer. There is a lot of struggle, uncertainty and suffering behind the final image. You keep pushing forward, often without knowing where the next opportunity or discovery will come from, hoping that somewhere ahead there is something new and worthwhile to show the world. I think Ruth understood that struggle better than most. She knew how difficult it could be for a young photographer to get a proper chance. She recognised talent and potential, but she also understood that sometimes what a budding photographer needed most was simply someone willing to open a door. And Ruth was willing to do that. She gave important breaks to so many young photographers who went on to have remarkable careers. She saw something in them, believed in them, and wanted to help them find their way. That generosity is one of the things I will remember most about her. Thank-you, Ruth.

09/01/2026

I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Ruth Eichhorn.

Ruth gave me my very first big break as a photographer in 2012. She sent me to China for three weeks to photograph caves for GEO magazine. She paid me for three weeks, but because I wanted to honour the faith and kindness she had shown me, I stayed for five, and gave her every photograph I made. I will never forget that first chance she gave me, or the generosity that came with it. Thank-you, Ruth, for believing in me when it mattered most.

This isn’t only the photograph from that trip that I’m most pleased with. It might just be one of my favourite photographs I’ve ever made. I made it during those extra two weeks, beyond the assignment Ruth had given me. It is Cloud Ladder Hall, near Wulong in China. It is an absolutely enormous chamber, so vast that it has its own weather system. Warm, humid air rises through the cave, forming clouds and mist that can fill the upper parts of the chamber. Standing there, you could look up and not even see the ceiling. The scale was almost impossible to comprehend.

For the rest of this week, I’ll share one photograph each day from that first assignment in China, made for Ruth and GEO. Looking through these photographs again brings back so many memories of that trip, and of the beginning of something that changed my life.

Thank-you, Ruth, for believing in me and for giving me that first chance. I will never forget you.

May you rest in peace.

08/20/2026

Cenotes Urbanos team member Miguel Angel Guillermo Amador () risked everything to capture shocking footage of the Tren Maya ripping through the Yucatán’s underground cenotes. This is the hidden destruction beneath the rainforest, the pollution, the collapse, the loss of what draws people here in the first place. Without Miguel’s courage, the world wouldn’t see what’s really happening. Thank you! And thank-you to Cenotes Urbanos for your fearless work to protect these sacred waters.
In the coming days, l’ll finish telling this story; one of environmental disaster and of a cultural legacy at risk of being buried beneath steel and concrete. This isn’t just about an illegal train. It’s about the choices we make: what we decide to preserve, and what we allow to be sacrificed.
• Link to the Nat Geo article in my bio.

08/18/2026

Back in the caves, this time in Eisriesenwelt in Austria, for a new collaboration with from Australia. We first met during my first cave photography workshop in Costacciaro, Italy, in 2025, and it’s great to now be working together on a book project.

It was especially fascinating to see and feel the effects from the new second door at the entrance, helping reduce the warm summer air blowing down through the cave and slowing the melting of its incredible ice formations. A beautiful reminder of how fragile these frozen worlds are. If you get the chance to visit, please don’t hesitate! Eisriesenwelt

08/15/2026

08/15/2026

As a cave photographer, I’ve spent much of my life travelling to far flung places in search of extraordinary moments. During the 1999 eclipse, I was deep underground exploring my local cave and practising my cave photography, completely missing it. Last night was very different. I simply stood on my balcony at home in Tirol with my family beside me and watched the eclipse unfold. No flights, no expensive trips, no chasing it around the world. Just home, family and an incredible moment happening right above us. Sometimes the best experiences are the ones that come to you.

National Geographic

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/total-solar-eclipse-europe-2026-photos