Robbie Shone Photography

07/15/2026

Climbing the vertical cliff face back up from the entrance of WUL-8 with all my photography gear was an effort! Managing the ropes while carrying equipment and trying not to knock any loose rocks down onto my teammates below was a real challenge. Having the hands-free communication system by Cardo kept me in sync with everyone on the wall, letting me know when the ropes were free above and allowing me to tell those down below I’d safely passed a belay. It made the whole climb a lot smoother. Thanks to Chris Blakeley for shooting this video.

To read the full story, the online article on ’s homepage can be found by following the link 🔗 in my bio.

Thanks to everyone who made this possible, especially our 2023 expedition team: Gina Moseley, Robbie Shone, Nathan Hudson Peacock, Gabriella Koltai, Chris Blakeley, Sebastian Ravn Rasmussen, and Matthias Vogt. An enormous thank-you also goes to the sponsors:
.at

07/11/2026

It was this video by Elias Siebenborn that first pulled me into the story. A harrowing record of drills breaking through the ceiling of a pristine, ancient cave; Oppenheimer cave. Within seconds, millennia of untouched beauty were violated. The scene was more than disturbing; it was an assault on nature itself. The shock hit me like a real punch in the gut. How could anyone, knowingly, commit such an act of irreversible vandalism? And for what? A train line. A project that could have been rerouted, redesigned, or reconsidered.
This was not progress. This was desecration. I couldn’t just stand by and watch - I felt an overwhelming pull to Mexico, to do my bit.

I did get to see Oppenheimer cave, but I never stood there and heard the sound of rock splintering or feel the tremour of heavy machinery as Elias did. Through his lens, we all bear witness. His footage is not just evidence, it’s a stark warning of the destruction being carried out under the banner of “development,” often out of public view, but with consequences that will last far beyond our lifetimes. Thank-you Elias for capturing this, as it drew me in, no matter how hard it was to watch.
This is not just a story about an illegal train.
It’s about what we choose to preserve and what we’re willing to sacritice.
• Link to the Nat Geo article in my bio.
pollution EnvironmentalDisaster

07/06/2026

Well done Gina! Constantly blown away by your many talents and work ethic. Honestly can't keep up. :)

"The little red clock has a big problem, it can’t seem to say “Cuckoo!” All it manages is a funny “Cuc!” no matter how hard it tries. As the hours tick by, the clock practises day and night, determined to find its voice.
Will the little clock ever discover what it’s missing?
Join this charming tale of perseverance and self-discovery, where every “Cuc” brings the little red clock closer to a delightful surprise. With colourful illustrations and playful rhymes, The Little Red Clock will tick-tock its way into the hearts of readers young and old.
Perfect for bedtime or storytime, this delightful book shows that sometimes, we just need to open a little door to let our true selves shine!"

The Cuc Without a Koo

07/04/2026

To conclude this fascinating story, these findings from the Rising Star cave reshape how we think about Homo naledi, its biology, and its behavior. What began as a remarkable fossil discovery has become one of the most puzzling and thought provoking windows into our ancient relatives, leaving researchers with more questions than answers and opening an entirely new chapter in human evolution research. Led by the formidable Lee Berger (pictured) who has spearheaded this project for well over ten years now, the team continue to ask the hard questions about our early beginnings backed up by striking evidence. For now, the new revelations have a strange serendipity to them. The tight squeezes required to enter the present-day Rising Star cave system made it harder for male researchers to enter, so the initial group of paleoanthropologists to excavate the bones were all women. That these female fossils were discovered by women, Berger notes, “I think that’s one of those great, beautiful ironies of science and exploration.”

It has been a privilege to contribute to this project as a photographer for the National Geographic Society. These remains continue to reshape our understanding of the human past.

Please follow the link in my bio to read the full article. National Geographic Society DailyLifeofanexplorer

07/03/2026

The “Upside Down Turn Around” is one of the most challenging obstacles in South Africa’s Rising Star Cave. Getting yourself through the squeeze is hard enough, but now imagine maneuvering a camera container through it too. Every move has to be deliberate. Here’s a short behind-the-scenes look at documenting the National Geographic Society expedition that helped reveal the remarkable story of the new findings of Homo naledi.

The Rising Star Cave system in South Africa is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites ever discovered. Its findings have transformed our understanding of human origins, and it has been a privilege to contribute to the project as a photographer for the National Geographic Society. Tomorroww, I’ll share my last photo from this fascinating story and extraordinary site, as each image has revealed another chapter in the story of Homo naledi and the 20 individuals found there. Remarkably, they may all have been female, as no Y chromosomes were detected in their tooth enamel proteins. These remains continue to reshape our understanding of the human past.

Please follow the link in my bio to read the full article.

07/03/2026

In the archeological site within the Rising Star cave, even the largest individual, known as “Neo” had long assumed to be male due to its size, was shown through protein analysis to be almost certainly female. This challenges long held assumptions about s*x differences in Homo naledi anatomy.  
Only one other ancient site, a cave in Portugal, has a female majority among skeletons, which researchers have linked to the mortuary practices of local Neolithic humans.

The Rising Star Cave system in South Africa is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites ever discovered. Its findings have transformed our understanding of human origins, and it has been a privilege to contribute to the project as a photographer for the National Geographic Society. Tomorrow I’ll share my last photo from this fascinating story and extraordinary site, as each image has revealed another chapter in the story of Homo naledi and the 20 individuals found there. Remarkably, they may all have been female, as no Y chromosomes were detected in their tooth enamel proteins. These remains continue to reshape our understanding of the human past.

Please follow the link in my bio to read the full article. National Geographic Society DailyLifeofanexplorer

07/02/2026

The Rising Star cave in South Africa is very tight in places. One of the many challenges we faced working there was simply transporting the photographic equipment through the maze of narrow passages. There were several restrictions that prevented my camera case from getting through and this short video by Martin Gamache shows how we overcame them.

07/02/2026

The team of researchers excavated over 1,500 bones at Rising Star (some shown in this excavation pit). Based on the distribution in the cave floor surface sediment, the team suspects that the fossils were deposited there over a long period of time. During some of the field excavations, researchers used ultraviolet light to reveal some of the bones buried in sediment. 

The Rising Star Cave system in South Africa is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites ever discovered. Its findings have transformed our understanding of human origins, and it has been a privilege to contribute to the project as a photographer for the National Geographic Society. Over the next day or so, I’ll finish sharing a photo a day from this fascinating story and extraordinary site, as each image has revealed another chapter in the story of Homo naledi and the 20 individuals found there. Remarkably, they may all have been female, as no Y chromosomes were detected in their tooth enamel proteins. These remains continue to reshape our understanding of the human past.

Please follow the link in my bio to read the full article. National Geographic Society DailyLifeofanexplorer

07/01/2026

To preserve the fossils, scientists used a minimally destructive method. Instead of removing large pieces of tooth, they carefully scraped enamel from the surface, creating a mark no greater than what a dentist might make when preparing teeth for braces. The results shocked the research team. Every tooth sampled appeared to lack the Y-chromosome version of amelogenin. Out of 20 individuals, 19 were definitively identified as female, while the remaining specimen was also likely female.

The Rising Star Cave system in South Africa is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites ever discovered. Its findings have transformed our understanding of human origins, and it has been a privilege to contribute to the project as a photographer for the National Geographic Society. Over the next day or so, I’ll finish sharing a photo a day from this fascinating story and extraordinary site, as each image has revealed another chapter in the story of Homo naledi and the 20 individuals found there. Remarkably, they may all have been female, as no Y chromosomes were detected in their tooth enamel proteins. These remains continue to reshape our understanding of the human past.

Please follow the link in my bio to read the full article. National Geographic Society DailyLifeofanexplorer

06/30/2026

DNA is usually the most reliable way to determine s*x, but it rarely survives for hundreds of thousands of years, especially in warm climates. Ancient proteins, however, can persist much longer and are becoming an increasingly important tool for studying our evolutionary past. The team focused on amelogenin, a protein found in tooth enamel. Different versions of this protein are produced by genes on the X and Y chromosomes, allowing researchers to determine whether an individual likely possessed a Y chromosome.

The Rising Star Cave system in South Africa is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites ever discovered. Its findings have transformed our understanding of human origins, and it has been a privilege to contribute to the project as a photographer for the National Geographic Society. Over the next week, I’ll share a photo each day from this extraordinary site, each revealing another chapter in the story of Homo naledi and the 20 individuals found there. Remarkably, they may all have been female, as no Y chromosomes were detected in their tooth enamel proteins. These remains continue to reshape our understanding of the human past.

Please follow the link in my bio to read the full article. National Geographic Society DailyLifeofanexplorer