Ice halls of Slovenia

Deeper and deeper, from underground rock cathedrals to giant ice reservoirs, these are stunning snapshots of one man's cave odyssey.

While many of us would think twice before embarking on a journey through the dark and ominous convolutions of the earth's crust, for one intrepid person, this is the ideal habitat - and the main passion of his life. These stunning images of ice formations, mysterious lakes and beautiful underground halls were taken by Peter Gedei.

(Total 10 photos)

1. A cave near the town of Postojna in Slovenia.

The 43-year-old Slovenian photographer took up speleology 25 years ago. On all expeditions, he was accompanied by his faithful camera. Here is what the author of the photographs says: “Most of the photographs were taken in Slovenian caves, but there are also photographs of French caves, where I took part in the first international gathering of speleologists.

2. Kostanjeviska cave (Kostanjeviska jama).

In Slovenia, in a small area, more than 10,000 caves of all levels of complexity and of various depths and lengths have been registered. For me, as a photographer, this is more than enough. My attitude to filming caves is primarily as a photojournalist, but also as an athlete and explorer. All of my photos were taken during short weekend trips and speleological expeditions.”

3. In the cave Czechs II (Cehi II), Slovenia.

4. Bestazovka Cave, where rock paintings were discovered in 2009.

Among the caves visited by the photographer is Katsna-Yama, one of the most famous Slovenian caves. Its feature is a cliff at the very entrance with a depth of 190 m, which then turns into a hall. In the 19th century, miners equipped the entrance to the cave with a staircase that reaches to the very bottom.

5. Cave Katsna-Yama (Kacna jama), Slovenia.

6. Zhirovkova Jama Cave (Jirovcova jama), Slovenia.

Piotr explains: “Safety when visiting caves requires good physical fitness and skill with ropes and cable. Naturally, the more experienced you are, the better. For 25 years of doing speleology, I have accumulated a lot of experience. Eternal darkness and cold reign in the caves, the humidity is almost 100 percent, many halls and corridors are difficult to access. There are abysses and labyrinths, narrow manholes - “skin makers” and huge halls.

7. Bestazovka Cave, where rock paintings were discovered in 2009.

8. Grotta Noe, or if translated from Italian "Noah's Cave". The cave is located near Trieste.

9. A cave near the resort of Visevnik in Slovenia.

Some caves have a lot of natural decorations, others are like tunnels - and they are all deep and huge in size. Each cave has its own characteristics, and they are all very different from each other. In each cave, to solve shooting problems, you have to solve the problem of lighting all these spaces in different ways.”

10. A cave near the resort of Visevnik in Slovenia.

Pieter Gedey lives and works in Ljubljana and since 1987 has been a member of the Zeleznicar caving club.