The young woman behind these amazing images combining yoga with her love for freediving and the sea said it all came about ironically because she had a massive fear of sharks.

Luciana Blanco Villegas, known as Lou to her friends, was born in Argentina but moved to Australia almost 3 years ago and says she can’t imagine anywhere else ever being home again.

She shares the pictures online, but said before arriving in Australia she never would have dreamt that she could have appeared in snaps with some of these amazing marine creatures, or even putting her feet in the deep water because she was so scared of sharks.

She told Newsflash: “When I got to Australia I was so scared of sharks that, other than for a quick dip to get refreshed, I didn’t set foot in the ocean for months.”

She said that was a bit of a problem because the sea was one of the main reasons that she had moved there. She said: “One of my biggest motivations to move here was to learn how to surf, and clearly, I couldn’t do that from the sand.

“That’s how I started swimming every morning from Manly to Shelly Beach and back with a big group of swimmers. I thought this would help me get over the fear, so I could eventually learn how to surf. That was how I fell in love with open water swimming.

“During the winter, many Grey Nurse Sharks started coming to the bay. One day my friend and swimming coach, Mark, came up to me and told me he had a ‘surprise’ for that swim . . . the surprise were two 3-4 meter sharks in our swimming spot, or rather from their point of view, a Lou and a Mark in their swimming spot.

“When I realized what the surprise was I thought about skipping the swim. But for some reason, I didn’t. I was surprised that I wasn’t completely freaked out about the sharks when we found them. They looked very peaceful. And, from the surface, they didn’t even look so big. I tried to go under the surface and get closer, but as soon as I got close I had to come up, I didn’t have enough air, and my ears felt like they were going to explode.”

She said that the almost magical experience evaporated her fear of sharks, and she was determined to continue to push the boundaries.

She said: “A few days later, my friend Lisa started showing me videos of her swimming alongside them. She’s a freediver. I didn’t even know that was a thing. Before I knew it, my greatest, most irrational fear, that stopped me from doing my favourite sports and truly enjoying the ocean, not only was gone but turned into what drove me to the ocean every day.”

She added: “I grew up in the city. I didn’t even know something like freediving existed until 8 months ago. I booked my first freediving course in December 2020, 7 months ago, and I’ve been diving almost every day ever since. I’m lucky enough to live across the street from the Cabbage Tree Bay in Manly, so it’s very easy for me to be able to jump in the water every day.”

Since then every day is an adventure. She said: “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching fish swim around and even the seagrass sway with the tides and swell.

“When the beautiful ocean beings allow me to look at them up close, I can see the most stunning patterns and textures. I’ve seen octopuses, giant cuttlefish, countless tropical and subtropical fish, manta rays, sharks, dolphins and whales while freediving.

“Nevertheless, probably the most unusual creatures to observe underwater are us, humans. We are getting into their territory and exploring the depths, where they belong. When us, humans, get to the surface after a dive, we usually tell each other what creatures we saw that day and where to find them. Sometimes I joke about how the fish go to the deep waters and converse with each other ‘Hey, what did you see today?’“

“‘Not much, just another Lou freediving around, she got new fins. Did you see anything interesting?’”

She said the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen underwater was a Great White Shark: “I was in Lady Elliot Island, freediving with three friends. As I was coming back to the surface to take a breath after swimming with a manta ray, in the distance, maybe 10 meters away, I saw a big silhouette with the distinctive weird grin of the King of the Oceans. I thought I was hallucinating, that my mind was playing games. A few breaths later, one of my friends, Olympia, came over and whispered: ‘Hey, I think I just saw a Great White Shark’.

“I wasn’t hallucinating. The most feared creature in the ocean had been in close proximity to us and had swum away, with no real interest in us. I can cross out the most magnificent predator alive, off my bucket list. If I ever end up seeing one again, I wish it’ll stay for a bit longer, so I can enjoy her presence and grace.”

With the spectacular images she shares online, she says most of it’s not planned, and she is lucky enough to have lots of friends that are underwater photographers.

She said: “Whenever we go for a dive together, they bring their cameras along and we improvise. A couple of times we did plan for a photo shoot, with specific outfits and trying for a specific pose or look, but this doesn’t always work out. The ocean has its own temper, and it’s hard to be able to know if the visibility is going to allow good photos to come out from a given day.

“Even if you plan the photoshoot up to the ultimate detail, it’s very hard to predict what the conditions are going to be like. You never know what creatures you are going to encounter, so it’s great to go in with an open mind and be able to go with the flow. The best things that can happen, are usually unexpected, you can’t plan for them.

“If we want a shot with a certain animal, it always takes more time and patience. There is no way to control – and there shouldn’t be a way to control— those wild, beautiful creatures. If we are trying to do a certain pose, we usually do two or three takes to make sure we really got it. The most difficult pictures to nail, are those where I don’t wear a mask. It makes it harder to put on a beautiful face when you have water going up your nose, and after a while, the salty water starts irritating the eyes. But, I’m always looking for a challenge, so those are also my favourite photoshoots.”

Apart from the sharks one of her most memorable other swims was with seals in Narooma.

She said: “There is a huge colony there, and I went with other 24 freedivers. It was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had. For me, freediving is usually almost a spiritual experience, of connection with your breath and the environment.

“When you dive with seals, this experience changes completely. It’s like going for a play in the park with a pack of Labradors. They swim, and twirl and spin around. It made me want to imitate and play with them. The first interaction I had with a seal was a bit scary: it charged directly towards me with full-on speed!

“It looked like it was going to crash into me, but when it was a few centimetres away, she changed directions and eluded me towards my left. I understood this was their way of playing, so I started playing in the same way. Soon, I was also swimming at full speed towards them as they charged in my direction, and at the very last second, before we crashed into each other, we turned and continued our play twirling around, and tumbling underwater.

“When I surfaced, my heart was racing from all the moving around and holding my breath for so long. Swimming with the seals is exhilarating, fun and super playful. It was an amazing experience I’m keen to repeat very soon!”