Tony Ludovico Gallery
Topic:
One Breath at a Time!
A brilliant cobalt and turquoise mesh saturates
everything for miles. Natural lighting
trickles through the crusts of waves,
licking at the bronzed figure and reflecting off of
the creature in vivid, violet bursts. The enlarged,
inky pupil of an Atlantic sailfish stares you down
with an intensity that’s both epic
and beautiful.
This is a typical scene in Tony Ludovico’s life, freediving in some of the most exotic places in the world, always with a camera in hand. Tony, 50, recently opened his own South Tampa gallery, TonyH2O, allowing the public to experience this elusive beauty in it’s various forms and even bring it home.
An industry veteran that’s been a shooting pro for five years, Tony’s work brings you up close with species not often seen on a macro scale. By freediving in such places as the Galapagos Islands, Panama, Mexico and St. Petersburg, Tony holds his breath for up to five minutes at a time and simply waits, and then it happens. A migrating bait ball of sardines crosses paths with a migrating group of Atlantic sailfish and chaos erupts under the ocean’s calm demeanor. Tony snaps the shot.
“Fish are constantly moving, chasing bait their whole lives,” Tony says. “You have to travel somewhere really active and just wing it, finding signs of life such as floating debris or birds and work the area, continually making drops and waiting for the fish to show up.”
This form of photography is as organic as it can get and makes for some of the most astonishing, wildly colorful images imaginable, with a
product
that’s almost completely out of Tony’s hands.
“You’re at the mercy of mother nature, the bait,
the weather and currents,” he says.
Tony grew up outside of New York City and moved to Palm Beach when he was 18. His artistic passion was ignited when he caught his first fish, a kingfish, with his uncle on an offshore trip. From there he tried his hand at scuba diving, spear fishing and ultimately freediving. Tony’s desire to share the wonders he witnessed with others was carried out through his videography and eventually, his photography.
A trip to Tony’s gallery is similar to a visit to an exotic aquarium. The walls are lined with dozens of limited edition and reproduced prints, almost completely obscuring the black paint and wood panels. More than 70 ceiling lights cast a downward luminosity over the room, similar to the natural lighting found below the crest of the ocean. A spectrum of blue encompasses the space that features swordfish, mahi mahi, blackfin tuna and even sea
turtles thrashing
around, zipping by, chasing bait and just hanging
out. These are fish that Tony discovers up to
30 miles offshore, evasive species not typically
photographed. When it comes to Tony’s work
you don’t need to be an art buff to appreciate
the fine details; anyone who enjoys the fishing
lifestyle will love it.
“When they come to the gallery for the first time, most people can’t believe it’s a photograph they‘re looking at,” he says. “They are so used to seeing paintings, artist renditions of these fish that seeing the real thing puts them in awe.”
TonyH2O also features a series of products produced by Pelagic, one of the top clothing and gear manufactures in sports fishing. Boardshorts imitating the colors and patterns found on a dolphinfish, t-shirts, visors, duffel bags and cutting boards are just a few of the items sold in the gallery that also showcases Tony’s work. Located on 3405 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. TonyH2O is open Monday through Saturday, 11-7pm and on Sundays by appointment.
A brilliant cobalt and turquoise mesh saturates
everything for miles. Natural lighting
trickles through the crusts of waves,
licking at the bronzed figure and reflecting off of
the creature in vivid, violet bursts. The enlarged,
inky pupil of an Atlantic sailfish stares you down
with an intensity that’s both epic
and beautiful.This is a typical scene in Tony Ludovico’s life, freediving in some of the most exotic places in the world, always with a camera in hand. Tony, 50, recently opened his own South Tampa gallery, TonyH2O, allowing the public to experience this elusive beauty in it’s various forms and even bring it home.
An industry veteran that’s been a shooting pro for five years, Tony’s work brings you up close with species not often seen on a macro scale. By freediving in such places as the Galapagos Islands, Panama, Mexico and St. Petersburg, Tony holds his breath for up to five minutes at a time and simply waits, and then it happens. A migrating bait ball of sardines crosses paths with a migrating group of Atlantic sailfish and chaos erupts under the ocean’s calm demeanor. Tony snaps the shot.
“Fish are constantly moving, chasing bait their whole lives,” Tony says. “You have to travel somewhere really active and just wing it, finding signs of life such as floating debris or birds and work the area, continually making drops and waiting for the fish to show up.”
This form of photography is as organic as it can get and makes for some of the most astonishing, wildly colorful images imaginable, with a
product
that’s almost completely out of Tony’s hands.
“You’re at the mercy of mother nature, the bait,
the weather and currents,” he says.Tony grew up outside of New York City and moved to Palm Beach when he was 18. His artistic passion was ignited when he caught his first fish, a kingfish, with his uncle on an offshore trip. From there he tried his hand at scuba diving, spear fishing and ultimately freediving. Tony’s desire to share the wonders he witnessed with others was carried out through his videography and eventually, his photography.
A trip to Tony’s gallery is similar to a visit to an exotic aquarium. The walls are lined with dozens of limited edition and reproduced prints, almost completely obscuring the black paint and wood panels. More than 70 ceiling lights cast a downward luminosity over the room, similar to the natural lighting found below the crest of the ocean. A spectrum of blue encompasses the space that features swordfish, mahi mahi, blackfin tuna and even sea
turtles thrashing
around, zipping by, chasing bait and just hanging
out. These are fish that Tony discovers up to
30 miles offshore, evasive species not typically
photographed. When it comes to Tony’s work
you don’t need to be an art buff to appreciate
the fine details; anyone who enjoys the fishing
lifestyle will love it. “When they come to the gallery for the first time, most people can’t believe it’s a photograph they‘re looking at,” he says. “They are so used to seeing paintings, artist renditions of these fish that seeing the real thing puts them in awe.”
TonyH2O also features a series of products produced by Pelagic, one of the top clothing and gear manufactures in sports fishing. Boardshorts imitating the colors and patterns found on a dolphinfish, t-shirts, visors, duffel bags and cutting boards are just a few of the items sold in the gallery that also showcases Tony’s work. Located on 3405 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. TonyH2O is open Monday through Saturday, 11-7pm and on Sundays by appointment.
