What Bluewater Photo does

Bluewater Photo is a privately-held, owner-operated specialty e-commerce retailer headquartered in Culver City, California, selling underwater photography equipment, scuba diving gear, and related accessories to recreational and professional consumers worldwide. Founded by owner Scott Gietler and operating for over a decade, the company runs a BigCommerce-powered direct-to-consumer storefront (bluewaterphotostore.com) carrying products from more than 100 brands including Nauticam, Ikelite, Sea & Sea, Marelux, Shearwater Research, Mares, Apeks, Aqualung, Garmin, Canon, Nikon, and Sony. The product catalog spans scuba equipment (BCDs, regulators, dive computers, wetsuits, fins, masks), underwater camera housings (for action, compact, DSLR, mirrorless, cinema, smartphone, and surf cameras), underwater lighting (strobes, focus lights, video lights), ports and lenses, and accessories, with price points ranging from approximately $4 for basic accessories to over $5,000 for professional cinema housings.

The business operates multiple revenue streams: (1) direct hardware sales through the e-commerce platform with international shipping, (2) a short-term equipment rental program covering cameras, housings, strobes, and production gear, and (3) photo workshops and dive travel packages offered through the affiliated Bluewater Dive Travel entity at destinations including Fiji, Lembeh, Anilao, Baja, and the Red Sea, priced from $99 to $4,895. The company has developed a small line of proprietary Bluewater-branded accessories (GoPro QR code setting cards, video lights, travel dry bags, microfiber poncho towels) to capture higher-margin private-label revenue. Free technical support from dive professionals, a price match guarantee, free shipping thresholds, and a 30-day return policy form the core customer-facing value proposition.

The go-to-market approach is content-led: comprehensive buyer guides, equipment reviews, tutorials, and SEO-optimized product category pages drive organic top-of-funnel traffic, while virtual consultations and live chat support mid-funnel conversion. The company maintains active social media presence on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube and runs email marketing. With a headcount of 1-10 employees, no disclosed funding, and no public revenue figures, Bluewater Photo operates as a bootstrapped specialty retailer rather than a venture-backed growth company, with strategic emphasis on niche expertise and customer education rather than scale or technology differentiation.

Name

Bluewater Photo

Legal name

Bluewater Photo

Website

https://bluewaterphotostore.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bluewater Photo is a Culver City, California-based specialty e-commerce retailer selling underwater photography equipment, scuba diving gear, and related accessories from 100+ brands, serving divers and underwater photographers worldwide through its DTC storefront, rental program, and affiliated dive travel workshops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Underwater Photography and Scuba Equipment Retail

SIC

Photographic Equipment & Supplies (3861)

akta.pro primary industry

Underwater & Protective Gear (Housings, Cases, Cages, Rain Covers) (CRACAPAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Diving & Snorkeling Retail (Scuba Gear) (CRAMAIAF)

Keywords

• Underwater photography equipment
• Scuba diving gear
• Underwater camera housings
• Dive travel packages
• Underwater lighting systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Culver City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: One-time purchase revenue from selling underwater photography equipment, scuba gear, cameras, housings, lighting, lenses, and accessories through their e-commerce platform. Products range from entry-level GoPro accessories to professional cinema camera housings priced over $5,000.
2. Equipment Rentals: Short-term rental of underwater photography equipment including monitor rentals, production rentals, mirrorless housing rentals, compact camera rentals, GoPro rentals, and lens rentals for customers who want to try equipment before buying or for one-off projects.
3. Photography Workshops and Travel: Photo workshops and dive travel packages sold through Bluewater Dive Travel (affiliated company), including destinations like Fiji, Lembeh, Anilao, Baja, and Sea of Cortez with prices ranging from $2,059 to $4,895 per trip.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bluewater Photo is an e-commerce retailer that sells specialized underwater photography equipment, scuba diving gear, and accessories to consumers. The company curates a catalog of over 100 brands including camera housings, underwater strobes and lights, dive computers, regulators, BCDs, wetsuits, masks, fins, ports, lenses, and GoPro accessories. In addition to retail sales, it offers short-term equipment rentals, underwater photography workshops, and dive travel packages through an affiliated Bluewater Dive Travel entity.

Product overview

Bluewater Photo operates as an e-commerce retailer offering a comprehensive underwater photography and scuba diving equipment portfolio. The core product lines include underwater camera housings for various camera types (action, compact, DSLR, mirrorless, cinema, smartphone, surf, and video), underwater lighting solutions (strobes, focus lights, video lights), and scuba diving gear (BCDs, regulators, dive computers, wetsuits, fins, masks). The company also offers proprietary Bluewater-branded accessories including GoPro QR code cards, GoPro video lights, travel dry bags, and microfiber poncho towels. Additional services include equipment rentals, underwater photography workshops and dive travel packages, and educational resources such as buyer's guides and reviews. The company carries multiple sub-brands including Mares, Shearwater Research, Garmin, Sea & Sea, Marelux, Cressi, Apeks, and others for specialized equipment categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scuba Gear Comprehensive range of scuba diving equipment including BCDs, regulators, dive computers, wetsuits, fins, masks, gloves, boots, hoods, dry suits, dive lights, and dive gear bags, sold to recreational and technical scuba divers.
• Underwater Camera Housings Waterproof housings for action cameras, cinema cameras, compact cameras, DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, smartphones, surf housings, video housings, and external monitors, sold to underwater photographers and videographers.
• Underwater Lighting Underwater strobes, focus lights, video lights, specialty lights, strobe packages, and light accessories for underwater photography illumination.
• Underwater Cameras Action cameras, cinema cameras, compact cameras, mirrorless cameras, and ROV systems designed for underwater use.
• Underwater Ports and Lenses Underwater lens ports (compact, DSLR, mirrorless), zoom and focus gears, extension rings, wet macro lenses, wet wide lenses, filters, and lens adapters.
• Underwater Accessories Arms and trays, clamps and ball mounts, floats and float arms, batteries, memory cards, monitors, O-rings, strobe accessories, camera care products, travel gear, GoPro accessories, polecams, fluoro equipment, and supermacro tools.
• GoPro Underwater Products GoPro underwater housings, dive housing, trays, mounts, filters, and packages specifically designed for GoPro action cameras underwater use.
• Camera and Dive Packages Bundled underwater photography packages combining cameras, housings, strobes, and accessories for different camera types (compact, DSLR, mirrorless, action cameras).
• Equipment Rentals Short-term rental program for underwater monitors, production equipment, mirrorless housings, compact cameras, GoPro cameras, ports and extensions, video lights, underwater strobes, lenses, and accessories, allowing customers to test gear before purchase or for one-off projects.
• Photo Workshops and Dive Travel Underwater photography workshops and dive travel packages to destinations including Fiji, Lembeh, Anilao, Sea of Cortez, Baja, and Red Sea, priced from $99 to $4,895 per trip, offered through affiliated Bluewater Dive Travel.
• Bluewater GoPro QR Code Cards Bluewater-branded QR code cards for underwater video settings on GoPro Hero 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 cameras.
• Bluewater GoPro Video Light Bluewater-branded video light designed for GoPro underwater video illumination.
• Bluewater Travel Dry Bags Bluewater-branded dry bags for protecting dive and photo gear during travel.
• Bluewater Microfiber Dive Changing Poncho Towel Bluewater-branded microfiber poncho towel for changing after dives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free shipping on dive gear orders over $50 and all orders over $200 to US and Canada
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bluewater Dive TravelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated company offering underwater photography workshops and dive travel packages. Bluewater Photo customers can book trips to destinations like Fiji, Lembeh, Anilao, Baja, Sea of Cortez, and Red Sea. Workshops range from macro critter photography in Indonesia to shark encounters in Socorro. The partnership provides a complete ecosystem for underwater photographers from education to travel.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Scuba.com: Long-established direct-to-consumer scuba gear retailer with broad multi-brand catalog and price-match guarantees. Comparable in scuba equipment retail, customer base (recreational divers), and policy positioning (free shipping thresholds, price matching).
• Backscatter: Specialty retailer focused on underwater photography and video equipment, with deep content, reviews, and rental programs. Directly comparable in product mix (housings, lighting, ports, lenses), customer base (underwater photographers), and content-led marketing approach.
• Leisure Pro: Online scuba and snorkeling equipment retailer carrying a broad multi-brand catalog. Closely comparable in scuba gear assortment, e-commerce-only distribution model, and price-led positioning, though lighter on the photography-specialist content angle.
• Reef Photo & Video: Long-running specialty retailer of underwater photography and scuba diving equipment based in Florida. Comparable in product categories (housings, strobes, lenses, dive gear), target customer (recreational and pro underwater photographers), and educational content emphasis.

Broad incumbents

• B&H Photo Video: Large multi-category electronics and camera retailer carrying underwater housings, lighting, and dive-adjacent gear. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same product SKUs (housings, lights, cameras) at scale, though without specialist underwater content or rental programs.
• Ikelite: US-based underwater housing and lighting manufacturer with direct-to-consumer sales. Comparable as both a key brand stocked by Bluewater and a competing manufacturer-direct channel for housings, strobes, and accessories.
• Adorama: Major US electronics and camera retailer with a deep catalog that includes underwater photography gear and accessories. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing on price, selection, and fulfillment rather than specialist expertise.
• Amazon: Global mass-market e-commerce platform carrying underwater housings, dive gear, action cameras, and accessories from most brands in Bluewater's catalog. Comparable as the dominant alternative purchasing channel that exerts continuous price pressure on specialist retailers.
• Nauticam: Leading manufacturer of underwater camera housings that also sells direct to consumers. Overlaps with Bluewater as both a supplier brand and a competing direct channel for the same housings Bluewater retails.

Emerging players

• Dive Photo Guide: Underwater photography media and community platform with classifieds, news, and reviews. Adjacent to Bluewater's content-led motion — comparable in target audience (underwater photographers), while serving more as a content/community layer than a retailer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BluewaterPhotoStore
• Facebookfacebook.com/BluewaterPhotoStore
• Instagraminstagram.com/bluewaterphotostore
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bluewater-photo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bluewater Photo