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Bluewater Travel

Bluewater Travel is the world's premiere dive travel agency for scuba, whale snorkeling, & wildlife safaris

The best deals on underwater camera equipment, dive travel and photo workshops.

01/03/2025

🔥😱 Get 5% OFF + FREE NITROX!

📍Indonesia

🇮🇩 Scuba diving in Indonesia is simply a must for any avid diver. Hosting over 25% of the world’s fish species, as well as over 72% of the worldwide coral species, Indonesia is often cited as the world's epicenter of biodiversity with the greatest marine life variety ever recorded on earth, alongside the Philippines and a small number of other Coral Triangle destinations.

We’ve teamed up with liveaboards in Indonesia to give you this exclusive Bluewater special!
🛥️🇮🇩 A little bit about this liveaboard: The Gaia Love is a modern 40 meters steel hull vessel build from the ground up in Batam, Indonesia. It is purpose built to sail and explore the far reaching regions of Indonesia. Designed with a modern contemporary look with an emphasis for diving in comfort, she can accommodate up to 22 guests in 11 spacious ensuite rooms

🔊 Comment “Indonesia!” and we’ll send the details your way!

📸Images captured by Katie Yonker, Nirupam Nigam, Bryan Blauvelt and Erik Lukas

01/03/2025

👇🔥Have a look at our favorite BCDs and why!

01/02/2025

🇲🇽 Explore Baja in October 2025! Swipe for details! 🇲🇽

This trip includes:
✅ FREE daily photo workshops
✅ 16% Mexican tax
✅ Port fees
✅ Activities included: Diving, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling & several land excursions exploring small towns & missions
✅ Three meals per day, snacks, beverages including soft drinks, juice, domestic beer & wine
✅ 3-4 dives per day; tanks, weights & weight belts are provided

📣 “If you were to look up the phrase “when the stars align” in the Cambridge English Dictionary you’d find the definition to an idiom “that means a situation is very lucky or good, or that everything has come together perfectly for something to happen”. This is the idiom which best captures our recent Bluewater Travel Explore Baja [2024] Trip on the Rocio Del Mar…As the Rocio Del Mar neared the end of our Bluewater voyage, it was time for a long dash to Bahia De Los Angeles for a swim with the resident whale sharks. Again, as good juju would have it, the bay was smooth and the water warm and clear for a morning session with several amenable juvenile whale sharks our panga guides found for our divers. Having completed five trips to Bahia De Los Angeles on the Rocio Del Mar over the last decade, this was, by far, the best whale shark swim I had experienced. So “chill” were the animals, that our swimmers all had long, comfortable swims alongside these majestic fish. Swimmers returned to the pangas only after having to be recalled by our guides to allow others an opportunity to swim with the 5-meter animals!” – Mark Hatter, trip leader

🎉 To read about our 2024 Explore Baja trip, comment “Baja!” and we’ll send it your way!
🎉 If you’d like details on our 2025 Explore Baja trip, comment “Group Trip” and we’ll send it your way!

01/01/2025

🇵🇬 Diving in Papua New Guinea! 🇵🇬

👋 Welcome to Episode 36 of our 50 Amazing Adventures & Happy New Year to everyone!

🐟✨ The diving in Papua New Guinea is centered around Milne Bay and Tufi in the east (Solomon & Coral Seas), Kimbe Bay and Rabaul in New Britain (Bismarck & Solomon Seas), and Kavieng town in New Ireland in the north. Divers and underwater photographers flock to Papua New Guinea to see its coral atolls and walls, WWII wrecks, barrier reefs and many other wide-angle and macro photography underwater subjects that the Indo-Pacific is famous for.

🔥 Papua New Guinea is also famous for its indigenous cultures with over 800 languages and for having the largest area of intact rainforest outside the Amazon. If you ever decide to dive the PNG, including a land tour to see the local tribes is a MUST!

📰 To read our destination guide which includes marine life, best dive sites, best time to dive, diving conditions, how to get there, how to dive the area and more practical information, comment “DIVE GUIDE!” and we’ll send it your way!

📹 : Laura & Peter Taylor & Mark Strickland

12/31/2024

🤫 3 tips for better underwater macro!

📍 These images were taken in Anilao - one of our favorite destinations for muck & macro diving!

👀 Underwater macro photography takes us deep inside the reef, exploring the nuances of a complex, symbiotic ecosystem that many divers swim right past. The inhabitants of this world display the shapes, colors, patterns and textures that inspire even the most radical of sci fi junkies, and it’s our privilege to document those critters and show them to the world.

The basics of our three tips:
1️⃣ Focus on the eye of your subject. Sometimes it's easier to start in auto focus single mode, lock your focs and reposition that camera slightly.

2️⃣ Shoot up! Even with macro photography, you should try to get level with or below your subject. This will make for a more dramatic composition....unless you're photographing texture which often looks good from above.

3️⃣Play with your lighting. Underwater macro photography is all about using your artificial strobe lighting to tell a story. Maybe you need to make a dramatic spotlight with a snoot. Or maybe you need your subject to glow by pointing your strobes inward. Get creative!

🔊 Read the full article for more information on these tips! Comment “photo!” and we’ll send the article your way!

📸 Erik Lukas, Dan Bishop & Nirupam Nigam

12/27/2024

👇Some tips for capturing that perfect mandarin photo!

✈️ Comment "photo!" and we'll send the full article your way!

12/26/2024

🐧 Antarctica in 2026! Swipe for details! 🐧

This trip includes:
✅ All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship, including snacks, coffee and tea.
✅ All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
✅ Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
✅ Free use of rubber boots and snowshoes.
✅ Luggage transfer from pick-up point to the vessel on the day of embarkation, in Ushuaia.
✅ Pre-scheduled group transfer from the vessel to the airport in Ushuaia (directly after disembarkation).
✅ All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
✅ AECO fees and governmental taxes.

📣 “Wow! This bucket list trip does not disappoint. There are so many highlights I don't know where to start. Antarctica is one of the most remote and picturesque places on the planet so even non-divers can have a fantastic trip. Divers need to be experienced diving in drysuits in cold water, but the payoff is huge. Diving on large icebergs and seeing penguins and leopard seals underwater is one of the most unique things I have ever done. Everything from back rolling off the zodiac in the snow to descending next to an iceberg to playing with leopard seals underwater to ascending next to a penguin colony is absolutely magical.” – Tim Yeo, Bluewater COO & General Manager.

🎉 To read about our 2023 Antarctica trip, comment “Antarctica!” and we’ll send it your way!
🎉 If you’d like details on our 2026 Antarctica trip, comment “Group Trip” and we’ll send it your way!

12/25/2024

🎄👋 As the year comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the incredible moments we’ve shared under the waves and across the globe. From epic dives to unforgettable adventures, none of it would be the same without you – our amazing dive community.

💙 Thank you for your passion, your love for the ocean, and your support. Here’s to making waves together in the year ahead!

🎁 Happy Holidays from all of us at Bluewater Dive Travel, Bluewater Photo Store & The Underwater Photography Guide! 🥂

🔊What was your favorite dive memory from this year, or let us know where you’re hoping to explore in 2025!

12/24/2024

😱 One of our 2024 highlights!

📍 Fakarava, French Polynesia

☁️ Every year, the Grouper Spawning occurs in Fakarava Atoll, where numerous groupers of different species come together. The primary gathering spot for these groupers is the southern pass, which connects the lagoon to the open ocean. During this event, female groupers release millions of eggs, and the males release clouds of s***m, ensuring successful fertilization.

🦈 This spawning event is essential for sustaining grouper populations and also attracts various marine predators and scavengers. Sharks, barracudas, and other predatory fish often gather in large numbers to capitalize on the abundant food available during the spawning season.

🤿 We have dates and prices for those interested in our 2027 Grouper Spawning Group Trip!

👋 Comment “Group Trip!” if you’d like more info on our 2027 Group Trip and we’ll reach out to you to get your details! Or comment “Fakarava” if you’d like to read up more on the destination!

📣 “The Bluewater Photo workshop at Fakarava & Rangiroa this month was a huge success. The trip was timed for the annual Fakarava grouper spawning. Not only did we find the thousands of spawning groupers we were looking for, but we found the infamous wall of sharks as well. There’s nothing like swimming next to hundreds of gray reef sharks. Fakarava was awesome, and Rangiroa was also great, with Silvertip sharks, barracuda, dolphins, and plenty of gray reef sharks.” - Scott Gietler, Bluewater Travel & Bluewater Photo Founder.

12/24/2024

🤩 Images from our last group trip of 2024!

📍Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Check out these incredible images by Dan Bishop Photography 👇👏

12/22/2024

🦈 Massive schools of sharks, manta rays, loads of critters and whales all in one year?

As the year comes to an end, we look back at our 2024 group trips, appreciate all of these incredible memories and get excited about making more. 🐟✨

We had an epic year - this is what some of our group trips looked like:
✅ Raja Ampat, Indonesia
✅ Sea of Cortez, Mexico
✅ Galapagos, Ecuador
✅ Dumaguete, Philippines
✅ San Ignacio, Mexico
✅ Svalbard, Norway
✅ Komodo, Indonesia
✅ Lembeh, Indonesia
✅ Tanzania
✅ Bali, Indonesia
✅ Cozumel, Mexico
✅ Socorro, Mexico
✅ Moorea, French Polynesia
✅ Anilao, Philippines
✅ Fakarava, French Polynesia
✅ Fiji
Not to mention MANY other expeditions and solo trips! We’re gearing up for an even more epic 2025 and we’d love for you to join us on these trips! 🔥

Comment the destination you want to experience and we’ll send details your way! 🐋

12/20/2024

👇 Have a look at our top wreck diving spots!

📣 Comment “wreck” and we’ll send you the full article!

12/19/2024

🤫 Socorro was a trip of a lifetime! This is what it was really like!

🤩 The Socorro Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s most iconic diving destinations, promises breathtaking encounters with marine giants and vibrant underwater life. Our group’s 10-day liveaboard journey during November 10-19, 2024, proved to be an adventure of a lifetime.

🔥 This trip was a warm water trip which brings slightly different marine life than our February trips: November's warm water season offers encounters with manta rays, whale sharks, and various shark species, while the cooler water season from late January to April provides opportunities to see humpback whales, dolphins, and schooling hammerhead sharks.

📣 “The underwater scenery was breathtaking, with rocky and sandy terrain teeming with marine life. Over four dives, we encountered dolphins, majestic chevron and black mantas, and an array of sharks, including white-tip reef, silvertip, Galapagos, hammerhead, and even a tiger shark. The conditions were great: 60-foot visibility, warm water (77-79°F), and minimal currents..” – Tim Yeo, General Manager

🎉 To read about our recent Socorro trip, comment “Socorro!” and we’ll send it your way!

12/18/2024

👋👇 5 steps to great wide angle underwater photos!
1️⃣ Get a wide-angle lens (a fisheye lens is best for reefscapes and a rectilinear wide lens is best for sharks, dolphins, and other big animals)
2️⃣ Balance your strobe light with your ambient light. The more sun, the more strobe light you need!
3️⃣ Shutter speed can be used to control your background color without affecting your strobe exposure
4️⃣ Practice! Start with ambient light, then practice lighting with strobes, then put the two together!
5️⃣ Get close and shoot up! Shooting towards the sun will give you a dramatic background

🔊 Read our article which includes wide angle tips, gear, camera settings, lighting and strobes, underwater composition and loads more here: https://www.uwphotographyguide.com/wide-angle-photography

📷 Mark Strickland and Katie Yonker
📍 Raja Ampat, Indonesia

12/17/2024

🤩 10 of our favorite images by our trip leaders from 2024 trips! Which is your favorite?

1️⃣ Tim’s selfie with a manta ray in Socorro, Mexico
2️⃣ Coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) in Anilao, Philippines by Erik Lukas
3️⃣ Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador by Tim Yeo
4️⃣ Mandarin fish (Synchiropus splendidus) in Anda, Bohol by Nirupam Nigam
5️⃣ Nudibranch and emperor shrimp (Periclimenes imperator) in Lembeh, Indonesia by Dan Bishop
6️⃣ A walrus in Svalbard, Norway by Tim Yeo
7️⃣ A humpback whale in Moorea, French Polynesia by Mark Hatter
8️⃣ An elephant in Tanzania by Mike Chiado
9️⃣ Stingray City in Moorea, French Polynesia by Paul Vukovich
🔟 Grouper spawning in Fakarava, French Polynesia by Tim Yeo

Comment “group trips!’ if you’d like to see which trips 2025 holds!

12/15/2024

📸 Welcome to Episode 35: Roatan, Honduras!

🔊 "Just two more days of diving in paradise before we head back to our realities. Next stop, Mary's Place. Located on the southern side of Roatan, this dive site is considered to be a world-class diving destination. The topography of Mary's Place is absolutely breathtaking! We swam through a narrow crevice between the deep coral canyons that are adorned with colorful coral outcroppings made up of giant tube and barrel sponges and gorgonians. We also found spotted drums, creole wrasse, and other reef fish living in the coral heads in the shallows. As much as I wanted to stay at Mary's Place, I was excited to see what was in-store for us at our next location, Mr. Bud's. Mr. Bud's is a 75ft cargo ship that was intentionally sunk and set upright next to a reef. In the main room, lives a small school of silversides. We had a blast swimming through them to watch them undulate in synchrony. At the base of the bow, we found a large Green Moray Eel. We were so focused on the eel that we barely noticed a Yellow Long Snout seahorse gliding gracefully from one carnation coral to the next. Moments later, we found another brown one tethered to a coral in the reef. The sandy bottom was also home to Yellow Head jawfish, and a very large mantis shrimp. During the night, the octopuses came out of their dens and were easily spotted. Mr. Bud's was a fun dive!" - Romona Robbins, trip leader.

🔗 Comment “Roatan” to read about marine life & environment, top dive sites, diving conditions, how to get there, best time to dive and more practical information!

📹 Bill Barrett & Romona Robbins

12/13/2024

🇵🇭🤩 The hidden gem of the Philippines?! 👇

Comment “Philippines” and we’ll send you our dive guide for Bohol 🔥

12/11/2024

🐋 We offer up-close and personal interactions with Pacific Gray Whales!

📍San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico

✨ Our San Ignacio whale experience trip offers guests of all ages a chance to experience a deeply personal connection with these majestic creatures that will stay with you for a lifetime. Dates available in Jan, Feb, March and April 2025.

🔥 We are offering a 1-night FREE hotel room in Cabo San Lucas when you book a San Ignacio Gray Whale trip with us! 🔥

🤿 The experience is entirely on the whales’ terms, and mother whales have even been known to gently nudge their calves toward the boats, encouraging interactions with humans.

🔈 “To my sheer delight, however, within moments of reaching the observation area, we began to spot plumes of whale spouts. Much to our amazement, a frolicsome baby gray whale soon emerged, playfully approaching our boat as if inviting us to gently stroke its smooth skin. Indeed, the whale wanted to be petted like a puppy. She stayed with us and another boat for almost an hour, spending time between the two boats, spy hopping, swimming around the boat, and coming right up to us, lifting her head out of the water so we could pet her nose. All this was happening while mommy whale was hanging around on the surface about 50 feet away supervising. What an incredible experience.” - Tim Yeo, Bluewater Travel Manager, 2023.

Comment “Whales!” and we’ll send you a link with more info on this unique trip!

Address

3961 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA
90230

Telephone

+13109156677

Website

https://www.bluewaterdivetravel.com/, https://www.bluewaterphotostore.com/scuba-gear/

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Videos

🇵🇬 Diving in Papua New Guinea! 🇵🇬

🇵🇬 Diving in Papua New Guinea! 🇵🇬 👋 Welcome to Episode 36 of our 50 Amazing Adventures & Happy New Year to everyone! 🐟✨ The diving in Papua New Guinea is centered around Milne Bay and Tufi in the east (Solomon & Coral Seas), Kimbe Bay and Rabaul in New Britain (Bismarck & Solomon Seas), and Kavieng town in New Ireland in the north. Divers and underwater photographers flock to Papua New Guinea to see its coral atolls and walls, WWII wrecks, barrier reefs and many other wide-angle and macro photography underwater subjects that the Indo-Pacific is famous for. 🔥 Papua New Guinea is also famous for its indigenous cultures with over 800 languages and for having the largest area of intact rainforest outside the Amazon. If you ever decide to dive the PNG, including a land tour to see the local tribes is a MUST! 📰 To read our destination guide which includes marine life, best dive sites, best time to dive, diving conditions, how to get there, how to dive the area and more practical information, comment “DIVE GUIDE!” and we’ll send it your way! 📹 : Laura & Peter Taylor & Mark Strickland #bluewaterdivetravel #diveagency #divetrip #diving #scubadiving #scuba #underwater #underwaterphotography #travels #dive #travel #destination #photography #diver #bucketlisttrip #uwphotography #underwaterworld #bucketlist #scubadiver #scubadive #snorkeling #wreckdiving #marinelife #fish #adventure #sealife #underwaterphoto #papuanewguinea #PNG

🦈 Massive schools of sharks, manta rays, loads of critters and whales all in one year? As the year comes to an end, we look back at our 2024 group trips, appreciate all of these incredible memories and get excited about making more. 🐟✨ We had an epic year - this is what some of our group trips looked like: ✅ Raja Ampat, Indonesia ✅ Sea of Cortez, Mexico ✅ Galapagos, Ecuador ✅ Dumaguete, Philippines ✅ San Ignacio, Mexico ✅ Svalbard, Norway ✅ Komodo, Indonesia ✅ Lembeh, Indonesia ✅ Tanzania ✅ Bali, Indonesia ✅ Cozumel, Mexico ✅ Socorro, Mexico ✅ Moorea, French Polynesia ✅ Anilao, Philippines ✅ Fakarava, French Polynesia ✅ Fiji Not to mention MANY other expeditions and solo trips! We’re gearing up for an even more epic 2025 and we’d love for you to join us on these trips! 🔥 Comment the destination you want to experience and we’ll send details your way! 🐋 #Scubadiving #Underwater #DiveTrip #CheersTo2024 #Travel2025

🥹 Expect pristine beaches, clear warm waters, and rich and diverse marine life with plentiful dive options!

📸 Welcome to Episode 35: Roatan, Honduras! 🔊 "Just two more days of diving in paradise before we head back to our realities. Next stop, Mary's Place. Located on the southern side of Roatan, this dive site is considered to be a world-class diving destination. The topography of Mary's Place is absolutely breathtaking! We swam through a narrow crevice between the deep coral canyons that are adorned with colorful coral outcroppings made up of giant tube and barrel sponges and gorgonians. We also found spotted drums, creole wrasse, and other reef fish living in the coral heads in the shallows. As much as I wanted to stay at Mary's Place, I was excited to see what was in-store for us at our next location, Mr. Bud's. Mr. Bud's is a 75ft cargo ship that was intentionally sunk and set upright next to a reef. In the main room, lives a small school of silversides. We had a blast swimming through them to watch them undulate in synchrony. At the base of the bow, we found a large Green Moray Eel. We were so focused on the eel that we barely noticed a Yellow Long Snout seahorse gliding gracefully from one carnation coral to the next. Moments later, we found another brown one tethered to a coral in the reef. The sandy bottom was also home to Yellow Head jawfish, and a very large mantis shrimp. During the night, the octopuses came out of their dens and were easily spotted. Mr. Bud's was a fun dive!" - Romona Robbins, trip leader. 🔗 Comment “Roatan” to read about marine life & environment, top dive sites, diving conditions, how to get there, best time to dive and more practical information! 📹 Bill Barrett & Romona Robbins #Scubadiving #UnderwaterPhotography #softcoral #sharkdiving #diveinroatan #roatan #honduras #DiveGroupTrip

🦈 Our top 10 shark destinations! Where is your favorite? 🇨🇷 Cocos Island, Costa Rica 🇵🇫 French Polynesia 🇧🇸 Tiger Beach, The Bahamas 🇨🇴 Malpelo Island, Colombia 🇪🇨 Galapagos, Ecuador 🇦🇺 Neptune Islands, Australia 🇲🇽 Socorro Island, Mexico 🇵🇼 Palau 🇫🇯 Fiji 🇲🇻 The Maldives 🔥 If you’d like to read the destination guide for any of these destinations, comment the name of the destination on this post and we’ll send you all the details! #scubadiving #underwaterphotography #costarica #frenchpolynesia #bahamas #malpelo #galapagos #socorro #scubagrouptrip #divetrip #palau #fiji #maldives #cocosisland #sharkdiving