Terms and Conditions
The stuff you really need to read…
1. Deposit
A non-refundable $150 deposit for all tours except 1/2 day tours is required at the time of your registration to hold your place in the photo tour. Deposits may be made with a check or credit card (Visa, Mastercard, or Discover). Quoted tour prices do not include New Mexico or any other applicable state sales tax.
The entire tour fee is required as a non-refundable deposit for 1/2 day tours only.
2. Balance
The balance of your tour price is due 90 days before the event. With your authorization, we automatically bill your credit card when the balance is due, or we expect a check for the balance on or before that date.
If the balance payment fails to process or is not received 90 days before the event, we will treat the reservation as cancelled and retain the deposit. If a reservation is made 60 days or less prior to the tour start date, the full amount is payable at the time of reservation, and is non-refundable as stated in the Withdrawal and Refund policy below. Also see Our right to cancel tours below.
We also require your signed Release Agreement and your Participant Profile form 90 days prior to the event for you to participate. If final payment and paperwork are not received when due, we reserve the right to cancel your reservation, per the Withdrawal and Refund policy below.
3. Release of Liability, Participant Profile, and Travel Packet
Within 48 hours of registration, you will receive a confirmation email for your reservation, and pdfs of your tour invoice, Release Agreement and Participant Profile form. These two forms must be completed, signed and returned to our office via email or mail 90 days before your tour begins. You will also receive a USPS-mailed Travel Packet, which includes a descriptive itinerary and detailed information about arrival and departure, area hotel recommendations, travel directions and a map, climate, clothing and gear, and passports and visa requirements if any.
It is the participant’s responsibility to obtain information about any risks involved. Active Light Photography LLC, and its agents, insurers, employees, volunteers and all other affiliated individuals are not liable for injury, accident or theft resulting from participation in our photo tours. The Release Agreement spells out Active Light Photography LLC’s liability limitations in detail, and takes precedence over any discrepancies with this page. Please read it before you sign!
4. Withdrawal and Refund policy
Group size is limited in our tours, and we count on your attendance once you have been accepted. If you must withdraw from a tour, we must receive written notice of your cancelation via USPS mail service.
If you withdraw more than 90 days before the tour starts, you will receive a refund of the tour fee less the nonrefundable deposit.
If you withdraw 60 to 90 days before the tour starts, you will receive a refund of 50% of the tour fee.
Withdrawals less than 60 days before the tour starts are non-refundable.
Note that your deposit is non-refundable. Exceptions to our withdrawal and refund policy cannot be made for any reason, including weather, terrorism, civil unrest or personal emergencies. There is no refund for arriving late or leaving a tour early. We highly recommend you purchase travel protection insurance for your tour and travel expenses.
5. Our right to cancel tours
We reserve the right to cancel tours in cases of force majeure or other uncontrollable conditions, in which case all payments received to date will be refunded, which constitutes full settlement. Active Light Photography is not responsible for expenses that are incurred in preparation for any canceled tours, including but not limited to airline tickets, or for costs that are incurred due to travel delays, flight cancellations or illness. We highly recommend travel protection insurance. Notification of cancellation will be made via e-mail and written, USPS-mailed notice to you at least 14 days prior to the beginning of a tour.
6. Force majeure is unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, such as war or the threat of war, riots, terrorist activity, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, flood or adverse weather conditions.
7. Guaranteed Price
Once you book an Active Light Photography tour, your price is guaranteed. The best prices are available for those participants who sign up early.
8. The tour description is an indication of what may take place, and not a contractual obligation. Tour participants must provide their own photography gear and computer. A vehicle is required for all photo tours, either your own or a rental vehicle.
9. Participant Responsibilities
Participants are responsible for: choosing a tour that suits their abilities, fitness level and state of health; providing the Active Light Photography office with a signed Release Agreement and a Participant Profile form prior to tour departure (participants will not be permitted to join a tour without this information on file); arriving at the tour start with the clothing and equipment recommended in the Travel Packet; respecting the laws and customs of locations visited; following environmental guidelines and regulations while on the tour in accordance with leader direction; and respecting the rights and privacy of other tour members. An individual may be asked to leave a tour if the leader feels that the person’s continuing participation may prove detrimental to the individual or to the well-being and enjoyment of other participants. We assume no responsibility for medical care.
10. Participant Photo-Video Release
Participants grant Active Light Photography express permission to take photographs or make film records of its tours for promotional and commercial use, as well as approving such use by third parties with whom Active Light Photography may engage in joint marketing, without financial remuneration.
11. No Liability for Delay or Interruption of Travel Services
Active Light Photography LLC does not accept liability for any loss or additional expense caused by delay or interruption of travel services through weather conditions, civil disturbance, industrial action, strikes, wars, floods or sickness. Such losses or additional expenses are the responsibility of the participant.
12. We Recommend Travel Protection Insurance
We highly recommend you purchase travel protection insurance for your tour and travel expenses. We suggest a plan which offers coverage for medical and dental emergencies, lost baggage, missed connections, and trip cancellation should you have a medical problem that prevents you from attending. Active Light Photography LLC is not responsible for cancellations due to medical emergencies or for reimbursement of non-refundable airline tickets in the event of a tour cancellation. For more information about travel protection insurance carriers, please see some possible carrier options here.
13. No smoking, illegal drugs, or alcohol are allowed in any of the meeting rooms or other indoor spaces used by Active Light Photography LLC or at any photo tour location, unless in a designated location.
14. By completing the Participant Profile, you are agreeing to accept all the above conditions. A separate Participant Profile is required for every individual on any tour.
Questions? email me - markb@activelightphotography.com
Can’t make a scheduled photo tour? Ask about a tour on your schedule. I can accommodate private tours with at least two participants. I’ll need at least a month’s advanced notice for Chaco Canyon and Tracking the Anasazi tours, and two weeks for everything else. Just call me at (408) 483-3782 to set up your private tour.
Because of extra planning and attention, private tour cost is 15% more than a scheduled tour, and subject to my availability.