Terms and conditions for VTPhotoTours Workshops and Tours:

1. Your satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back.
   (Refunds must be requested before the end of the Tour or before the Workshop ends and are only available for the “Booking Fee” and for services you paid VTPhotoTours for. VTPhotoTours shall not be held responsible for the weather and will not refund lodging, airfare, travel insurance or any other expenses.)

2. Tour availability: We’re often fully booked during the peak season and cannot guarantee availability so please plan ahead and reserve your spot at least 15 days prior to your visit. If you were unable to pre-plan your trip you’re welcome to call and see if we have any last minute cancellations or openings but we’ll have to add a “no-advance-notice-fee” of $10 per person, per day and require full payment at the time of booking.

   Workshop availability: Our workshops are strictly limited to the specified number of persons and fill fast so it’s important to reserve your place as soon as the Workshops is announced. Once fully booked, we start a waiting list incase of cancelations.

3. Booking Tours or Workshops and Cancellations:

   A Booking Fee is required to reserve your space for all Tours and Workshops.

   For Workshops: The Booking Fee is 50% of the total fee and is due 60 days prior to the Workshop. If you should cancel after that time, the Booking Fee will be forfeit and the remainder will be refunded only if we are able to fill the spot from the Workshop’s waiting list. The balance is due 35 days* prior to Workshop’s start date.

   For Tours: The Booking Fee is 50% of the total fee and is due 15 days* prior to the Tour. If you should cancel after that time, the Booking Fee will be forfeit and the remainder will be refunded only if we are able to book another Tour for that day. The balance is due 7 days* prior to the start of the Tour.

   Cancellation policy: You must notify us by email if you are withdrawing from a Workshop or Tour and we will confirm receipt by email. The date of your email shall be deemed the date of notification. If you don’t receive a confirmation from us within a few hours please resend your email and/or call us to insure it wasn’t blocked by ISP spamfilters.

   We reserve the right to cancel any Tour or Workshop for any reason. If we cancel a Tour or Workshop, we will refund all payments made by you however, as there are many other wonderful things to do in Vermont, we shall not be responsible for any expenses incurred by you, including, but not limited, to travel costs, airfare, rental car costs, lodging, travel insurance, etc. We strongly urge you to obtain travel insurance.

4. Payment terms: Booking fees and final payments maybe made online by credit card via Google Checkout or PayPal. We accept checks* by mail to VTPhotoTours, 150 Dorset St #305, South Burlington, VT 05403. Credit cards and cash are also accepted in person.

   *We cannot accept checks or traveler’s checks within 35 days of the workshop or tour. Only US funds are accepted.

5. The following is included in every Tour and Workshop:

   1. Personalized photography instruction and guidance throughout the trip by Steve Mermelstein.

   2. Ground transportation from agreed on departure location during the Tour or Workshop.

   3. Specific admissions listed as included in the Tour or Workshop’s literature.

   4. During the Tour or Workshop, Participants will have shared access to the following items that we stock our vehicles with: Tissues, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, bug repellant, toilet paper, towels, tarps, garbage bags, ziplock bags, a first-aid kit, emergency-supplies, reflectors, 6-foot light-stands with flash shoe-mount brackets, umbrellas, a doghouse wildlife blind, and a 3-step ladder. We also offer some photography equipment available for rental at an additional charge.

   
   The following is not included:

   1. Transportation to the Workshop or to the Tour’s departure location is the Participant’s responsibility.

   2. Unless specifically listed as included in the Tour or Workshop’s literature; Lodging, food, drinks, alcoholic beverages, personal items, souvenirs, park admission fees, private toll road admission fees, and any other expense, charge or fee is not included.

   3. Participants are personally responsible for maintaining and keeping current their prescriptions, inoculations, health, and dietary regime.
      Participants should be physically fit and must not know of any medical or health reason why they should not participate in the Tour or Workshop.

   4. Participants are personally responsible for the care, safety of, transportation, repair, or replacement of their equipment and any equipment they borrow or rent from VTPhotoTours or other Participants. We strongly urge you to obtain equipment insurance.

6. Workshop late arrival policy: Participants who arrive late for Workshops or Workshop excursions are personally responsible for contacting the group leader and catching up with the rest of the group as it wouldn’t be fair to make the other participants wait for you to arrive. Late Participants are expected to arrange for (and pay for) any additional transportation required to catch up with the group.

7. We’ll be fair regarding GPS devices, as long as Participants promise to be fair too!

   Participants are welcome to use cameras with built-in GPS or use GPS devices which record where an image was taken. However, Participants may not irreparably damage our business by using a GPS device to log or record VTPhotoTour’s trade secret and proprietary routes and stop locations. Participants shall not share, distribute, post or publish a log, record, listing, description or any account of our stop locations and routes or use them for any commercial purpose.

8. Participants may not posses any illicit or illegal drugs, firearms, weapons, or items and must comply with all laws.

9. While in our vehicles, Participants must wear their seatbelt and stay seated while the vehicle is in motion.

10. Participants may eat and drink in our vehicles but they may not have any open alcoholic beverages in the vehicle at any time. Participants shall be responsible for cleaning up any messes they make.

11. By law, smoking is prohibited in our vehicles and all indoors locations in Vermont. Smoking is permitted at outdoor stops where local ordinances permit and only if it won’t have an affect on nearby wildlife. Participants must take care to prevent Forrest fires by carefully and fully extinguishing all cigarettes.

12. Please respect our beautiful state by not leaving behind any cigarette butts or any other garbage.

13. Participants must follow the ABA Code of Ethics during all Tours and Workshops.

14. We do not have any age restrictions however we strongly recommend you leave your family at the hotel or on another activity unless they’re into photography as much as you. As you know, children get bored pretty quickly and may distract you from making all the images you want to make. VTPhotoTours cannot be held responsible for this.

    ALL additional guests are required to be booked and paid for even if they don’t plan on photographing or receiving instruction.

    You’ll need to bring an approved child restraint for children under 8 years of age; please see Vermont Child Restraint Laws.

    We’re also unable to perform as a babysitter during the tour; you are solely responsible for the supervision and care of your children throughout the entire tour.

15. By enrolling and participating in a Tour or Workshop you must be aware that you will have to accept certain risks. All travel, wherever it may be and by whatever means, involves some inherent risk of injury, illness, death, loss, or damage to personal property, which may be caused by forces of nature, negligence or actions of others, or other agencies. Participants agree to assume all risk of personal injury. Participants agree to attend our Workshops and use our Tours at their sole risk.

16. Before Participants book a Tour or Workshop with VTPhotoTours they are given a link or URL to these Terms on all emails and correspondence. Participants are also required to complete a questionnaire which asks if the Participant carefully read and fully understood this agreement. Submission of the questionnaire constitutes acceptance of these Terms and that these Terms are a binding legal contract. These Terms incorporates the entire understanding of the parties. Any modifications to the Terms must be in writing and signed by both parties. Participants also agree that this contract is severable, in other words, that if any part of this contract is held by a court of law to be unenforceable, the rest of the contract shall survive.