Top
Contact
Register

 Join Us on Facebook!

               

"Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph." – Matt Hardy

  

"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it."  -  Author Unknown

 

"A man’s heart away from nature becomes hard; lack of respect for growing, living things soon leads to a lack of respect for humans too."  – Luther Standing Bear

 

"Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow." – Imogen Cunningham

 

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."  - Ansel Adams

 

"When you follow your bliss….doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn’t be a door for anyone else."  - Joseph Campbell

 

"You can outdistance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you." – Rwandan Proverb

 

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

"Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."  -  Pablo Picasso

 

"We have been taught to believe that negative equals realistic and positive equals unrealistic."  -  Susan Jeffers

 

"Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous.  That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor."  -  Paul Hawken

 

"Satisfaction of one's curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life."  -  Linus Pauling

 

Student/Teacher Ratio

Our workshops are limited to a 7:1 student to teacher ratio.  At no time will there be more than 14 students in a workshop. Our students pay good money to participate in a workshop so it is important to have a skilled and knowledgeable instructor to pay attention to their specific questions and concerns.

 

Transportation

Getting There:

Workshop fees cover tuition expenses only.  Travel to and from the workshop must be arranged by the participant. Major airports service all of our workshop destinations.

 

During the Workshop:

Participants must also arrange for their own travel during the course of the workshop.  Most participants rent vehicles for their travels during the workshop.  There are major rental car companies available at or near all airports servicing the areas for our workshops.  

We often require that workshop participants carpool during the workshop as often there is very limited space for vehicles at some of the shooting locations. For this reason we suggest to participants that they share a rental car and it's expenses throughout the course of the workshop.  You will be provided with a list of people who wish to carpool and you will be able to contact each other to make arrangements if you so wish. 

Parking:

Unless otherwise noted, there is free parking at all of the hotel facilities we use for our workshops.

Lodging

Participants are responsible for their own lodging during the workshop.  Each workshop lists the hotel(s) where the workshop will be hosted.  We block out a number of rooms in the name of Natural Connections Photo Workshops and participants should contact the specific hotel to make reservations.   Most of the room blocks will be released by the hotel 60 days prior to the workshop start date.  After that point, you may make a reservation on an as-available basis only.  Most of our workshop locations are very popular destinations and hotels tend to fill up quickly.  For this reason, we suggest you book your hotel as soon as you decide on attending the workshop.  All of the hotels have reasonable cancellation policies, and you will get a full refund of any lodging deposit normally if you cancel within 72 hours.  Please check the specific hotel for their cancellation policy prior to booking.

As with transportation, some participants wish to share lodging expenses.  Those who wish to share a room with another participant and who notify us of this will be provided a list of other participants who wish to share a room.  You will be able to contact each other to make arrangements if you so wish. 

Meals

Participants are responsible for their own meals during the workshop.  Your instructors will give ample information about your schedule so that you may plan your meals accordingly.  Often a group meal or two will be planned by your instructors but is completely voluntary for each participant. 

 

Trip Cancellation

By Us:

Natural Connections Photo Workshops reserves the right to cancel a workshop for reasons that include, but are not limited to lack of enrollment, acts of God, natural disasters (such as fire, flood, etc).  We are not responsible for any incidental or consequential expenses or damages that you may incur as a result of the cancellation of a workshop.  Due to this, we suggest that you not book your flight more than 60 days prior to the workshop start date in order to minimize the risk of non-refundable expenses.  When booking your flight, you may wish to consider booking refundable flights and/or purchasing trip insurance to cover any potential and non-refundable expenses.

By You:

Each workshop has a different date by which there will be no refunds issued in the event of your cancellation. (See each individual workshop page for the relevant workshop's cancellation period.)  If you cancel after you have paid your deposit but before the balance due date, then we will refund your deposit plus any other monies paid minus a $150 administration fee.  We do not issue refunds after the final balance due date.  This is the date by which we have to notify the hotels about whether the workshop will be cancelled due to insufficient attendance or whether it will continue as planned.  If you cancel after the balance due date and are not able to receive a refund, we will transfer your payment to another workshop being run at a later date if you so choose. If the cost of the new workshop is the same price or less, you will owe no further payment.  If the new workshop fee is higher than the payment you have already made, then you will only owe the difference between the two workshop fees.   

Note:  There is one exception to the above no refunds rule.  If there is a waiting list for the workshop, and someone is able to take your place in the workshop, then you will receive a full refund of monies paid minus a $100 administration fee. 

 

 

Wait List

Workshops at these prices fill up rather quickly.  We do keep a wait list for those who are interested in attending a workshop that has been filled to maximum capacity.  If we receive a cancellation for a workshop, we will contact the person next in line to offer them the spot.  That person will have two (2) days to notify us if they wish to accept the open position.  If we do not hear from that person within two days we will offer the spot to the next person on the list, and so forth.

 

Additional Fees

 

In some instances there will be additional fees associated with the trip.  We will make you aware of any such fees before the workshop.  An example of this would be National Park Pass fees.  Most National Parks charge $25 for a 7 day pass.  Unless otherwise noted, these are the only fees associated with our workshops that are not included in the cost of tuition.

 

Who May Attend?

 

Natural Connections Photo Workshops are open to anyone 18 or older.  

 

Health Considerations

Most of our workshops are not extremely strenuous, but they do require some physical activity.  Participants should be able to walk up to two miles with gear in environments that include high altitudes, paved and unpaved paths which may or may not have uneven walking surfaces.  Some workshops may even require walking in areas where there are no pre-made paths.  It is very important that you are able to assess your ability to embark on any shoot that requires any amount of physical exertion.  Every workshop is different since every workshop is held in a different area of the country.  If you have questions about specific physical activities please do not hesitate to contact us with your concerns.

 

Itinerary Changes

We reserve the right to make changes to any published or unpublished itineraries whenever, in our judgment, it serves to better or enhance the workshop experience.  These changes may be due to a change in circumstances within any venue hosting the workshop, inclement weather, impassable roads, flower or fall color conditions, fire, flood, etc. Any change made to a workshop schedule will be done only to ensure our participants receive the best workshop experience possible.