Assumption of Risk, Release of Liability, Hold Harmless & Indemnification Agreement
PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE AGREEMENT BEFORE SIGNING IT.
This agreement contains important information about the risks involved in participating in a Captured Wilderness photography workshop and your responsibilities as a participant.
It also contains an assumption of risk, release of liability, hold harmless and indemnification agreement that may affect certain legal rights.
Do not sign this agreement if you do not understand it or do not agree with it. If anything is unclear, contact Captured Wilderness and ask for clarification before signing.
You are not required to give up your right to ask questions, decline an activity you consider unsafe, or make your own decisions about your personal safety.
By electronically signing and submitting the acknowledgment at the bottom of this page, you confirm that you have read this agreement in its entirety, understand it, have had an opportunity to ask questions, and voluntarily agree to its terms.
1. OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY INVOLVES PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Nature and wildlife photography takes place outdoors and may require physical effort.
Depending on the workshop and location, you may need to walk or stand for extended periods, carry camera equipment, climb or descend hills, and travel over grass, dirt, sand, mud, snow, ice, rocks, roots, stairs, boardwalks or other uneven surfaces.
Workshop locations may also include areas near lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, waterfalls, cliffs, steep slopes or other natural features.
You are responsible for deciding whether you are physically capable of participating in a workshop and safely navigating the location where it takes place.
Captured Wilderness does not determine your physical abilities for you.
If you have mobility limitations, use mobility equipment, or are uncertain whether the terrain or accessibility of a workshop is suitable for you, contact Captured Wilderness before booking. We will provide the information reasonably available about the expected terrain and accessibility so that you can make your own decision.
Captured Wilderness cannot guarantee that every location or photographic opportunity will be accessible to every participant or mobility device.
You are never required to attempt terrain or an activity that you believe is beyond your abilities or unsafe for you.
2. YOUR ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
Before booking, you are responsible for considering the expected physical requirements, terrain and environmental conditions of the workshop and deciding whether you are reasonably capable of participating.
Workshop places are limited. When you book a place, that position is reserved for you and may no longer be available for another customer to purchase.
If Captured Wilderness conducts the workshop as scheduled, no refund will be provided because you decide not to attend, change your mind, arrive and decide not to participate, discover that you are unable to participate, arrive late, or voluntarily leave before the workshop is completed.
This includes circumstances where the terrain, walking, physical activity, weather, environmental conditions or other disclosed requirements prove unsuitable for your individual abilities, preparation or comfort level.
You always retain the right to decline an activity or stop participating if you believe continuing would be unsafe or beyond your abilities.
Your decision to do so, however, does not create an entitlement to a refund.
Refunds, cancellations and transfers are governed by the separate Captured Wilderness Workshop Cancellation, Transfer & Refund Policy.
3. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH
You are responsible for determining whether your health and physical condition allow you to participate safely.
This includes considering any medical condition, injury, allergy, medication requirement, physical limitation or other health concern that could affect your participation.
You are responsible for carrying any medication, medical device or personal medical supplies that you may require.
Captured Wilderness does not provide medical supervision and cannot guarantee immediate access to emergency medical services, particularly at remote outdoor locations.
If an emergency occurs, Captured Wilderness may contact emergency services or provide reasonable assistance when circumstances permit.
You remain responsible for ambulance, rescue, evacuation, medical treatment or other expenses incurred on your behalf.
4. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS
Photography requires concentration.
When you are looking through a viewfinder, watching a subject, adjusting camera settings or composing an image, your attention may be focused on a relatively small area in front of you.
That does not remove your responsibility to remain aware of what is happening around you.
You are responsible for watching where you walk, stand, kneel, sit or place equipment and for maintaining reasonable awareness of terrain, water, wildlife, vehicles, other people and other potential hazards.
Captured Wilderness cannot continuously monitor every participant or warn you about every root, rock, hole, branch, slippery surface, animal, vehicle, person or other hazard around you.
You remain responsible for your own situational awareness.
5. YOUR CAMERA EQUIPMENT AND PROPERTY ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
Photography equipment can be expensive.
Your camera, lenses, tripod, bags, phone, clothing, vehicle and other personal property remain your responsibility throughout the workshop.
You are responsible for properly carrying, securing, storing and protecting your property.
Outdoor conditions may expose equipment to rain, snow, water, mud, sand, dust, heat, cold, impacts or other hazards.
Captured Wilderness is not responsible for loss, theft or damage to personal property resulting from ordinary participation in the workshop, environmental conditions, equipment failure, your actions, or the actions of another participant or third party, except to the extent responsibility cannot legally be excluded.
Do not leave equipment unattended simply because an instructor or other participants are nearby.
6. WEATHER IS UNPREDICTABLE
Outdoor photography is affected by weather.
Conditions may include heat, cold, rain, snow, ice, wind, thunderstorms, lightning, fog, rapidly changing temperatures or other environmental hazards.
Forecasts are not guarantees, and Captured Wilderness has no control over weather conditions.
You are responsible for checking expected conditions and arriving appropriately prepared for them.
Captured Wilderness may change, postpone, relocate, shorten or cancel a workshop when conditions are reasonably considered unsafe.
You are also responsible for deciding whether conditions remain safe for you personally.
You may stop participating at any time if you believe conditions exceed your abilities, preparation or comfort level. If the workshop itself continues as scheduled, your individual decision to stop participating does not create an entitlement to a refund.
7. DRESS AND PREPARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
You are responsible for wearing clothing and footwear appropriate for the location, terrain, season and expected conditions.
Depending on the workshop, appropriate personal equipment may include water, food, rain protection, cold-weather clothing, sun protection, insect protection, flashlights or headlamps and other outdoor necessities.
Outdoor activities may experience unexpected delays.
You are responsible for being reasonably prepared to take care of yourself if a workshop lasts longer than expected or returning from the location takes longer than planned.
8. WILDLIFE IS WILD
Wild animals are unpredictable.
They are not trained, domesticated or under the control of Captured Wilderness.
Wildlife may bite, sting, scratch, charge, kick, trample, strike, defend territory or young, transmit disease, or otherwise behave unpredictably and without warning.
Never assume that an animal is safe because it appears calm, accustomed to people, small, distant or uninterested in you.
Participants must maintain appropriate distances from wildlife and comply with applicable laws, park regulations and reasonable safety instructions.
Do not intentionally approach, pursue, chase, surround, corner, feed, bait, touch, handle, harass, disturb or provoke wildlife in an attempt to obtain a photograph or for any other reason.
If you voluntarily disregard these requirements and intentionally interact with or approach wildlife, you accept responsibility for the risks and consequences of that decision.
9. WATER, HEIGHTS AND DIFFICULT TERRAIN
Some photography locations may involve lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, waterfalls, shorelines, docks, bridges, steep slopes, rocks or elevated areas.
Surfaces near water can be wet, unstable or extremely slippery. Water depth, currents, waves and shoreline conditions can change unexpectedly.
A photographic opportunity is never an instruction to enter water, climb onto a rock, approach an edge, cross unsafe terrain or place yourself somewhere you believe is dangerous.
If an instructor identifies a possible composition, viewpoint or photographic position, you remain responsible for deciding whether you can reach or use that position safely.
You may always decline.
10. NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY HAS ADDITIONAL RISKS
Night Sky Photography Workshops take place during hours of darkness or reduced visibility.
Darkness makes terrain, obstacles, wildlife, weather conditions, vehicles, other people and equipment more difficult to see.
Nighttime temperatures and conditions may also differ significantly from those experienced during daylight hours.
Participants are responsible for bringing suitable lighting, clothing and other appropriate equipment and for exercising additional care when moving around after dark.
11. TRANSPORTATION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
Unless Captured Wilderness specifically agrees otherwise in writing, transportation to, from and between workshop locations is not provided.
You are responsible for your own vehicle, driving decisions, fuel, parking, tolls and transportation expenses.
If participants voluntarily choose to carpool or travel together, that arrangement is between those individuals and does not make Captured Wilderness responsible for their transportation.
Captured Wilderness is not responsible for vehicle accidents, breakdowns, towing, parking violations, vehicle damage or other transportation-related losses outside its legal responsibility.
12. FOLLOW THE LAW AND THE RULES OF THE LOCATION
All participants must comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and with the rules, regulations and restrictions of the park, property or other location where the workshop takes place.
This includes closed areas, wildlife regulations, parking restrictions, trail rules, permit conditions and other posted or communicated requirements.
A photograph is never justification for breaking the law or violating park or property rules.
If you violate a law or regulation, any ticket, fine, citation, penalty or other consequence resulting from your conduct is your responsibility.
Captured Wilderness may be required to obtain permits or authorization to provide commercial photography instruction at certain locations.
If your intentional, reckless, unlawful or prohibited conduct results in fines, penalties, claims, loss or suspension of permits, loss of access, or other direct financial loss to Captured Wilderness, you may be held responsible for those losses to the extent permitted by law.
13. DO NOT LEAVE THE GROUP WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING
Nature and wildlife subjects move, and photographers naturally want to follow interesting opportunities.
Participants should not leave the workshop group or designated activity area without informing the instructor.
If you voluntarily separate from the group, leave an established route, or pursue a subject or photographic opportunity independently, you accept responsibility for that decision and the additional risks it creates.
Captured Wilderness cannot supervise or maintain awareness of your location if you voluntarily leave the group without notice.
14. OTHER PEOPLE CAN CREATE RISKS TOO
Workshops may take place in public areas.
Other participants, photographers, hikers, cyclists, motorists, hunters, anglers, pets, children, park visitors and other third parties may be present.
Captured Wilderness cannot control the actions of every person who may be encountered during a workshop.
Participants are also responsible for taking reasonable care not to create hazards for others with tripods, camera bags or other equipment.
15. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DECISIONS
Captured Wilderness will provide photography instruction and may provide reasonable safety guidance.
You remain responsible for your own actions and decisions.
An instructor’s presence does not guarantee your safety and does not transfer responsibility for your personal judgment to Captured Wilderness.
You are never required to perform an activity simply because an instructor or another participant performs, demonstrates or suggests it.
If you believe something is unsafe or beyond your physical abilities, experience or comfort level, do not do it.
You may decline any activity.
16. SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS AND PARTICIPANT CONDUCT
Participants are expected to follow reasonable safety instructions and conduct themselves in a manner that does not unnecessarily endanger themselves, other participants, wildlife, members of the public or property.
Captured Wilderness may immediately remove a participant from a workshop for conduct including:
- deliberately disregarding reasonable safety instructions;
- intentionally harassing, provoking or endangering wildlife;
- threatening or endangering another person;
- unlawful activity;
- entering prohibited or closed areas;
- serious or repeated violations of park or property rules;
- harassment or seriously disruptive behavior;
- impairment by alcohol, recreational drugs or other substances when that impairment creates a safety concern; or
- other conduct that Captured Wilderness reasonably determines presents a serious safety, legal or operational risk.
A participant removed for serious misconduct is not entitled to a refund for any unused portion of the workshop.
17. NOT EVERY RISK CAN BE LISTED
Outdoor activities contain risks that cannot all be predicted in advance.
The hazards described in this agreement are examples and are not a complete or exhaustive list.
Other known or unknown, expected or unexpected circumstances may arise because of terrain, weather, wildlife, equipment, other participants, third parties, natural conditions, unforeseen events, or your own actions and decisions.
Captured Wilderness cannot anticipate, identify, supervise, warn against or prevent every potentially hazardous circumstance or every action or decision a participant might choose to undertake.
You remain responsible for exercising reasonable judgment, maintaining awareness of your surroundings and making decisions appropriate to your abilities and circumstances.
18. ASSUMPTION OF RISK
By choosing to participate in a Captured Wilderness photography workshop, you acknowledge that outdoor photography involves inherent and other risks, including the possibility of property damage, illness, bodily injury, permanent disability and, in extreme circumstances, death.
You voluntarily choose to participate with knowledge of those risks.
To the extent permitted by law, you accept and assume the risks inherent in participation and the risks arising from your own voluntary actions, decisions or failure to exercise reasonable care.
19. RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND HOLD HARMLESS
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to release and hold harmless Captured Wilderness, its owner, instructors, employees, contractors, assistants and authorized representatives from claims arising from the ordinary and inherent risks of participating in a workshop or from your own acts, omissions or voluntary decisions.
This release is not intended to waive rights that cannot legally be waived or to excuse conduct for which liability cannot legally be excluded under applicable law.
20. INDEMNIFICATION
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Captured Wilderness and its owner from third-party claims, fines, penalties, damages, costs or reasonable expenses resulting directly from:
- your unlawful conduct;
- your intentional or reckless misconduct;
- your intentional violation of park or property rules;
- your intentional harassment or provocation of wildlife;
- damage you cause to property belonging to another person;
- injury you cause to another person; or
- conduct that causes Captured Wilderness to incur a fine, penalty, permit sanction or other direct loss.
In plain English: if your prohibited or wrongful conduct causes somebody else to make a claim against Captured Wilderness, or directly causes Captured Wilderness to suffer a legally recoverable loss, this section is intended to prevent that loss from simply becoming Captured Wilderness’s responsibility.
This section does not require you to indemnify Captured Wilderness for liabilities that applicable law does not permit to be transferred to you.
21. NO GUARANTEE OF SAFETY OR CONTINUOUS SUPERVISION
Captured Wilderness will make reasonable efforts to conduct workshops responsibly.
However, an instructor cannot continuously supervise every participant, particularly while providing instruction to other members of a group.
Participation in a workshop does not create a custodial relationship.
Adult participants remain responsible for themselves throughout the workshop.
22. YOUR RIGHT TO STOP PARTICIPATING
You may stop participating in an activity at any time if you believe continuing would be unsafe or inappropriate for you.
Tell the instructor whenever reasonably possible before leaving the group or workshop location.
Choosing not to undertake a particular activity because of safety, health, mobility or personal concerns will not result in pressure from Captured Wilderness to continue.
If Captured Wilderness continues to conduct the workshop as scheduled, your individual decision to stop participating does not create an entitlement to a refund.
23. REQUIRED AGREEMENT BEFORE BOOKING
All participants are required to read, understand and electronically sign this Participant Agreement before participating in a Captured Wilderness photography workshop.
If you do not understand or agree with any part of this agreement, do not electronically sign it and do not proceed with your workshop booking.
If anything in this agreement is unclear, contact Captured Wilderness before signing or booking and ask for clarification.
If one person is purchasing workshop places for multiple adult participants, each adult participant must individually read, understand and electronically sign their own Participant Agreement.
The person making the booking cannot accept the assumption of risk, release, hold harmless or indemnification provisions on behalf of another adult participant.
No adult participant will be permitted to participate without completing the required Participant Agreement.
24. PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU SIGN
YOUR ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE BELOW CONFIRMS THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS AGREEMENT.
By electronically signing and submitting the acknowledgment form below, I confirm that:
- I have read this entire agreement before booking or participating in the workshop.
- I understand that this agreement contains important information about outdoor risks and my responsibilities.
- I understand that it contains assumption of risk, release of liability, hold harmless and indemnification provisions that may affect my legal rights.
- I understand that I am responsible for determining whether I am reasonably capable of participating in the workshop.
- I understand that if Captured Wilderness conducts the workshop as scheduled, my decision or inability to attend, participate, continue participating or complete the workshop does not entitle me to a refund except as otherwise expressly provided in the Captured Wilderness Workshop Cancellation, Transfer & Refund Policy.
- I understand that I am never required to undertake an activity that I personally believe is unsafe or beyond my abilities.
- I have had the opportunity to ask questions about anything in this agreement that I do not understand.
- Nobody has instructed me simply to sign this agreement without reading or understanding it.
- I understand that I may refuse to sign this agreement.
- I understand that if I do not agree with this agreement, I should not sign it or proceed with booking a workshop.
- I am electronically signing this agreement voluntarily.
- I intend my electronic signature and submission of the form below to constitute my legally binding acknowledgment and acceptance of this agreement.
IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND OR AGREE WITH ANY PART OF THIS DOCUMENT, DO NOT SIGN IT. CONTACT CAPTURED WILDERNESS AND ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH YOUR BOOKING.
Captured Wilderness Photography Workshop Participant Agreement
Version 1.0 | Effective August 2026
Acknowledgment & Electronic Signature
Please complete the form below only after you have read this entire Participant Agreement.
By completing and submitting the form, you confirm that you have read and understood the Captured Wilderness Photography Workshop Participant Agreement and voluntarily agree to its terms.