Greetings! What follows is some information that should be helpful to anyone interested in participating on an overnight field trip. If you don’t see your question answered here, feel free to contact Claudia O’Grady, Director of Overnight Field Trips.
- All current members are welcome to participate!
- All expenses related to your participation in an overnight field trip are your own.
- Usually our trips are in such demand that we have to select attendees through a lottery. Registration is left open for a period of time, and once it closes all entrants are given a randomized number. If a registrant makes the cut, they’re in, and if not, they’re placed on a waiting list because as people drop out (and they do!) spaces can be filled.
- The limited spaces are prioritized for current, photographer members. While some members ask to bring along a significant other or friend, this is generally not possible. Our desire is to serve as many current, photographer members of the club as we can. If a couple wishes to participate in a trip together, and the trip is so full that it goes to lottery, then both individuals must register and get in through the lottery if they are both to attend. A few of our trips will have unlimited spaces, and on these trips anyone who registers and gets in would be able to bring a buddy. The information we publish on each trip will make it clear whether a photographer can bring someone, or not. In any case, everyone who joins a trip must register and pay a $75 registration fee. A few of the trips will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. This applies mostly to trips that involve significant travel and cost. Those trips, once announced, will usually require a deposit of funds to hold a spot, and are organized by a third party. In these cases, the club does not manage the waiting list or the payment of funds.
- Some of the trips involve hiking, and in some cases it is strenuous hiking. If you feel you are not physically up to it, please consider choosing a different trip. If you have questions about the level of physical activity, just ask. Please do not expect the club to change its trip itinerary to accommodate your needs.
- The club requires a nonrefundable registration fee of $75. The fee must be paid once the lottery happens and you are notified that you’re in. The fee is charged in part to discourage folks from canceling at the last minute. This is unfair to others on the list. Generally, we try to have a group dinner or lunch on the trip, which the club pays for out of these funds.
- Occasionally a trip may have an additional cost associated with it, for instance, for a guide. If this is the case, the cost will be divided evenly among participants. A cost such as this is not optional, even if you decide to skip a guided event.