Faraglioni Rocks, Capri, Italy
The last few weeks have seen a fair bit of action on the photography holidays side of my business, though none of it as I would have necessarily wished. It is though, giving me an opportunity to do things a little differently.
When my new travel partner and I first got together we put pen to paper to draw up contracts so we knew what each other’s responsibilities were and what we expected of each other which has worked well and held up. What we didn’t check into fully at the start was insurance policies and trading laws.
I had spoken to Trading Standards in the UK to find out what was expected of me as photographer running tours and what insurance cover I needed. All was well, by going in with a travel agent I was covered, however, and this is a big one, the UK has some pretty stringent consumer protection in place, and rightly so, to safeguard guests’ money. It’s not necessary for an agent to be ABTA bonded, however it is necessary for an insurance policy to be in place so that any money paid in is ring-fenced. This means if any problems arise with a company becoming insolvent, guests get their money returned to them.
It is illegal to trade in the UK without this financial insurance, however in America these consumer travel laws don’t exist, and my travel partner was based in America. I was deeply concerned about this imbalance in law between our countries and then a huge blow for my travel partner. It turns out that there are draconian state laws in place in America to prevent travel agencies trading in some states unless they pay them a large bond. This effectively limits the scope of business a travel agent can do in their own country. With all this coming to light and my concerns about financial insurance we dissolved the partnership. Read More→
Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.
However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.
Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.
Charles MacPherson is an award-winning wildlife photographer and resident of Scituate, Massachusetts.