Coronavirus and Photography Workshops

We are in the midst of a unique and challenging point in time as we all learn to adapt to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. With this in mind, Sally and I want you to know that we value your friendship and patronage, but even more importantly, we share your concerns for your health and safety, and for those you love. We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely, and we are paying careful attention to information and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the scientific community, the National Park Service, and medical professionals.

Our Commitment

Adam Schallau Photography is committed to doing our part to minimize the spread of coronavirus in the remote and isolated northern Arizona communities, including Grand Canyon National Park and the Navajo Nation. It’s important to remember that medical services are limited in these remote communities. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this crisis.

Upcoming Workshops

Private and group workshops with start dates of January 15, 2021, or later, are continuing as scheduled. We will monitor the COVID-19 situation and see how it evolves in the coming weeks and months. If necessary, we will adapt our schedule and will be in contact with participants as soon as it is clear that a given workshop will be affected. To the best of our ability, we will attempt to reschedule affected workshops to a later date so that you may still share in the experience of photographing the Grand Canyon with us.

How Busy is it at the Grand Canyon?

There is currently limited commercial activity at Grand Canyon National Park as the National Park Service is restricting group sizes to no more than 10 people including drivers and guides. Many companies did not meet the deadline to submit their COVID-19 Mitigation Plan and thus were not authorized to resume operations. This means that there are fewer people visiting the park.

Cancelation and Refund Policies

Being a small business, Sally and I pride ourselves on taking care of our customers. We do our best to be as understanding and flexible as possible when it comes to providing refunds or credits to customers who have had to cancel their participation in a workshop. This has included even those that have had to cancel just a couple months before a workshop start date. The unprecedented situation that we all find ourselves in is very fluid with information and guidance regarding the virus updated daily. With this in mind, we have taken the step to modify our cancelation and refund policies temporarily. Effective June 1, 2020, Adam Schallau Photography will offer credit towards future workshops, photo tours, or expeditions in lieu of refunds in case of cancelations by clients or Adam Schallau Photography.

Programs Canceled by Adam Schallau Photography

If travel restrictions or unsafe conditions related to the coronavirus pandemic cause us to cancel a workshop, we will attempt to reschedule it for a later date. Participants registered for a canceled or postponed workshop will have the following options:

  • You may transfer registration payments from the postponed workshop to the rescheduled workshop. If the rescheduled workshop rate is higher than the postponed workshop rate, you will receive a discount of 5% off the rescheduled workshop rate.
  • Your other option is to receive a credit towards a future workshop through the end of 2022.

Participant Cancelations

Please see the Withdrawal and Refund policy section in the Photography Workshop Terms & Conditions.

Our COVID-19 Mitigation Plan

For the health and wellbeing of all participants and employees, Adam Schallau Photography has made several adjustments to our operations. This includes the following:

  • The number of participants in a workshop is limited to six persons, plus the instructor.
  • We have upgraded all lodging to single-occupancy so that our participants will have a private hotel room or cabin.
  • All participants are provided with the following materials in their pre-workshop orientation packets. This material has also been posted to our website (the page you are currently on) for potential customers to review prior to registering for a workshop. All participants are required to review the material and adhere to the following guidelines:

Before the Workshop

  • Carefully review the list of symptoms for COVID-19 on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. If you have had any of these symptoms in the 14 days before the workshop, please do not participate in the workshop until you have been tested to confirm you do not have COVID-19.
  • Some individuals may be at a higher risk for COVID-19, as outlined on the CDC's website. If you are in one of the groups mentioned above, please consult your doctor and make an informed decision on whether to participate in the workshop.
  • All participants will be required to sign an acknowledgment of risk form before participating in the workshop.

Upon Arrival

  • Touchless temperature screenings will be conducted before participating in the workshop. Participants with a fever exceeding 100.4º Fahrenheit will not be permitted. Participants who believe they have a disability that causes a fever should bring a letter from a doctor stating that a disability causes the participant's fever and that they have no other symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus; therefore, participants must come prepared with a mask and wear it while participating in the workshop.

During the Workshop

  • All participants and instructors are required to follow social distancing recommendations by the CDC.
  • All participants and instructors are required to wear a mask or facial cover if or when 6-feet of social/physical distancing is not possible. Mask or facial coverings must be worn in accordance with the information posted on the CDC’s Use of Masks to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19 webpage.
  • Participants will travel in your own vehicle to minimize contact with others.
  • Avoid unnecessarily touching surfaces such as handrails and doorknobs.
  • You will be provided with a bottle of hand sanitizer and a container of disinfectant wipes at the beginning of the workshop. Do not share your hand sanitizer bottles or disinfectant wipes.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
  • It is recommended that you avoid shaking of hands or hugging. You are encouraged to just say, hi!
  • Sanitize your luggage, camera backpacks, camera gear, and other equipment; to include tripods, filters, lightning triggers, and remotes, etc.
  • Avoid using other participant's or the instructor’s equipment.
  • Wash or sanitize hands before eating. We will not be having meals together. We encourage you to dine on your own and to avoid the cafeterias and restaurants. Our hotel rooms on the South Rim have small refrigerators and a microwave, but the cabins on the North Rim do not. We recommend that you bring a cooler to store any food items that you need to keep cold.
  • Additionally, we will be conducting daily temperature checks on all instructors and participants. Participants with a fever exceeding 100.4º Fahrenheit will not be permitted to continue in workshop activities. We appreciate your support of these critical safety changes that ensure we can provide a fun and safe workshop environment in compliance with government and health agency recommendations and requirements. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on our website as the situation evolves.

Discontinuation of Workshop Activities

  • In the event that one of our participants exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, that person will be asked to cease their participation in the workshop immediately. They will be asked to quarantine in their hotel room or cabin, and they will have use of their hotel room or cabin for 1 night while they make plans to return home.
  • In the event that the instructor exhibits symptoms of COVID-19, the workshop will come to an end, and the instructor will quarantine in their hotel room or cabin. Participants will continue to have the use of their hotel room or cabin while they make plans to return home. The use of the hotel room or cabin will not be extended beyond the planned departure date.
  • Upon the determination that a participant or instructor is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, we will immediately notify a representative of Grand Canyon National Park, and we will be prepared to assist in exposure tracing.

After the Workshop

  • In the event that one of our participants or an instructor tests positive for COVID-19 after the workshop, we ask that you please contact us immediately so that we may notify the Public Health Officer and Commercial Services Office at Grand Canyon National Park along with the other participants so that we can inform them of a possible exposure to COVID-19 on the workshop. We will not disclose the name of the participant or instructor that has tested positive in-order to maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Updates to our COVID-19 Mitigation Plan

  • We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely, and we are paying careful attention to information and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the scientific community, the National Park Service, and medical professionals.
  • This document will be updated as necessary, and copies will be distributed to our participants and the Commercial Permits Office at Grand Canyon National Park.

Thank you

We are thankful for the opportunity to share our love for Grand Canyon and the art of photography with you. We appreciate your patience, understanding, and support as we all adapt to this ever-changing situation. We hope that you will work with us to get through this challenging period and support our continued efforts to do our part in supporting the local economy during this challenging time.

We know you're ready to get back to enjoying the places we all love and making beautiful photographs, and we look forward to seeing you at the Grand Canyon!

Contact Information

Adam Schallau Photography
Owner: Adam Schallau - Contact
PO Box 3571, Flagstaff, AZ 86003

Grand Canyon National Park
Public Health Officer: don_hoeschele@nps.gov
Commercial Services Office: grca_permits_mail@nps.com



This page was updated on: December 29, 2020