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Thread: nightmares at the airport

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 2001
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    nightmares at the airport

    Hey guys. Just got back from a shooting trip down in LA. At the Seattle end they did what they always do-- swab my boxes of sheet film and let me on through. On my return, however, I had a box of exposed film that the security people at LAX insisted on opening. They that said because the factory seal was broken, I could have a plastic knife in the box, and they couldn't let me through without either x-raying the box or opening it for visual inspection. Only after summoning the supervisor of the supervisor and getting into quite a shouting match, did they finally let me pass with my film.

    I then asked the highest-up person what I should do in the future if I had to carry a box of exposed undeveloped film with me, and she said the best thing to do is bring a changing bag-- then they could open the box and feel the film manually in the dark and check if there's anything sharp in there. That made good sense as a last-resort measure, especially for airports that don't have the swabbing system.

    Then, after our 20 minutes of intense argument about the possible contents of a thin flat cardboard film box that weighs about an ounce, just for kicks I showed them what they had let me pass through with inside my carry-on bag: My camera's monorail, which is a heavy tube of thick metal just a few inches shorter than a baseball bat. Seems to me it would be pretty easy to fashion a samurai sword that would fit inside that thing, but they were unphased.

    In any event, carrying a changing bag seems to be a good safety measure for exposed sheet film-- I'll have one with me on my next trip.

    cheers,

    ~cj

    www.chrisjordan.com

  2. #2
    Yes, but why? David R Munson's Avatar
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    nightmares at the airport

    *cough* John Ashcroft *cough*

    This stuff is really getting out of hand.

  3. #3

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    nightmares at the airport

    I know I'll get flamed for saying this, but, just but, wouldn't pretending to be a professional photographer be a great ruse for a terrorist?

    Granted, I don't have any great respect for the unfirable, lifetime TSA employees; and having travelled with a ton of film in past projects I am sympathetic to the photographer. But if you look at the situation from a public safety point of view - where we have actually had people like Richard Reid place explosives in his shoe - why shouldn't we be checking shoes, lead lined bags, and mysterious, unopenable boxes? For that matter, young to middle-aged men with dark complexions SHOULD be given extra scrutiny (that would include myself.)

    For that matter, if I were planning to blow up a bridge or a dam, I probably would want photos to study the structure from. So what is illogical about not allowing photos of major bridges or dams?

    I'll stand back now - should be interesting to watch the giant leaps of logic...

  4. #4
    tim atherton's Avatar
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    nightmares at the airport

    they just tested airport security across the US, running dummy weapons through and all sorts of the usual stuff. They basically found the standard of safety and security was almost exactly the same as it was 15 (it may have been 17) years ago - which is basically very poor.

    At present it's all pretty much an expensive waste of time and effort
    You'd be amazed how small the demand is for pictures of trees... - Fred Astaire to Audrey Hepburn

    www.photo-muse.blogspot.com blog

  5. #5

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    Sep 2001
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    nightmares at the airport

    I truly dread dealing with airport security. I understand the need for it, but it does cause a bit of stress trying to get film from one location to another.

    Lately I have been having my film shipped to my destination in advance and at the end of the trip I ship it home. So far there has not been any problem with FedX or UPS. No fogged or damaged film. A little added expense but well worth it to me.

    I don't think I would like a security person handeling my film even in a changing tent, but if that is the only alternative to opening the box or x raying I guess that is the lesser evil.

    Having said my bit about shipping film to the destination, I hope I have some waiting for me in Lone Pine as I fly out of SeaTac Friday morning for a week of fun in the sun.

  6. #6

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    Colorado Springs
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    nightmares at the airport

    Isn't the scanner for carry-ons relatively safe for normal-speed film? Why not just pass it through in your carry-on?

  7. #7
    Beverly Hills, California
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    nightmares at the airport

    Chris, I feel your pain.

    But I would much rather just pass it through the carry on x-ray than to let someone go poking their finger prints all over my exposed film in side a chnaging bag. 20 minutes of arguing means their pretty serious about trying to do their job too.

    Next time, if you get resistance, just pass it through the machine, as you would have to do in Europe anyway.

    Lose the battle, win the war.

  8. #8

    nightmares at the airport

    Glad you stood your ground but I only have one word for you...

    Fedex.

  9. #9
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    nightmares at the airport

    I've heard several times this "I have to open it, or X-ray it". It somewhat makes sense to me, and when this happens, I just let them X-ray it. Once, I tried to argue with a supervisor, and I said "I'll let you open it in the dark". We went around the airport but couldn't find a room dark enough. I gave up in order not to miss my flight. Changing bag would have worked. However, if you go this route, make sure they don't remove their arms while the box is still open, something I read on this forum happened. One time, I was told "if you are flagged for special screening, we would have to open everything"... this didn't happen, but now that's a nightmare.

  10. #10
    wfwhitaker
    Guest

    nightmares at the airport

    What Henry said.....

    FedEx the stuff.

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